Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Naruto felt like he had started a new life. His first day at the Uchiha mansion with the last remaining Uchiha was a bit… awkward at first. That wasn't exactly the way he had planed on it being, but there you have it. Naruto was given a room of his own - of course there were dozens in the mansion - and was allowed to decorate it however he wanted. He tried not to cling to Sasuke - because Naruto knew more than anybody that Sasuke hates things that cling, especially girls - but on his second day there while they were eating lunch, he had to ask….
"How do you think the elders will take to the Kyuubi container and the last Uchiha having a baby together?" Sasuke just stared at him. "I mean, they know we're both guys, and they know that I wouldn't know how to raise a child since I've never had any parents to set an example for me. And no offense Sasuke, but they know how the Uchiha's are all clan-killy. Plus, I am the Kyuubi boy. What if they think this baby's just a little ball of fur with claws and teeth? Or better yet, what if it is?"
Don't worry about that, kid, Kyuubi interrupted. Your baby will be human-looking.
You haven't spoke in a while, Kyuubi. Wait, 'human-looking?' It will be fully human won't it?
Yes of course, the fox demon laughed. You think I'd leave it to a pathetic whelp like you to bear my kits? He snorted with laughter.
Naruto decided not to reply.
As Naruto was speaking to Kyuubi, Sasuke was staring at the table in front of him, letting his mind wander. Naruto could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking deeply. Though, when Sasuke finally spoke, what he said wasn't what Naruto had expected.
The Uchiha smirked. "I'm glad I finally got you away from all those women. You start thinking and acting more and more like Naruto everyday." He paused for a second. "As for the baby issue, who really gives a fuck what the elders think? If they don't like it we can always just leave Konoha. There are plenty of other places we could live. Plus we have too many friends here, too many people in power to back us up if we need it. Like Tsunade. She doesn't look like much but she is the Hokage… and no, I really don't think our baby will have fur and claws."
Naruto sighed. "People keep reminding me of Tsunade being Hokage a lot lately. And Kyuubi says the baby will be normal." He stopped for a moment and smiled widely at Sasuke. "You know you keep using the words "us" and "we" a lot. Does this mean you finally believe me now?"
Sasuke squirmed with that thought for a moment, then gave an elusive shrug. Naruto laughed. "I'm glad," he continued. He paused shortly before speaking again. "There was also something else I was wondering about, Sasuke. …You said I could decorate my room however I wanted it right?"
Sasuke had looked suspicious at first, but now only shrugged and looked unconcerned. "Sure."
"Do you care if I use paint?"
"If you want to. I guess there's nothing better to do around here."
Naruto grinned up at him.
And so that's how Naruto ended up painting his room that very next day. After all, he'd like to have gotten started before his belly grew any more and he became completely immobile…. Naruto had wanted to go into town and buy paint, but Sasuke had happened to remember a closet in the mansion where his family had always kept such things, and before he knew what was going on, Naruto was knee deep in cans of every color paint ever made. Or at least that's what it seemed like to him, anyway.
Sasuke helped move the furniture out of the bedroom placed them into one of the rooms nearby so that Naruto wouldn't have to breathe the paint while he slept. The strong smell of the paint wouldn't be good for the baby.
And so, Naruto stood in the middle of his new bedroom, a layer of old, thin blankets under his feet to keep the paint from dripping on the floor, and wearing old clothes that he was growing out of already. He was surprised when Sasuke volunteered to join him. The Uchiha didn't even care about getting paint on his usual everyday clothes.
"So what were you thinking?" the raven haired boy asked as he stared around at the blank walls.
"Hm…. Well, I don't really care what as long as it's something. These walls are too white. I don't like being surrounded by white walls. I just want to make this room a little more… like home." He glanced over at Sasuke, his heart suddenly pounding. He had just referred to the mansion as his home. What if Sasuke didn't like that? What if Sasuke didn't want him to live in the same mansion forever? What if once the bad guys were dead and the baby was born, Sasuke was going to make him move back into his old apartment? "Are you sure this is alright with you?" Naruto asked quietly.
Sasuke seemed to read his mind. "Of course. We can finish moving your other belongings up here, or sell them, whichever you want, and then we can move you out of that place for good. Or were you not planning on making the move permanent?"
Naruto smiled, but stared at the floor, blushing shyly. "That sounds like a really good plan," he told Sasuke quietly. The Uchiha avoided looking him in the eye.
"Well," Sasuke said with a sigh, "let's get started shall we?"
And so they dug into the different colors of paint. There were all kinds of shades and even textures; in fact, the only color that seemed to be missing was pink. Naruto said something about it. "Why? Did you really want pink paint for your room?" Sasuke asked. "Uchiha's weren't and aren't fond of the color. Somehow, it just doesn't shine so well on our pride."
