Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Hey! Guess who's not dead! Sorry about this horrible delay, but arranging to go to uni has turned into such a farce- i officially hate paperwork, and anyone who associates themselves with it. I'm off tomorrow morning to uni, so i'm afraid to say, it may be a few more weeks before the next chapter- i need to be social and drink much! That said, i am still alive, and still writing, so don't worry- i often write more when under pressure- bizzare, ne? Anyway, enjoy the chapter- perhaps not my best, but i couldnt make you very nice people wait any longer!

Warnings: ....Some perhaps killer fluff. Ahh Sasuke, you know you're a giant marshmallow inside really. Oh, and Yaoi. Oh! And mpreg.


Two Minutes

"Saaaassuukkkee!!"

Sasuke made no motion to show that he'd heard and continued his steady pace.

"Sasuke!"

...

"Oi! Wait up!"

He sighed deeply to himself.

"Baaaassstttaarrrddd!"

Left eye twitching just a little, Sasuke finally came to a halt, half turning to stare down the road, where a haze of dust lingered above the dried yellow dirt, partly masking the figure approaching.

Sasuke stared with irritation as Naruto finally burst through the curtain of loose dust, only to pant noisily beside him, hands on his knees.

He didn't bother to remove his gaze even as fierce blue eyes glared up at him.

"Fuck you're mean! I have to stop to take a piss, and you just waltz on without me!"

Sasuke blinked slowly.

"Why would I want to stop?"

Naruto gaped at him, red mouth hanging open stupidly before it snapped shut and Naruto shoved himself away from him with a humph of dismissal.

"Whatever. Not as if I don't know that you just want to get out of this heat soon as possible."

Sasuke grunted. Naruto put his hands behind his head and languidly continued their walk.

They padded on silently for a few moments before sly blue eyes slid towards him.

"After all, with that dark hair, you could probably fry an egg on your head."

Sasuke shot his talkative mate a baneful glare but said nothing, which Naruto seemed to take as a victory as he grinned, beaming at him.

He couldn't really argue the point unfortunately; it was baking under the early summer sun. There had been no rain for days and days, and the entire country was gripped in an early heat wave, even though it was just entering June.

The overhead sun was sweltering everything under it. The plants were drooping, the earth was cracking and Sasuke felt as if he was slowly cooking within his own skin. Even the birds didn't seem to want to take flight.

It was early afternoon by now, the midday passed, but in Sasuke's opinion it was only getting hotter, and he had the sweat rolling down his back to prove it.

Sasuke didn't like the heat. As an Uchiha, his very pale skin would burn, not tan, and the suffocating temperatures truly felt as if they were choking him. It all left him incredibly irritable.

All he wanted to do right now was find some shade; preferably with a stream or river that hadn't dried up yet and sleep the rest of the day away. If they had to travel, he would have much preferred to do so at night. It wasn't as if he wouldn't be able to see where he was going.

But no, thought Sasuke scathingly, throwing Naruto a spare glance, he had to be travelling with Naruto, sun incarnate, who was perfectly happy to travel through the day, saying it would be easier to sleep at night when it was cooler.

A tiny part of Sasuke really hated Naruto right now; the blond had his eyes closed, with a smile on his face and seemed genuinely content to walk all day. Sure, he could see the thin coat of perspiration that covered him, but Naruto definitely didn't seem too bothered by it.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had to feel crotchety, sticky and generally all round miserable.

Sasuke grunted to himself to express some of his inner anger, but said nothing.

After all, they were running late enough as it was.

It quite escaped the normally calm headed Uchiha, how they could be running behind schedule, considering they had had so much time to get to the small port town they were heading to, but it had slipped away from them alarmingly quickly.

They'd had a break when Naruto went into heat of course, but after that it should have only taken a couple of weeks maximum. However, they'd run into a stream of problems. First, they'd been forced to bail out on any form of transportation, which was a huge pain.

During their years in the countryside, they'd used various old dilapidated buses, hitchhiked and occasionally sat in the back of some very questionable trucks. Oh, and the odd train.

However, only a few days after they'd set off once again, they'd encountered a small band of hunters acting as guards on a tollgate.

It would have been bad form to kill them and attract attention in such a main thoroughfare, though their enemy often had no such qualms. As a result they'd had to take a different route, and to not risk detection and the trouble it would bring, avoid any main roads or even public transport for the rest of the way too, just in case.

