Chapter 29: Comfort
Taking care of babies was hard work, and the fact that it was Sasuke and Neji wasn't making things any easier. Why was this such a big deal? Because it was them! They were so stubborn, bitter, serious, angry, power-hungry, training-obsessed, strong-willed people! And that wasn't even the half of it. They were cute and all, and when they were their normal ages, they were quite hot in a lot of girl's eyes; but they weren't the easiest people to hang around with. Both of them wouldn't hesitate to tell you to shut up if you were talking to them. They both had short tempers and were easily annoyed. Add all this in with the fact that they had now been turned into little, helpless babies. It was a nightmare! Plus if they didn't take their naps, they were twice as grumpy as normal.
Luckily, Sakura had finally showed up and was ready and willing to help them out. However, Sasuke seemed less than pleased about this, as usual. She stopped by just around lunch time to help feed them. That was the only thing Sasuke was happy about. He wanted his food.
Naruto staggered groggily out of the next room and spotted her at once. "Sakura! You're back!" He ran to hug her, but she moved aside before he could.
"Not now, Naruto. I'm feeding Sasuke." She gave him another spoonful.
Naruto pouted. "Can't it wait?"
"No! He's starving!"
Sasuke wolfed down his baby food, making sure he licked every last tasty drop off the spoon.
"Aren't you cute?" Sakura cooed to him. "Aren't you? Who's cute? Who's cute?"
Sasuke glared at her. "Wait 'til I'm in a lapse before you embarrass us both."
"Sorry."
Everything was calm until a half hour later when Neji started to fuss. He kept bouncing and pointed out the window. He wanted something.
"What is it?"
"I wanna go outside!" He bounced again, clinging to the back of the couch for support.
"But…" Tenten moved over to the couch and crouched down so that she was at eye level with him. "But what if someone sees you? I thought you didn't want that. You'd be embarrassed."
He fussed again. "No! I don't care about that anymore. I wanna go for a walk!"
He had a point. It was a beautiful day outside and they were all starting to get cabin fever. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. They asked Sasuke if he wanted to come a long, but he refused. So that meant that they had to split up into two groups.
"Ok, then. Lee and I will take Neji and-"
"No!" Neji whined. "I don't want Lee to come! I want Sakura!"
"Say what?"
Neji reached out for Sakura. "Please come! Please!"
Sakura backed up a little causing Neji to fuss more. "But… Why?"
That comment made Neji pause and think. "I don't really know. But I want her to come."
"What about me?" Tenten asked.
"No! I want you to come, too! Please, Tenten? Please!"
"Oh..!" Tenten nodded her head slowly. "I understand now. Neji only wants to be around girls."
"Why?"
"It's common for babies to want to be around the opposite gender when they're at this age. I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps it's because he wants a motherly touch or something like that. Who knows?"
So that settled things. The girls took Neji while the boys stayed behind with Sasuke. It was against their better judgment, but they had little choice if they wanted to keep them happy and calm. So Sakura left them a long, detailed and organized list of things they were expected to do. They had to follow it down to the very letter otherwise Sakura threatened to beat them both beyond recondition.
An hour into this arrangement, Sasuke started to fuss a little. He was bored due to no longer having Neji by his side to vent to. Naruto tried his hand at keeping him entertained, but it only provoked him. So that left Lee. He was on a roll today. He had Sasuke smile with his funny faces and strange noises. Naruto sat back and watched as Lee tossed Sasuke up into the air making the little baby giggle and squeal.
"Naruto, catch!" Lee tossed Sasuke over to him.
"Ah!" Naruto threw up his hands in time. "Lee! A little more warning next time! What if I didn't catch him?!"
"Sorry!"
Sasuke pulled on his sleeves asking for attention. So Naruto started to bounce him playfully. Sasuke giggled with delight. He was having fun.
While Naruto continued to play with him, Lee picked up the note Sakura had left for them and read it. "Naruto, according to this, he should have his nap soon. Sakura wrote here that after lunch he should be put down for a nap around 1:00."
