Passionate Kisses
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Oh and my poll should be showing up on my profile for those of you who are interested in voting. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: You'll get to see multiple perspectives in this chapter. That includes the twins. While they are babies and it's a bit of a stretch to imagine babies having thoughts this complex, I will try to keep their thoughts relatively on par with what you might expect for newborns…if they could talk.
Chapter 26
Hinata smiles the next day as she nurses the twins and her husbands watch them all like hawks. The Uchiha woman wasn't really sure how the proud papas were ever going to handle it when their children inevitable got the sniffles or something like that. Two pairs of intense dark eyes were watching the newborns with fatherly pride and wariness.
"What are we going to call them?" The young mother looks at her husbands as she rocks her newborn son and daughter in her arms gently.
Sasuke smirks. "That is a good question." He glances at Itachi slyly. "Because someone ended up adding to the list of Baby Names way too much." He laughs. "There are over fifty to choose from."
Hinata rubs the back of her head sheepishly. She knew that names were important, but she had been hoping that they would narrow it down slightly. Though in all honesty, the lavender eyed woman supposed that she should have foreseen this.
Itachi pokes Sasuke's forehead. "Foolish little brother." He snorts. "Don't act as if I was the only one adding to the list. As for their names, I think the girl should be Aiya."
Hinata looks down at her daughter and nods. Aiya Uchiha. She could see that.
"It's a beautiful name, but why Aiya?" She adjusts them slightly in her arms as she continues nursing them.
Sasuke looks down at the newborns and sighs. "Aiya was the name of our paternal grandmother." He kisses the twins foreheads. "She looks a great deal like her and it means beautiful silk. Her hair is already silky, so it fits."
The young mother blinks. Oh. She didn't know how to respond to that really, but it was a beautiful name.
She smiles at the baby girl. "What do you think?" Hinata tickles her tummy. "Do you like the name Aiya Uchiha?" Aiya giggles in response.
"I think she likes it." Itachi nods sagely.
Sasuke gives their son the same treatment that Hinata was giving his elder sister. The Uchiha Matriarch was fairly certain that tickling their bellies was going to become something of a favorite past time for all of them. They were just so cute!
He smiles at the giggling that resulted. "Arashi for the boy. I should think it suits him well." Sasuke smiles. "It means storm and he certainly can make a storm of smoke and some fire."
Hinata couldn't really disagree with that reasoning. She nods her head in agreement. "Arashi and Aiya Uchiha." She smiles at the decision.
That's when the doors of the hospital flew open. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Hanabi, and Hiashi all stormed inside. Well Naruto stormed in, everyone else followed either somewhat sheepishly or at a dignified pace. (Well the latter was more in Hiashi's case, but Hinata digressed)!
"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto grins at her as he bounds over. "How are you feeling?"
Hinata blinks. She still admired Naruto greatly, but there were times when her former love could be rather dense to put it charitably.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "You're such an idiot. She just gave birth to twins." Her youngest husband was definitely not feeling charitable though! "How do you think that she's feeling?!"
"Oi! Don't be such a bastard." Naruto glares at Sasuke as he looks down at the newborns. "Awe. They're really cute Hinata. I guess your genes must have won out over Sasuke's bastardly ones and Itachi's scary ones!"
Itachi twitches at that. "And what precisely do you mean by that last part?" He obviously wasn't too happy about that assessment.
Kakashi sighs and walks over. He quickly gets between Naruto and the irritated Uchihas. The last thing he wanted was for blood to be spilt this early in the morning.
"I'm sure that Naruto didn't mean any harm." He smiles cheerfully. "He was merely joking."
Hiashi shakes his head and walks over. He gazes at the twins and smiles. "They're beautiful, Hinata and motherhood suits you." He smiles once more and kisses her cheek.
Her sister had a less dignified reaction. She prances over and beams. "They're so cute!" She scoops Aiya up and cuddles her closely.
Sakura laughs and walks over. Hinata nods at her friend in acknowledgement, giving her permission in a way to cuddle up to Arashi.
"They're adorable." Sakura smiles as she proceeds to do exactly that.
Just then a rather large white furred dog charges inside. "Arf! Arf!" Needless to say the Uchiha Brothers were rather skeptical of this unusual occurrence.
Hinata just laughs though. She knew exactly what was going on. She leans down slightly and pets Akamaru.
"Tell them that we're all okay and I'll see them tomorrow." She giggles.
The dog must have understood her because he bounds off. Akamaru was Kiba's dog. Team Eight must be anxious to hear how everything went, Hinata decides.
"That's all adorable and we're glad that you could all make it, but Hinata needs her rest." Sasuke gives their visitors a pointed look.