Naruto laughed. "I can imagine."
Well, they finally came down to the decision to paint the room blue. Deep blue, somewhere in between what one would consider dark and light. It was the perfect shade of blue, and matched Naruto's eyes almost exactly. They popped open the bucket of paint and got down to work, but a mere thirty minutes or so into the job, Naruto's brush slipped and splattered Sasuke with paint. Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Sasuke looked so silly with blue paint all in his hair and on his face.
Sasuke sighed and wiped his face, which only smeared the paint and made it worse, leaving behind blue streaks running down his cheeks. The Uchiha seemed to realize this a little too late, and with a frustrated sigh, attempted to wipe the already dry substance off his hand and onto his shorts. "I'm so sorry," Naruto said helplessly, still trying to hold back the laughter.
"And yet you think it's funny."
"I'm sorry," he apologized more seriously this time. He hoped he hadn't pissed Sasuke off too much. Suddenly, though, something wet hit his own face. Sasuke was smirking at him. Naruto huffed, seeing the blue paint that would take forever to get out of his blonde hair. "No fair," he complained. "I didn't get this much on you. Plus when I did it, it was an accident."
"Who's to say it wasn't an accident when I did it?" Sasuke asked, still smirking.
Then it was on.
Despite all the things they had been through in the past few months, and despite the fact that they had finally come to a kind of truce of sorts, Naruto and Sasuke had not yet quite lost their passion for fighting with one another.
They ended up having an all-out paint war, using all the kinds of different colors. It came to the point that they were actually tossing full buckets of the stuff at one another, usually missing and hitting the walls, and even the ceiling. It was almost an hour later when they collapsed, both laughing - Naruto more so than Sasuke. They were both absolutely drenched, and it would take an eternity to get it all off, but that was okay. The fun had been worth it.
Also, both of them were surprised to discover that they were completely out of paint. They had used every single bucket in their little fight, so it was a good thing that most of the white spots on the walls were covered with random splashes of the stuff. All in all, it didn't look half bad. Plus, now that every time Naruto was just beginning to fall asleep, he could look around at the colorful walls of his room and remember the time that he and Sasuke had shared. Call him sentimental, but that's what being a woman had done to him.
"We could always buy more paint tomorrow and fix it," Sasuke commented. When Naruto looked at him he laughed again. The Uchiha had become a colorful rainbow of delight. Like the walls, he was absolutely covered in blue, red, orange, yellow, green, purple, black… the list went on and on.
"That's alright," Naruto replied. "I like it this way. I can sleep in that other room for a few days until the smell isn't so strong… but right now I just need to take a bath." He laughed. "We are such a mess."
"Yeah, you're right. Come on, I'll take you to the Uchiha bathhouse. We don't need to go to the public ones; you'd have to go in with the other girls and then you'd just be staring at them all." Naruto grinned innocently.
So, they went to the bathhouse. Sasuke refused to bathe at the same time as Naruto; not that the Kyuubi boy had insisted it or anything. Most of the paint came out when he scrubbed, but by the time Naruto was finished his hair still felt all grungy and his skin felt… funny. Like gravel whenever he touched something. Needless to say, he spent extra time and care cleaning himself, and also cleaned much more vigorously than he usually would have.
It was Sasuke's turn next, and Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the other guy one more time. By now the paint all over his body had dried up and cracked, peeling whenever he moved. Sasuke scowled at Naruto the best he could as he headed for the bathhouse.
And so, Naruto was given some time alone for the first time in what seemed like ages. Alone, in this big mansion. As he sat on his bed, he couldn't help but think of Itachi -even though he knew Itachi was dead- and how he had killed Sasuke's family in this very house, all those years ago. Then Naruto's thoughts wandered back on the guy who had pushed him down those stairs, and the evil he had felt. This was a big house. Anybody could be hiding anywhere. And Sasuke was out in the bathhouse.
Naruto jumped up from his bed and walked slowly from his room to the living room of the mansion, jumping at every shadow. He had thought that finally being alone for a time would be a relieving moment of peace, but now that he had that time, Naruto was more afraid for his baby's safety than ever. It was like he had said to Hiashi - he couldn't protect his own unborn child, especially not in the condition he was in. He hadn't trained in months, and he was four months pregnant. The baby was draining him of all chakra. What could he do if faced with the evil that had pushed him down those stairs?
And so, Naruto did the only thing he could think of to do; he ran for the bathhouse, hugging his belly protectively.
