AN: The prologue (aka last night) is on my page called Sun, Moon and Stars. It's a little angsty and mushy. I didn't want the tone for this story to be as emotional so I separated them out but if you can handle some emotions, I'd suggest checking it out before you read this. It's only one chapter.
Memories of last night were like a hazy watercolor painting. A blur of fiery red emotions and gentle blue laughter.
Naruto could remember sitting around the living room with his teammates. He could vaguely remember the crystal sake cups he had been gifted for a birthday a few years ago laying on his wooden floors, seeping sticky liquid between the cracks. He could remember screaming, crying, laughter, and warm hugs. He had a hazy image of Sakura twirling around his living room and knocking into his side table and Sasuke catching the lamp only to knock over the plant when he tried to put it back on the table. He remembered slipping into a restful sleep, content.
The next morning came too soon for Naruto's tastes. As the bright sun shone through his windows, he felt a distant throbbing headache starting right behind his eyes. He turned away and nuzzled into whatever was closest to him.
Suddenly, the headache wasn't as far away as it was seconds before.
"Watch it, Dobe" he heard Sasuke grunt before rolling away from him.
Naruto grabbed his head and looked up at his friend, glaring. Apparently, Naruto had tried to snuggle with Sasuke's thigh, something which the uptight prick wasn't very fond of. Naruto grumbled a few curse words to himself and started to get off the floor, his back stiff. That friendly bonk had erased any idea of going back to sleep from Naruto's system. He looked around his living room haphazardly. There was a stack of cards that had somehow spread across the entire floor, his own t-shirt, wet, slung across the back of a chair, an empty bottle of sake, and of course, his teammates, sprawled out on the floor.
Naruto couldn't help but grin to himself. For once in their lives, they had managed to do something normal.
The pounding in his head grew steadily as he helped himself to his kitchen, grabbing some pills and a glass of water. He chugged down his own pill and brought the glass and pill over to Sakura. He leaned over next to the sleeping girl, who had somehow managed to wedge herself between the couch and the coffee table. Why she hadn't just taken the couch was anybody's guess. He touched her shoulder gently, and her normally immaculate reflexes were slowed by the pounding between her eyes. She let out a soft groan.
He put the pill in her mouth and held the glass of water to it as well. Normally, such a close interaction would have gotten a proper smack from Sakura, but perhaps their conversation last night, or their hangovers kept such an occurrence from happening.
After making sure she was okay, Naruto went over to Sasuke.
He wasn't nearly as gentle this time. He nudged Sasuke with his foot and waited for the man to sit up.
"Drink." He ordered, handing out the water glass that had just enough left for Sasuke to take his pill.
Sasuke would have normally argued about being bossed around, but the same thing that was subduing Sakura had had its effect on him as well. He silently obliged.
Naruto chuckled and absent-mindedly scratched his stomach and headed over to his bathroom for a much-needed shower.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," he thought to himself.
Minutes later when Naruto came back out, he smelled the delectable scent of warm tea circulating around his apartment. Sasuke had apparently gotten himself together enough to make some.
Tying his towel around his waist, Naruto approached Sasuke in the kitchen, dripping water on the floor as he did.
"I like sugar in mine," he said, getting close enough to Sasuke to dampen Sasuke's shoulder with the droplets from his hair.
Sasuke would never admit it, but he was a bit startled. His senses were a little dulled this morning, and he was too busy tending to his upset stomach to notice when Naruto exited the shower.
"That's nice" he retorted trying to hide his surprise. "Go make it".
Naruto let out a slight whine but noticed that Sasuke grabbed not one, but three mugs from the cabinet anyway.
"How is Pinkie holding up?" Naruto asked, vaguely gesturing to his living room. He would normally never let Sakura hear him call her that, but between Sasuke and Naruto, the name had sort of become an inside joke.
"She'll live," Sasuke said, taking the tea strainer to the sink.
Naruto sauntered back out to the living room and saw Sakura sitting up, next to a pillow that hadn't been there when he had left.
"Maybe Teme has a heart after all" Naruto thought to himself.
Sitting there, looking a little lost, and a little murderous all at once, Naruto thought to himself that Sakura had never looked more beautiful in her life. He wanted nothing more than to help her to her feet and kiss her, but he knew where he stood with her.
He settled for a big "Good Morning!" and a cheeky grin instead.
"Where do you get your energy from?" Sakura groaned, throwing the pillow at her blonde teammate. It wasn't his fault that she felt crappy, but she would rather blame something tangible than her own poor decisions.
"The furball" Naruto replied, laying a hand on his bare stomach, and grinning again.
Sakura rolled her eyes. Only Naruto could refer to something like the Kyuubi in such a way. Sasuke walked out of the kitchen, balancing three mugs of steaming tea and a bowl of sugar on a tray. He set it down between Sakura and Naruto silently and waited expectantly.
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a look, before she thanked him for the tea, helping herself to the smallest mug. Naruto bumped shoulders with Sasuke and grabbed a mug for himself. The three settled back into their respective spots from the night before, but this time the silence was comfortable instead of strained. Naruto smiled inwardly. Finally. Now they could actually start healing.