Fortunately, everyone was smart enough to quickly head off at that. None of them were crazy enough to get between a proud Uchiha Papa and their newborns and wife at the moment.
"You're getting quite good at that." Itachi chuckles.
Sasuke nods approvingly. "Thanks. I've been practicing." Sasuke smirks.
Arashi giggles as he looks up at one of the big people making a silly face. Of course, the newborn didn't know what a smirk was. He just thought it was a funny expression.
There were a lot of big people around them. He recognized the one as mommy. Mommy was nice. Mommy was nice, soft, and warm. He liked Mommy.
"It shows." Itachi nods approvingly.
There were two big people who were around him a lot. He was pretty sure they were his daddies or something. They were always picking him up, holding him, and talking in funny voices to him. Daddies were fun. It was fun to be picked up. No milk from them though.
That last part was a bit annoying, but it was okay. Arashi liked the attention. Though it had started to get way too loud in the room for his liking. There had been so many big people!
Hinata smiles as she cuddles Arashi. "Yes. We should be able to go home in a few days." He was now safely back in his mother's arms after the other big person left.
Arashi couldn't help, but yawn. It had been a long day. He was sleepy and so was his sister.
That's right. He had a sister. They had been inside the dark place together. For a long, long time and now they were in the not so dark place! Now, they could see mommy's face and their daddies' faces too!
"Good." Sasuke smiles at Hinata as he caresses her cheek affectionately.
He didn't like the brightness at first. Naturally, Arashi had cried in distress. Soon after that though, one of the big people had grabbed him. Not a mommy or a daddy, but mommy and daddies hadn't been upset when she grabbed him. So he had foolishly thought it was okay.
That's when the big person poked him with a sharp stick thingie! He didn't like that at all. So he burned her! Hmpf! That should teach her a lesson!
Itachi nods in agreement. "Very good."
Anyway, back to his sister. She was quieter than him, but that was okay. Fortunately, mommy had plenty of milk for both of them. So he didn't really mind sharing.
Speaking of mommy, he yawns again and snuggles up against her. Yeah. He was gonna get some sleep.
"They're so adorable." Hinata smiles down at them and snuggles her children closer to her.
Sasuke smirks. "Just like their mother then. Get some sleep, beautiful." He wraps the blankets around them.
Hinata sighs, but it seemed that his mommy was tired too. Oh well. They'd all just get some sleep together, Arashi decides.
"Alright. You two can watch them while I sleep." The young mother asks her husbands.
Itachi nods. "Of course." He kisses her briefly. "You don't have to worry about anything."
That seemed to satisfy Hinata because she soon lays back down and closes her eyes. Arashi and Aiya laying next to her, curled up against her belly and each other adorably. Arashi was already asleep, but Aiya was seemed content to just look around.
Itachi smiles. "We're very lucky." He sighs and looks around, after making sure that Hinata had actually fallen asleep.
As much as he hated to discuss such distasteful things so soon after the birth of their son and daughter, the eldest Uchiha knew that he had to. Word would spread of their birth soon and Raiden would likely grow even more insistent in his meddling.
"Yes, we are." Sasuke smiles, but soon frowns when he sees Itachi's serious look.
Itachi sighs. He knew that Sasuke knew what he was thinking about. They'd have to act quickly before the Fire Daimyo took desperate measures.
He shoots his brother a guilty look. "The sooner he's dead, the better." There was just no getting around that fact.
Itachi knew that Hinata and Sasuke didn't want their children to enter arranged marriages. And neither did he, for that matter. Unfortunately, the Daimyo would never accept that fact. So there was only one way out of this.
A way that ended with the Daimyo being buried six feet under the ground. If Aiya and Arashi were going to be free to love whoever they wanted, that was the only realistic outcome. Grisly as it may be.
"We could go to his palace under the pretext of wanting to introduce the twins to him." Sasuke cocks his head thoughtfully. "If he ended up dead while we were visiting or shortly after we left though, it'd be too obvious."
The elder Uchiha Brother nods at that accurate assessment. They had to be smart about this. There was no way that they could leave any evidence that they were behind the Daimyo's death.
Itachi nods. "I'd say six months realistically." He sighs. "We don't want to wait too long because he'll grow aggressive, but if he dies shortly after the twins are born…" Well the former Akatsuki Member didn't think that he needed to elaborate on why that would be a bad thing.
Fortunately, Sasuke seemed to see the wisdom in that approach. "Very well. Six months it shall be then. Besides, I don't want to leave the twins' sides long enough to kill him at the moment anyway."