Naruto didn't enter the bathhouse when he got there. He sat himself in the grass and waited for Sasuke outside, trying his hardest to watch the mansion and his surroundings all at the same time. The sun was setting. He knew it would be worse in the dark.
When Sasuke finally came out nearly an hour later, he was obviously surprised at seeing Naruto huddled up against the wall of the bathhouse. "Naruto?" he asked cautiously. The sky was darkening. Naruto was afraid. He had tried to remember what Hinata had said about stress being bad for the baby, but he just couldn't help himself. He had had a good long hour to think about his situation, and he had only grown even more frightened with every minute. During that long hour, Kyuubi had kept trying to get him to calm down, but Naruto had paid no more attention to the fox than he would have an ant on the ground. Slowly, he raised his head and looked up at Sasuke. He knew his own eyes were wide and troubled. Sasuke stopped in mid-step, glancing toward the mansion. "Did something happen?" he asked.
When Naruto wouldn't answer, the Uchiha leaned down in front of him, bringing their faces close together. "Are you okay?" he asked. He seemed more curious than concerned, but that was just Sasuke being Sasuke.
Naruto looked down and sighed. "Nothing happened," he said quietly. "I just got scared, being in that big house all by myself. I haven't been alone in a month." He bowed his head even lower. "I didn't like it."
Sasuke stood up again, and seemed unsure of what to do next. Finally he sighed. "I won't leave you alone for that long again, I promise. Now come on. If something - anything - had entered the mansion, I would know about it. Especially if it was anything unwelcome. Nobody gets in or out without my knowing." Naruto looked up at him questioningly. How could Sasuke possibly know that? "I'm an Uchiha remember? We have our ways."
If he had smirked or smiled in any way, Naruto probably wouldn't have believed him, but the look on Sasuke's face and the sound of his voice were both completely serious. With a sigh, Naruto stood, surprised when Sasuke slipped a hand in his own for the second time in two days. Hand-in-hand, they walked together toward the mansion.
Naruto hoped Sasuke knew that being a woman made him just as emotional as one, because if not, the Uchiha would probably get extremely pissed off very quickly at having to deal with little things like this all the time. Halfway across the yard, Naruto spoke. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Did I do something wrong?"
Sasuke glanced at him form over his shoulder. "No," he replied simply. "You have every right to be afraid. Someone's still out to get you, and your… our… baby. I shouldn't have left you unprotected that long. Paint comes out eventually, but I can't replace the baby… or you." The last two words came out as a near whisper that made Naruto's eyes water with tears.
What Sasuke had said hit Naruto hard. That Sasuke had cared enough, and was willing, to admit such a thing… even to Naruto, who he still saw as a pregnant giggling girl… it was more than he had thought could ever happen. Naruto squeezed the other boy's hand lightly.
I love you too, Sasuke.
The next week or so passed uneventfully. For the most part they stayed in the mansion together. Sasuke still trained every day though, and it was something that was hard for Naruto to watch, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to join him. Most of the time, Naruto would sit and read a book, somewhere out in the sun. Who knew that the Uchiha's would have their own library? They even had Icha Icha Paradise, which was disturbing. They were probably all Itachi's, he thought with a little chuckle. But then again, you never know. Naruto had never really thought much of books before, but now that he had nothing better to do, they were like a savior to him.
Eventually, he and Sasuke were paid a visit by Iruka. Naruto couldn't help but be thankful that it was him and not Kakashi. But then again, Iruka and Kakashi certainly did have an unusually close relationship….
Sasuke was training - with his shirt off, one might add - and Naruto was sitting nearby with a protruding belly, reading his book and stretched out in a lawn chair. He felt awkward with his steadily growing stomach already, and knew full well that he had much more growing to do yet. He knew he would have to go shopping for bigger clothes sometime soon, perhaps with Sakura or Hinata or Ino… if they could spare the time of course. God knows Sasuke wouldn't want to come along. He avoided shopping as much as he could, though he had already gone to the grocery store for Naruto once that week - Tsunade had apparently given the Uchiha strict instructions on how Naruto's diet should be throughout the pregnancy.
When Naruto finally noticed Iruka strolling up to them, he jumped up from his seat - the best he could, anyway - and rushed over to his former teacher. "Iruka-sensei, is there any news?"
Sasuke had stopped what he was doing and came over to join them. Naruto couldn't help but notice the sweat all over the other boy's bare chest and stomach. He blushed brightly and tried to keep his eyes off the Uchiha.
"Unfortunately no," Iruka replied to Naruto's previously asked question. "It's kind of embarrassing to say that we've been searching for over a month and still haven't found any clues as to who this guy is. Not even the picture of the symbol is helping much. It's like this guy doesn't even exist."