"Why?" he asked. "It doesn't look like he really needs one. Look at him. He's happy and spry."
"I know, but he will get grumpy later. And besides, if we do not, then Sakura will find out and skin us both alive!"
In the blink of an eye, Naruto tossed Sasuke down on the couch. "Ok, naptime."
Sasuke frowned, disappointed that their game had to end so soon. "I don't want a nap now! I wanna play!"
"No. Naptime now."
"No!" Sasuke kicked and fussed loudly. "No nap! No nap! No nap!"
"Sasuke..!"
"NO!"
"Great. Here comes the tantrum."
The tantrum only lasted a few short minutes, but it was still very annoying. Sasuke glanced up at them after a few minutes to see if they were responding to this at all. They were just standing there. Why weren't they doing anything? Disappointed and very annoyed, Sasuke threw himself onto the couch and started to pound his fists on the cushions. His kicked his legs and screamed louder. "No nap! No nap! No! Never!"
Naruto sat down in a chair and folded his arms. He made himself comfortable and rolled his eyes at Sasuke's actions. "Do whatever you want. Throw a tantrum, I don't care. Go ahead. See if I care. I don't. Go right ahead. Scream your lungs out."
Sasuke blinked. It wasn't working. If he had done this in front of Sakura, he would have gotten his way. She would have given in and gotten him whatever he wanted. But Naruto showed little to no concern whatsoever towards him. He wasn't paying any attention to him at all. It was as if he didn't care. Frowning, Sasuke screamed louder and rolled around on the couch.
"You're taking a nap, Sasuke. The note said so. Even if you have to tire yourself out…"
"I don't want a nap! You can't make me!"
"But Sasuke, you are only going to tire yourself out if you continue with this tantrum, like Naruto said. You will just make things easier. Louder, but easier."
"Shut up, Lee! I am not, not, NOT taking a nap! No way! No way!" Sasuke rolled around more. "No nap! No nap! No nap! No nap!"
"Sasuke…"
"Never, never, never, never, never, never!" he chanted.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Sasuke was giving him a headache. It seemed so much easier just to give in to him and not put him down for a nap. But the promise of Sakura's wrath was far too terrifying. They had to obey the note. Eventually Sasuke was going to tire himself out and put himself down for a nap.
That was the plan, anyway. But Sasuke's tantrum had gotten much worse. He thrashed around violently and kicked and screamed. He rolled this way and that until, finally, he rolled over too far and fell off the couch. He landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud.
Lee and Naruto held their breath.
Sasuke lay there motionless for several seconds, leading them to believe that he had knocked himself out. But then they heard him whine, pitch raising. At last, he let out a shrill scream and started to bawl.
Lee rushed over and picked him up off the floor. "Are you alright?! Are you ok?!"
All Sasuke could do was scream, big fat tears rolling down his face. He could only cry.
"Are you in pain, Sasuke?"
"Waaaaaaaaaahhh!"
"Sasuke, please stop! Speak to us! Do not scream any-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"Sasuke! My ears!"
He thrashed around, all the while screaming in pain. His fall from the couch wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. It was only two feet. But to him, it was more like two stories. He couldn't stop crying.
"Do you want your teddy? Would you like that?"
He cried again.
"Bunny? Want the bunny?"
His crying continued.
"Bottle? Want your bottle?"
Again, he screamed.
"Pacifier?"
"Aaaahh!"
"Naruto, help me! I do not know what he wants!"
"Neither does he! He's just crying!"
"Because he is in pain and wants us to make it better!"
"I don't know how!"
Lee handed Sasuke over to Naruto, but he refused to take him. "Please, Naruto!"
"I don't want him!"
"Take him, please!" Lee shoved him into Naruto's arms.
Sasuke continued to cry, sobbing uncontrollably. "What do I do with him now?"
"How should I know?"
"You handed him to me!"
"Make him feel better!"
"How?!"
"You could kiss it better!"
Naruto's face turned red. "What?!"
"Give him a kiss to make his boo-boo better!"
Sasuke stopped crying long enough to hear that. He sniffed and looked up at Naruto expectantly.