Itachi chuckles. He probably should have expected that. Sasuke was the very definition of an overprotective father. Then again, so was he. So Itachi wasn't exactly in a position where he could judge his brother without being rightfully branded a hypocrite.
"Good." He smiles down at the sleeping forms of their wife and son and that of his alert daughter.
Sasuke shrugs. "Maybe, not good. But at least we have a plan now." It was funny how the twins already seemed to be displaying personalities or perhaps he was merely imagining things.
Aiya watches the big people. Her two daddies, she suspected. The newborn girl knew her mother was. That obvious.
Though judging by the fact those two were around her the most, they had to be her daddies. Well them and her brother. Arashi. That's what they called him.
"Indeed." Itachi sighs. "And it's not as if we can put our plan into motion for awhile." He glances at Hinata. "She needs her rest."
They called her Aiya. They also called her adorable and cute. Of course, they said the same thing about Arashi. She didn't think that they were named adorable or cute. Her name had to be Aiya.
At the moment, Aiya knew that her daddies were planning something. She just didn't understand what. It was probably okay though. Mommy was asleep and so was her brother. They wouldn't be asleep, if something bad was about to happen. Would they?
Sasuke nods in agreement. "That she does." It was clear that even Sasuke realized giving birth to twins was no easy feat.
Itachi smiles and plays with Aiya's toes and hands. The baby laughs and squirms. Silly daddy. She was probably going to have to find a way to distinguish between of them.
Hmm. Daddy One and Daddy Two, maybe? It would have to do for now. She'd think of something cool later!
For now, Aiya was suddenly very sleepy. She yawns cutely and promptly falls asleep.
The next day, Sasuke watches in amusement as Team Eight comes bounding in. To say the least, Akamaru was quite fascinated by their twins and so was everyone else.
"Hard to believe that either Itachi or Sasuke is the father." Kiba laughs as he stares down at them. "Do you guys know which of you is the father and which of you is the uncle yet?"
Sasuke narrows his eyes at the other ninja. He was such a dumb mutt. It was really none of his business. If they had wanted him to know such things, they would have already notified him of the twins' parentage.
Kurenai sighs. "Forgive him." Obviously, the Genjutsu Mistress was trying to defuse the situation. "He means well, but sometimes Kiba lacks tack." Well that was the understatement of the century!
Hinata shakes her head. "We don't know yet and we aren't planning on doing a test to find out."
Shino blinks in surprise at that. Sasuke couldn't entirely blame the insect lover. It was only natural that most people would assume they would want to know. And while a part of him did, another part of him didn't.
Right now, there was a fifty-fifty shot that they were his. There was also a fifty-fifty shot that they were Itachi's. While Sasuke would love them both dearly either way, well…there was a special bond that existed between a father and his children…that was somewhat more muted for most uncles.
"That's very egalitarian of the three of you." He glances at them. "I'm impressed. I'm not sure that I could do it."
Shino didn't need to elaborate on what he meant. The quietest member of Team Eight would have wanted a paternity test. He would have wanted to know if the children were his or not and Sasuke again, could certainly sympathize with that position. It just wasn't one that he was ready to make yet.
Honestly, he wasn't sure that he would ever really be ready to make that choice. If Itachi pushed, he'd probably take the test. Not until then though. For now, Sasuke was more than happy to enjoy "fatherhood" as is.
Hinata nods. "It was a hard decision, but this just seemed…fairer." She smiles at her teammates.
"Of course. Well either way, they're beautiful. Hinata, you're glowing." Kurenai smiles as she hugs her student.
That was sweet. If Hinata's mother was alive, Sasuke imagined that Emiko would be treating their wife similarly. Unfortunately, she wasn't alive.
It saddened Sasuke to know that their twins would never know either of their grandmothers in this life and only one of their grandfathers. It was tragic, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Their remaining family members would just have to love them more than enough to compensate for that loss.
Hinata beams. "Thank you, Kurenai Sensei."
Why she still called Kurenai Sensei was a bit of a mystery to Sasuke. Hinata was a Jonin now. He could only speculate that old habits died hard and it was just Hinata's way of being respectful towards her former teacher.
"So are you alright?" Kiba looks at her in concern. "I mean having twins can't be easy."
The Uchiha Matriarch laughs in response. "It still hurts. A lot, but it was worth it." She cuddles closer to the twins.
Shino nods knowledgably. "Are you going to be introducing them to your Summons soon or wait until they're older?"
Hmm. That was a good point. There was Aoda, Garuda, and Itachi's crows to consider. They probably should.
Hinata looked a little less than thrilled at that prospect though. It was only natural. After all, Aoda was a snake the size of a two story building. Of course, she was going to feel a little skittish about the idea of placing her newborns near him.