Naruto's hopes sank. Not that he hated the new life he had started with Sasuke by making this mansion his home… it's just, he wanted the guy who had wanted so badly to kill his baby to finally be brought to justice. He, Naruto, wanted to bring that guy to justice himself. But that was hardly possible at the rate things were going.
"Actually, that's why I dropped by," Iruka continued. He lowered his voice, but didn't lose eye contact with them. "Tsunade is thinking about calling it quits for now. We're not getting anywhere with this, and she wants to give it up."
"Give it up?" Naruto demanded in alarm. "Why?! How can she do that? I've got my baby to think about! I've got my life to think about!"
"Naruto, stop freaking out," Sasuke said, firmly putting a hand on one of Naruto's arms. And for a moment, just a moment, he sounded like the old Sasuke again - Naruto half expected him to call him 'dobe.' "Don't you get it? Tsunade has a plan." Naruto blinked in surprise at that. "Tsunade wants to give up the search because if we do that, eventually this guy will come to us."
Iruka nodded at that. "Very good Sasuke. Yes, it's true. That's exactly what we want."
" 'What you want?' " Naruto quoted. "But that means… that means putting me in danger!"
Iruka was already shaking his head. "You won't be in any danger at all. You'll have Sasuke here to protect you." As if to confirm that, Sasuke lightly squeezed the grip he had on Naruto's arm, then his hand loosened and became more comforting. "And the rest of Konoha as well," Iruka added. "When this guy turns up, we'll put him in a bag and send his sorry ass packing."
Sasuke and Naruto both started in surprise and stared at the man. "Iruka-sensei," Naruto whispered, half in awe. "I've never heard you talk like that before."
Iruka sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry guys. Kakashi's fault really. He cusses like goodness-knows-what, and it's been a long night."
Naruto looked up to the sky. The sun was beginning to set. "When was the last time you slept?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. I didn't get any sleep last night, I know that much."
"What were you doing last night?" Naruto asked curiously.
Iruka coughed uncomfortably. "Uh… that's not important."
"Were you with Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka blushed a bright pink, and Naruto grinned. Sasuke looked half disgusted, half horrified.
"Is it that obvious?" the man muttered under his breath and rubbing the back of his neck. He cleared his throat. Louder, he said, "Anyway, I just dropped by to tell you our plan, but now I have to go."
Sasuke nodded, and when Naruto asked he said it was alright for him to walk with Iruka around to the front side of the house if he wanted. On the way 'round, Naruto asked, "You really care about Kakashi-sensei, don't you?"
Iruka blushed again, and avoided Naruto's eyes. "Yes," he finally answered. "Very much."
Naruto grinned. "That's good."
" 'Good?' " Iruka turned to him.
"Yeah, it's no big deal. I mean, look at mine and Sasuke's relationship."
Iruka chuckled. "I guess you're right."
"So, does Kakashi-sensei feel the same way, about you?"
Iruka's eyes were on the ground, and he seemed lost in his own thoughts. "I don't know."
"You should ask him," Naruto replied thoughtfully.
"Ask him?"
"Yeah. It's not that hard. I'm sure he'd be glad to give you an answer." Naruto grinned again. "Everything will turn out alright Iruka-sensei. I'm sure he feels the same way you do. All you have to do is ask."
Iruka look surprised, but then smiled. "You're right. Thank you Naruto."
"Eh, 's not a problem."
Naruto finally moved back into his original bedroom, the one with the paint splattered all over the walls. He was glad for it too. He liked to think about that day that he and Sasuke had had together. Then, after getting all the furniture back into the room, Sasuke suggested that he himself move into the bedroom just across the hall. "We'd have to get rooms closer together sometime soon anyway. I'll have to be somewhere near, even at night now. The guy that tried to kill the baby... if he's going to come to us that means he's going to try to get to you first. ...I don't feel comfortable being halfway across the mansion from you every night."
Naruto nodded. He understood exactly what Sasuke meant. Too many times had the Kyuubi boy dreamed of the killer standing over him in his own bed with a kunai at his throat. Naruto didn't want to be so far away from Sasuke at night so that the other boy wouldn't even be able to hear him scream. Too many times had Naruto waken up crying and heart pounding, wishing Sasuke were near but too afraid to cross the mansion to the other boy's room.
Little did Naruto know that Sasuke had lost just as much sleep for much the same reason.
After all the moving around and getting settled into their new bedrooms, Naruto happened to look into a mirror and decided it was definitely time for a new wardrobe. His clothes were all skin tight, some of them even worse than that and not fitting at all. It had taken a full four months for this kid in his belly to start growing, and now that it had started it hardly seemed able to stop.
