Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

After his miraculous revival, Naruto had been taken immediately to the hospital in Konoha. There he stayed for nearly two weeks. Tsunade claimed that Naruto was doing just fine, and would be back to normal soon enough. However, Sasuke wondered how anything could go back to being normal now. According to Naruto, Kyuubi was behaving, and was still the same old Kyuubi as he had always been.

Eventually, after a few days of pondering, Sasuke and Naruto had agreed on names for the girls; Cheri and Hemiko. Naruto only truly seemed happy when they were around, otherwise he'd be staring off into space with such a sad expression. He was depressed by the fact that Hiashi had chosen to sacrifice himself for him, and also, Naruto had been through a lot of excruciating pain - first with giving birth, and then when the Kyuubi had burst out of him. He was still in a lot of pain. It hurt Sasuke to see him that way, but Tsunade claimed that it would eventually pass. Sasuke worried that it never would.

Three days after the event in the forest, Hiashi Hyuga's funeral was held. Everybody was in mourning, even the people who had never liked or known him that much. It was nearly as sad as, if not more so, than the Third Hokage's funeral had been all those years ago. Naruto was allowed to attend the funeral of course, but he had to stay in a wheelchair the entire time. Naruto hadn't wanted to go at all. He said he felt so guilty for what had happened to Hiashi; said Hiashi's death was all his fault. "It's not right for a murderer to go to their victim's funeral," he claimed. He also wondered aloud how he could ever stand to look at Hinata or Neji or Hanabi again without feeling guilty.

However, Sasuke and Tsunade had eventually managed to convince him to attend. "Naruto," Tsunade had said. "Hiashi sacrificed his life for you. The least you can do is pay your respects." And so, Naruto had finally agreed.

As they stood by the coffin, looking down at all the pictures of Hiashi and his family, Naruto stared off into nothing. There were tears falling down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice them. That night while he was in bed - Sasuke was holding his hand; they were back in the hospital - Naruto claimed that the sounds of Hinata and Hanabi crying would haunt him for the rest of his days.

"Naruto," Sasuke said comfortingly, stroking the back of his hand. "You have to come out of this state of depression. You have a family to live for now - two beautiful baby girls, and... me. You're really scaring me. Sometimes I'm afraid that you'll never be the same again."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, his face expressionless. "You were really worried about me, weren't you?"

"You have no idea." Sasuke tried to smile a bit, but a tear slid down his cheek at the memory of that day....

Naruto reached out and wiped the tear away. "Sasuke," Naruto said quietly. "I'm going to be fine. I will go back to normal. And we will be happy together, you and me and our daughters... I just need some time, that's all."

Sasuke nodded. "You can have all the time you need. I'll always be here for you."

"I'm glad." It was silent for a long while. Then, just before Naruto drifted off to sleep, he said, "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment. "I'm really glad... that we're together."

Another tug at Sasuke's heart. "I love you Naruto," he whispered.

"I love you too, Sasuke. So much."

SIX YEARS LATER

"Daddy! Dad! Cheri stole my favorite blue ribbon and she won't give it back!"

"Did not!" Cheri yelled. Hemiko turned around and stuck her tongue out at her.

"I thought the redribbon was your favorite," Sasuke said, surprised. The two girls fighting was no unusual thing. They were very close friends, and were always there for one another no matter what, but they also complained a lot, as all children do.

The two girls had grown up nearly identical - they had the same faces, they were of the same height, and they had the exact same color of dark black hair, very similar to Sasuke's hair color. However, Hemiko wore her hair long and down to her waist, keeping it out of her face with various colored ribbons, while Cheri insisted on keeping hers cut short and spiky, like Naruto's... except, thankfully, hers was a bit longer than Naruto's. Also, Cheri was the one with bright blue eyes - Hemiko's eyes were dark, like Sasuke's.

"Not anymore!" Hemiko replied to Sasuke's statement. "Now the blue one's my favorite! And Cheri won't give it back!"

"Nu-uh! You gave it to me last week, Hemmy!" 'Hemmy' was Cheri's little nickname for Hemiko, and Hemiko absolutely hated it. She said it sounded too much like 'hammy.'

"Kids, kids!" Naruto laughed as he entered the room. He was holding two glasses halfway filled with milk. "This is not how professional ninja are supposed to act."

"Daddy!" Cheri squealed, and she ran into Naruto's arms, causing him to almost spill the milk. She absolutely doted on him. Naruto was Cheri's idol, and Sasuke suspected that was why she always wore her hair the way she did; she wanted to be just like him. Cheri also had the impish immaturity of Naruto as well, but thankfully, Hemiko was more of the serious type, like Sasuke.

"Go sit down girls, and drink your milk."