"We haven't really discussed that." Itachi decides to answer the question in a way that Sasuke could only describe as diplomatic.
Sasuke nods in agreement. That was one way to put it. Now, he'd put that on the list of things that they needed to address later on.
That was starting to be a rather long list. They had a Daimyo to assassinate. The Summons needed to meet the twins. He still had to thoroughly seduce Hinata once she recovered from giving birth…
Still, Hinata probably needed a lot more time and rest before that last part was an option. Speaking of rest, her teammates really had to go. "It was nice seeing all of you, but Hinata needs her rest." Itachi nods in agreement.
Kurenai laughs and heads towards the door. "Well I'm sure that she'll get lots of rest. After all, she has two husbands to watch over the twins while she does so and I'm sure the Hyuga Clan wouldn't mind helping out." Hmm. That was a good point.
Sasuke hadn't really thought about that before. The possibility hadn't occurred to them. Though Arashi and Aiya were both Uchihas in name and in blood, they were also Hyugas in blood. They did have a second family.
How close would they be with the Hyuga side of their family tree though? Would Hinata's family accept them or keep them at a cool distance? Certainly, Hanabi and Hiashi seemed to adore the twins. But that didn't meant that the rest of Hinata's Clan would feel the same way.
Elsewhere, Sakura and Naruto were telling the toads and slugs all about the most recent additions to the Leaf. Katsuyu in particular, seemed utterly fascinated.
"Two?" Her tail end swishes. "That's a lot for humans. Usually, your kind only has one at a time."
Gamabunta was less enthusiastic, but still curious. After all, it wasn't every day that two bloodlines were combined. He had concerns about that.
And he wasn't afraid to make them known. "That's a lot of power to be in the hands of two children." He was definitely a glass half empty sort of toad.
Naruto just shrugs in response. He'd always known that the bastard's kids would be something special. He just didn't think that the bastard would have them with Hinata.
Mentally, he quickly corrects himself though. There was a chance that the twins could have been fathered by Itachi. Who could really say?
"Yeah, but I'm sure they'll manage." He grins.
Aiya and Arashi both looked enough like Itachi and Sasuke that it was hard to tell. That and Naruto doubted they'd actually get a paternity test done. Hinata was way too worried about seeming fair for that to be a possibility.
Honestly, Naruto didn't know if he would have been able to do it. To share his wife with another man like that. Itachi and Sasuke had not only reconciled, they'd achieved some sort of weird understanding that even Naruto didn't completely get.
Sakura giggles. "That's true and maybe, we can work on giving them a playmate. After we say I do, of course." Ohhh.
Naruto had recently proposed to his female teammate. They were planning to get married in a couple months. He didn't think that Sakura would want kids that soon, but he was more than cool with it!
"Yeah! That'd be great!" He beams at her.
Gamabunta groans and the blonde shoots him a dirty look in response. What was that groan for?! Their kids were going to be amazing! Believe it!
"What are you groaning about?!" Naruto glares at the massive toad even more.
Sakura sighs. The hyperactive ninja knew that his future wife was probably less than pleased at his antics, but he'd deal with that later. Right now, he needed to discuss a few things with his Summon!
The Summon just rolls his eyes. "I'm just hoping that the tadpoles aren't nearly as loud as you." He sighs dramatically. "Because if that's the case, no one is ever going to get any rest around this village again."
Katsuyu giggles at the scene playing out before her and Naruto feels himself twitch. Great. Now, the slug was laughing at him! Could this day get any worse?!
"Naruto, he's just teasing you." Sakura shakes her head at him. "He's trying to get under your skin." Well in that case, mission accomplished!
The fact that Gamabunta seemed completely unrepentant didn't help matters! He was going to show Toad Boss who was really boss! Yeah!
"I know, but he's going to learn some manners!" Naruto begins to charge up his Rasengan.
He never got the chance to use it though. Sakura drags him off by the collar. "Oh stop it." She continues dragging him off more, ignoring his protests. "You're being silly."
Naruto didn't think that he was being silly though! He was defending their children's honor! How was that silly?!
"Let's just go get some ramen." Sakura sighs.
Ramen?! Well maybe, this day was starting to look up. After all, he could deal with a certain cocky toad later! He had his priorities!
The sapphire eyed ninja beams at his fiancée. "Sure. That sounds great!" And with that, the two of them headed off to the Ramen Shop to get some breakfast. After that, most likely they'd start on their own wedding plans. "So Sakura, what kind of cake did you want to have?" After all, the cake was a very important part of any wedding! They could figure out the smaller stuff later!