So, Naruto and Sasuke went out looking for the girls of Konoha. It wasn't too hard to find them. Sasuke left once Naruto was safely in the hands of Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and TenTen. Naruto sighed heavily. He could already tell that this was going to be a very long day.
And so it was. After shopping for maternity clothes, the girls absolutely insisted on taking him shopping for baby clothes next. Naruto agreed that this was necessary, he just wasn't sure if it was necessary to be doing so soon. He was still a few months away from giving birth. And that was something he didn't even want to think about at this point. He'd be glad to get this child out of him and bring it into the real world, but giving birth still did not sound very fun, judging by what Sakura and the other girls told him about it.
So, he went home to Sasuke with bags upon bags of clothing; for himself and for the baby. They stored all the baby clothes in a room nearby that they had decided would be the baby's room. Or at least, it would be whenever Naruto and Sasuke decided that the baby was old enough to sleep without one of it's parent's by it's side. All the other clothes went into Naruto's room, and on his back as well. These were much more comfortable than the others he had been wearing.
Also, Naruto learned with surprise that while he had been gone away on his shopping trip with the girls, Sasuke had brought up the rest of his belongings from the apartment. His things were in another room of the mansion for now, but Sasuke said that whatever Naruto wanted could be put into his room the next day. Naruto thanked him and went to bed.
It was raining outside.
Naruto lay flat on his back, his belly jutting out largely. It was like a balloon filled with too much air; he felt as if about ready to pop. The Kyuubi boy lay listening to the rain pound on the roof and beat on the windows, and to the thunder rolling overhead. Occasionally a flash of lightning would light up the whole room like daylight. Naruto knew that if he were in trouble, Sasuke would never hear him scream over the loud noise of the storm.
Naruto was just considering getting up and crossing the dark hallway to Sasuke's room when another flash of lightning revealed a shadow that shouldn't have been there; a shadow in the odd shape of a man, lurking in one corner of the room. Naruto froze. He couldn't move, he couldn't make a sound. Without the lightning the room was pitch black, and he couldn't see a thing. With the next flash, Itachi Uchiha was standing above him on the bed, a kunai in hand. "It's time to deliver the baby," the man cackled. No, not a man- a demon.
Naruto screamed as Itachi plunged the weapon into his belly.
Naruto sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily, eyes wide and alert. It wasn't raining outside. Itachi was not standing over him. The room was not pitch black - it was lit up with moonlight streaming from the window - and there was not a mysterious shadow in the corner of the room. And also, his belly was not yet the size of a house. Shaking all over, Naruto realized then that he had kicked the blankets off into the floor, and he quickly snatched them up. It was a foolish and girly thing to do, to cover his sweating self with the blankets for protection and just lie there, heart pounding, but he was so terrified that he could hardly even move.
Experience had taught Naruto that no matter how many times you had a similar sort of dream, it was never any less real or terrifying. Unable to do much else in the state he was in, Naruto curled up and tried to hold back tears of fright.
That was when he heard the doorknob turning, and the door to his room creak as it slowly swung open. His breathing became heavier, tears began to flow. He prayed to god, any god. He heard the click as the door closed again. Half of him wanted to uncover his face and look at what was now in the room with him, the other half just wanted to hide and not know or care.
A decision was soon made for him though, because the covers were jerked away from him. Naruto screamed, covering his face with one hand and his belly with the other. A hand reached out and grasped him firmly by the arm, and someone hushed him. When Naruto opened his eyes he found Sasuke standing where he had half been expecting to see Itachi, even knowing that Itachi was long dead.
Naruto didn't think. He jumped out of bed and clung to Sasuke like a frightened child, unable to stop himself from trembling so hard. "Don't let him take the baby, Sasuke," he cried. "Don't let Itachi take the baby."
Sasuke, after a moment of stunned silence, put his arms around Naruto and rubbed a hand through his blond hair, allowing him to cry on his shoulder for the time being. "Itachi is dead," Sasuke finally said. "You don't have anything to worry about."
Sasuke was finally able to get Naruto to lay back down and cover up. Naruto was still a little shaken, but he had stopped crying, and his heart wasn't pounding so hard. "I'm going to be right across the hall," Sasuke told Naruto as he stood to leave.
Naruto shot up like a bullet and grabbed the Uchiha's sleeve. "In the name of all things holy Sasuke don't leave me alone again!" he cried.
A moment's hesitation, and Sasuke turned back. "Alright," he replied quietly, and promptly began crawling beneath the covers with Naruto. Naruto slipped into the Uchiha's arms and didn't dream again once the entire night.