Cheri scrunched her nose. "But daddy..." she complained. "You know I hate milk!" As much as Hemiko was like Sasuke, and Cheri was like Naruto, Cheri was the one who ended up with the distaste for milk. Hemiko absolutely loved it.

"'But' nothing," Naruto replied. "You know drinking it is the only way to grow big and strong."

"Yeah Cheri," Hemiko cut in. "When we get to ninja school I'm gonna beat you up everyday 'cause you won't drink your milk. But I drink bunches of it!" As if to prove a point, she took one of the glasses from Naruto and chugged it down.

"You're going to get choked," Sasuke warned her.

But then the glass was empty, and she set it down on the table and sighed, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "Hemiko," Naruto chastised, handing her a small towel. She took it a bit guiltily and continued wiping her mouth with it instead.

"Now," Naruto continued. "Today is your very first day at the ninja academy, so you know you can't keep acting like this. Now, what does your father always tell you?" He was referring to Sasuke.

Cheri sighed. "You have to be big and mature to impress the teachers."

"And...?"

She sighed again, becoming more frustrated by the second. "And you have to respect everybody at the academy."

"And...?" he pressed.

She made angry little noises and sighed more dramatically this time. "And you have to especially respect the teachers!" she said loudly.

"And you've got to earn your own respect, Cheri," Hemiko added snidely.

Sasuke gave her a dark look. "Your sister knows it, Hemiko. Naruto was asking her, not you."

"Yeah," Cheri felt the need to add smugly. "And you're not supposed speak out of turn Hemmy."

"Stop that," Naruto told her, a little annoyed.

"But daddy, Cheri's got my blue ribbon!" Hemiko complained to Naruto, pointing at Cheri.

"But Cheri never wears ribbons," Naruto told her.

Cheri blushed and lowered her head. "I want to look pretty for my first day of being a ninja," she said.

Naruto laughed and touched her nose. "You're not a ninja quite yet, Cheri." He looked up and smiled at Sasuke, and Sasuke smiled back. "Now, give Hemiko her blue ribbon back, and maybe she'll let you borrow another one."

"But the blue one looks more like daddy's and daddy's" -she pointed first at Naruto, then at Sasuke- "ninja headbands!"

Naruto shook his head, still smiling. "You'll get your ninja headband soon, Cheri," he said comfortingly, crouching down to pull her into his arms. He reached out and pulled Hemiko in as well. "And so will you, Hemiko. You two are growing up so fast. What are your father and I going to do when you're gone and going out on missions all the time?"

"It'll be so cool!" Cheri exclaimed. "I can't wait to go on missions." She quickly kissed Naruto's cheek and hugged his neck.

"Missions are not all fun and games, girls," Sasuke commented. "You know that."

"Yeah, yeah " Hemiko said, sounding bored. "Psycho uncle trying to kill us when we were babies and that snake guy.... That's all you ever talk about daddy." Sasuke just loved it how the girls referred to Itachi and Orochimaru as "psycho uncle" and "that snake guy." The two of them weren't old enough to remember their names yet, so calling them these things was just easier for them. Hemiko continued, "But you don't need to worry. We'll be OK, because we've got the best daddies in the world! We've got coolest, strongest daddies than any of the other kids." She walked away from Naruto and climbed up to sit in Sasuke's lap. Then she made a silly face and smiled at him. Sasuke held her close and kissed the top of her head.

Cheri smiled smugly. "Other kids don't even have two daddies like we do."

Hemiko grinned widely, and Naruto and Sasuke shared and amused look. "Daddy," Hemiko said suddenly to Sasuke.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for protecting us when we were babies." She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tight. Sasuke's heart filled with warmth at her little touch.

"Alright, alright," Naruto said. "Come on girls, or you'll be late for your first day of school. Cheri, please switch out Hemiko's blue ribbon for a different one. Maybe a purple one?"

She pouted. "Okay daddy," she mumbled.

"No! I want the purple one today!" Hemiko exclaimed, jumping up from Sasuke's lap and running for her bedroom.

"No, daddy said I get the purple one!" Cheri whined, chasing after her.

"Don't forget to drink your milk Cheri!" Naruto called after the two girls. Sasuke just shook his head, and Naruto smiled at him again.

Grinning, Sasuke stood up from the chair and walked over to Naruto, pulling him close. Naruto grinned back at him, and they kissed. "You think we've done a good job?" Naruto asked.

"Of course we did," Sasuke replied. "Don't worry about it. We've raised them well."

Naruto kissed him again, and rested his head against Sasuke's chest. "I love you."

"I love you too. And I love our girls."

Naruto laughed lightly at that. "They're hardly babies anymore, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged. "They'll always be our babies."

Naruto frowned up at him. "They won't like that very much."

"They'll get used to it."