His face was white as a sheet. "I am not kissing his boo-boo!"
"Kiss it and make it better, Naruto."
"I am not kissing Sasuke! Once was bad enough…" He flashed back to that horrible, embarrassing day. The day they became a team. "That time was an accident… I am not doing it deliberately!"
Sasuke sniffled and watched him.
"Please, Naruto. Kiss his boo-boo. Make it better."
"Never! No way!"
"Please?"
"Forget it!"
Sasuke started up again.
"See? He wants you to do it."
"No, he doesn't!"
Sasuke went back to fussing and whining.
"What do you want?"
"Kiss my boo-boo!"
"What?!" Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Sasuke, The Sasuke Uchiha, actually willingly asking him for a kiss?! No way! "You want me to what?!"
"Kiss my boo-boo better! Do it! Kiss it!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Aw..!" he whined. "Do I have to..?"
Sasuke sniffled and nodded, sticking out his lower lip for effect.
Naruto caught sight of that trembling lip and moaned. "Ugh… Where did you get hurt?"
Sasuke pointed to his head. "Boo-boo here."
The forehead. That didn't seem too bad. Naruto turned to Lee. "What happens next never leaves this room, got it? You are to never speak of this again."
"Got it!" He gave Naruto a salute.
Reluctantly, Naruto turned Sasuke around in his arms to face him. He bit his lip. "I really don't want to, but…" Cringing, he brought his face closer to Sasuke's and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. He pulled back at once holding down vomit. "Well? How was that? Are you better now?"
Sasuke nodded slowly with a soft smile creeping onto his face.
"Good."
Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "Hic!"
"Aw!" Naruto whined. "Don't tell me you've got the hiccups now!"
"I- hic!- Guess so… Hic!"
"He must have cried too hard… Or too much. I will fetch him a bottle!" Lee ran off to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a baby bottle in hand.
Naruto took it and started to make Sasuke drink. He suckled the bottle quickly, clearly very thirsty. Occasionally, he would give out a muffled hiccup between gulps. Naruto sat in a chair and let him drink in peace.
"How do you think Sakura and Tenten are fairing?" Lee asked.
Naruto shrugged. "A lot better than we are for sure…" He looked down when he felt the bottle slipping. Sasuke wasn't drinking anymore. Instead his eyes were closing. "Finally." Naruto stood up, but that slight movement was more than enough to wake Sasuke.
"What are you doing?" His hiccups were gone.
"It's time for your nap already. You're overdue."
"No..!" He started to fuss all over again. "No nap..! Don't need one..!"
"But you look so sleepy, Sasuke," Lee told him.
Sasuke forced his eyes wide open. "No, I'm not!" Naruto started to rock him. "Stop it! I'm not taking a nap!"
"This again..?"
"No nap! You can't make me!"
Wanna bet? An idea popped into Naruto's head. He sent Sasuke down on the couch between the bunny and teddy bear.
Sasuke grew nervous when he saw Naruto removing his jacket. "What are you doing?!"
"Calm down." Naruto wrapped Sasuke up in his jacket and picked him up, cradling him.
Sasuke looked around, inspecting his new surroundings. There he was, cocooned in Naruto's orange jacket. His warm, soft, comfy jacket… He felt his eyes drooping all over again. He quickly snapped out of it when he realized what he was doing. He forced his eyes open again and looked up at Naruto. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Nothing." He knew exactly what he was doing. It was simple logic, really. Sasuke seemed to love Naruto's jacket. In fact, whenever he was introduced to it, he would always snuggle up to it and fall asleep rather quickly. So if Naruto wrapped him up in the jacket, then…
Sasuke's head bobbed a little, but insisted that he wasn't tired. That is, until he heard a song…
He blinked and stared at Naruto. He was humming a lullaby to him. But that was impossible! Naruto was an idiot! He sang off-key and sang loudly. Never on-key or softly… Or sweetly… Or… gently… And certainly never this soothingly… Sasuke let out a yawn and rubbed his face on Naruto's jacket. It was nice and warm thanks to Naruto's body heat. It smelled like him, too. It had his scent.