After tea, the three took turns getting ready in the bathroom and headed out towards the Hokage's tower. Following the war, there weren't any big missions anymore, just a lot of escorts. Sasuke was pardoned, but he wasn't completely trusted by the elders and to give in to this, Kakashi made a point to give the three of them as many "loyalty" missions as he could. They were the kinds of missions that dealt with a lot of lords and elders and made Sasuke visible to all of Konoha's foreign relations. Sasuke's immaculate manners and air of nobility, Sakura's kind and patient demeanor, and Naruto's exuberant self actually made the three of them very good at missions of this sort. Kakashi knew his former team was too qualified for missions like this, yet the pay was good, and for now, it was the most he could give them.
The three filed into his office, ready to go. As always, Kakashi was surrounded by stacks of paper. He had hired an assistant a few weeks ago, but none of them seemed to be able to keep up. A new woman was standing in the corner of the round room, fretting around with some stamps. Kakashi ignored her. Seeing their old sensei like this, Sakura had to stifle a laugh. The never timely Hatake Kakashi was pushing paper in a room for hours a day.
Kakashi began speaking immediately as they stood in front of him in a tired voice, "Escort. Daimyo's son. A couple of months old." Kakashi didn't look up from the stacks of paper in front of him as he continued. "A really unstable political climate where the kid is from, and a lot of people out to get him. Should be more fun than usual. The baby will be at the front gate in an hour, you should be there too. There's something going on and I am not sure what, but I am hoping you can figure it out for me."
Kakashi continued flipping through papers until he found the one he was looking for. He scanned it quickly. "The village you're headed to, it seems like they're planning something. They have been amassing resources, they managed to avoid the majority of the fighting in the last war, and overall it brings a whole new meaning to 'hidden village'."
The gray-haired man stopped and looked up from the papers and rested his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers. He eyed his three former students and felt something like a warm spark in his heart for a moment. In a moment of weakness, he added "Be careful...I hate throwing you into the unknown, but no one else is bringing back the information that I need. I trust you guys can."
Sakura and Sasuke gave a firm affirmative nod. Naruto gave a toothy grin and a thumbs up.
Kakashi tossed a scroll, which Sasuke caught easily with one hand.
"Details in there."
Sasuke nodded, and the three took their leave, wordlessly agreeing to meet at the front gate in an hours' time.
Sakura got there first and saw that a guard that she didn't know so well was waiting by the front gate with a small blue bundle in his arms. Sakura tentatively approached him.
"Kitsune" the guard said as Sakura approached him.
"That's an odd name" Sakura replied leaning over the bundle, holding out a finger towards the baby. Bright brown eyes looked up at her curiously.
"I know, I thought the same thing. He's a cute one though. Grows on you. It's a pity what happened to his mother."
Sakura's eyes returned to the guard with a look of inquisitiveness.
"Yeah, she came here while she was pregnant and passed away shortly after. Heard she was trying to avoid something, but we aren't entirely sure what. Anyway, this little man has to go back home to his father's home." The guard said the last sentence almost with a hint of sadness.
Sakura made a mental note of everything the man said, not knowing if this was going to be helpful information later on. She had just managed to hold the baby boy when Sasuke appeared next to her.
She turned to show him the bundle in her arms. He assessed the child with a sort of nonchalance. It was funny to him how different his life was from where it was a year ago. The baby looked up at Sasuke and giggled.
Sasuke looked back at the guard. "His bag? He probably has essentials."
The guard faltered under Sasuke's unmoving gaze but went to grab a bag from behind his desk.
"Baby formula, powdered milk, just mix it with water, diapers, change of clothes, pacifier, toys, blankets...the basics, ya know?"
Sasuke wordlessly took the bag and slung it over his back. Behind him he heard a soft landing. So, Naruto had arrived. Last. Of course.
"Aww, Sakura-Chan! His little nose!" Naruto excitedly said, flashing his fingers in front of the baby. The baby gurgled and reached out towards Naruto. Sakura handed the baby over.
"He likes you," she said with a soft smile. Naruto had a way with people, no matter the age.
"What's his name?" Naruto asked, still cradling the child in his arms.
"Kitsune" Sakura replied.
"Well hello, little cub" Naruto said, rocking the baby slightly.
"Let's head out," Sasuke said, walking slightly ahead of the other two.
It was weird to go from a rogue ninja who was in a bingo book to caring for a child and Sasuke wasn't quite sure how to react to the situation.
Sakura quickly fell in step with him, and Naruto joined on his other side, still slightly rocking the child.
AN: The prologue is on my page as "Sun, Moon and Stars." I moved it because it didn't fit the tone for the rest of this story. I wanted the story to have the same nostalgic feel-good vibes as OG Naruto. This is obviously a little canonically divergent. Sasuke came back but I didn't really acknowledge the whole alien-invasion thing at the end of the war because I felt like it was lazy writing and made it impossible to continue the story. I like how powerful Team 7 became, but they're still barely young adults and I think they have a lot more potential left in them. I think maxing them out at the end of the war was unnecessary. So, here's my take on how things should have gone! I wanted team 7 closure, I wanted more world-building, I wanted more friendship, adventure, plot twists, and sneaky moves...so I decided to write it myself. Hope you all enjoy!