Lee watched in awe. Naruto was a regular mother! He was actually putting Sasuke to sleep! This was an amazing sight!
But then, Sasuke's eyes opened again, resisting. "No..!" he slurred sleepily. He sounded as if he was half asleep already. "No… Not seepy… no nap… no… neba…"
Naruto hummed some more and rocked him gently.
"… no…" Independent of his will, Sasuke started to suck on his thumb. He snuggled into the warmth and softness of Naruto's jacket and shut his eyes. He gave a soft moan of protect, unable to speak anymore and drifted off to sleep.
Naruto hummed a little longer and set Sasuke down on the couch, where he snuggled with the stuffed animals. "Man, he's such a pain! Took me forever to get him to sleep. Why's he gotta be that way?"
"Mmm…" Sasuke cooed contentedly and sucked his thumb again.
"But you did it," Lee whispered. "How did you do that? How did you know that that would work?"
"What?"
"What you did. The rocking, the humming, the jacket… How did you know?"
He shrugged. "I dunno. I just kinda picked it up, you know."
"At least it worked. He's out cold."
"I know. I'd like to see the look on Sakura's face when she sees my awesome skills!"
~*~*~
It was nice to get out of the house for a change. It felt so good to feel the warm sun and smell the fresh air. Neji was having a wonderful time looking at everything around him. He had an interest in everything shiny or colorful. He pointed to things hanging in store windows and to random passersby. It was unclear to Tenten whether he was in another lapse or not. He was responding well to whatever she was saying, he was just acting a little more childish than usual. This was probably another side effect of the jutsu he was under.
He caught sight of another familiar face and pointed. "Cousin!"
Hinata was walking down the street by herself, facing the other way.
Neji bounced excitedly in Tenten's arms and reached out for her.
"Shh, Neji! Shh!" Tenten tried to shush him, but it wasn't working. He wanted to go see Hinata. To keep him quiet, she walked him over to his cousin.
Hinata turned. "Oh, hello, Tenten," she said in her usual small voice. She looked at the baby in her arms. "Are you still babysitting?"
"Uh, yeah. I am."
Neji reached for her again, grunting. He wanted her to hold him.
"Oh. I- I think he wants me…" Hinata watched her little cousin stretch his arms out towards her. "M- may I hold him?"
"Sure. Be careful."
Tenten handed him over to Hinata and was surprised with how skillfully she held him. She knew what she was doing. It was as if she had held a baby hundreds of times before. Neji sucked his thumb and lay quietly in her arms.
"You're good at this."
Hinata blushed. "I… Thank you…"
"Have you held a baby before?"
"Uh, yes, I have. My little sister."
"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot that you had a sister. I never see her that much."
Hinata didn't say anything and continued to cradled Neji. He seemed very tranquil at that moment. He sucked his thumb again and rested his head on her chest. That was a perfect picture. They looked so good together at that moment.
Sakura nudged Tenten and gestured for them to leave before something could go wrong.
"Perhaps I should…" When she reached for Neji, he whined and cling to Hinata's jacket, refusing to budge. He wanted to stay with her a little longer.
"You know…" Hinata said looking into the baby's face. "He really does look very familiar. Like I know him from somewhere… I can't quite put my finger on it, but…"
The girls gulped. Hinata wasn't stupid.
"But that's ridiculous. You said it yourself that he was part of your family. Besides, even though he looks Hyuga, he can't be. The Main Branch keeps track of every newborn in the clan. And my little sister was the last one born from either branch. He couldn't be."
Neji cooed softly and snuggled. He seemed to feel quite safe in her arms. He looked very comfortable. It was clear that he really did like his cousin, subconsciously or not. And she did seem pretty motherly, to boot. No wonder he was acting this way.
"Aw, but he really is cute…" Hinata smiled. "I just can't get over how much he looks like a Hyuga."
Sakura chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah, right. Me neither…"
Aw, more cuteness. Any ideas? If not, I'll write the next chapter and hopefully it has something everyone will like. What? I'm not telling! XP
Please review! ^-^