Luckily, youkai were more skilled than any at cross country, but it did take longer and then they'd had to find food and water on the way and lots of little niggling things that meant a good two months later they still weren't where they were supposed to be.

It was annoying that they wouldn't have much time to spare when they got there to set up before they met their contact, who was more than slightly suspect in the first place.

Unbidden, a deep frown formed on his brow.

Deep in thought, he didn't notice, until Naruto called him out on it, his cheerful voice distracting him completely.

"Hey Sasuke, what's that scary look for?"

"Hn?"

Sasuke looked up in surprise to find Naruto looking at him with a very strange look on his face. It wasn't concern or anything like that. Instead it was a sort of fondness mixed with something Sasuke couldn't for the world place but made something in his gut stir uneasily.

The blond gave his questioning look a small, winsome smile and blue eyes glinted meaningfully at him.

Sasuke felt his face flush, and turned his head away.

"Hn. It's nothing."

Naruto nodded, obviously not believing him, and turned to stare at the painted sky above instead.

"Ya know, we're probably gonna be there in the next day or so, right?"

"H-hai..."

Had he just stuttered?

What the hell for?

Sasuke furtively rubbed his temple, fearing he might be getting heat stroke.

Naruto ignored his actions completely and continued blithely.

"So, where we gonna stay while we're there, a hotel?"

Trying to ascertain that he was still functionally normally, Sasuke answered in the blankest voice possible.

"No, it'll be far less risky if we stay some way away in the forest somewhere."

Blue eyes narrowed at his back.

"Unless that's what they want us to think!"

Sasuke sighed. How many times?

"No Naruto, we are not staying in a hotel."

The blond promptly whined.

"But Saasssuukke! We've been walking around in the stupid forest for months! I'm dying for a bed- a bathroom!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and stared determinedly away, determined not to get caught up in Naruto's deadly puppy eyes.

"No. And I wouldn't have thought you would wimp out like this, dobe."

Naruto's face contorted into a scowl.

"Argh! Even Konoha had bathrooms! Is it too much to want to lay my back on something that isn't going to punch through my spine if pressed too hard?"

Sasuke huffed in irritation, not willing to admit he'd love nothing more than to have a hotel suite at their disposal, and instead cuffed the blond round the head.

"Suck it up dobe. After this we're going back to the city. Our safety is much more important than a bed."

Naruto kept on glaring at his back for a good five minutes, and Sasuke tuned out the dark mutterings. He knew he had won out when the blond finally heaved an over the top sigh, and staggered to walk beside him once again. Sasuke resisted the urge to smile when Naruto gave him a reproachful look.

"Che, bastard. Why is it when you say things, you make me agree?"

A smirk came out, not a smile.

"That's because its just good common sense usuratonkachi, not great wisdom."

Sasuke remembered to duck as soon as he'd finished to miss a tan fist colliding with his face.

Still, afterwards Naruto didn't say anything more and went back to contentedly walking along beside him for the rest of the day.

Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion Naruto was so content, due to the fact he could watch the cat at his own leisure be slowly- but brutally- tortured under the hot, baking sun.

The smug smiles now and then sort of gave it away.

Sasuke could only sigh.

He loved the idiot after all.


Naruto felt really bad about hiding it.

It was the next morning, but so early the summer mist had yet to burn off even a little.

In fact, it was barely dawn, the atmosphere a murky green blue, and the air almost chilly.

It was a welcome refreshment for the fox who sat on a blissfully cold stone that was covered in patches of moss, and was a little away from where they'd finally pitched camp the night before.

Where Sasuke was still sleeping, catching sleep in the early coolness of the day before he had to face the heat once again.

Naruto couldn't help but let his gaze linger in that direction, where his prickly mate lay all by himself.

It'd been extremely funny the first time they'd experienced a summer heat wave- Sasuke hated a lot of things, so that didn't surprise him, but to see him get all raggedy and bad tempered over the weather was hilarious. Naruto was sure that back in the city, on a hot summer's day, Sasuke would sequest himself inside a cool room with air conditioning on full blast.

Naruto smiled fondly, but it was gone in an instant.

The Uchiha would be most displeased if he woke to find that his mate had disappeared, but Naruto couldn't help but need the air.

Both literally and metaphorically.

He hadn't exactly been lying to Sasuke, but for the past couple of weeks he'd been hiding something from him- and Naruto hated doing so. It made his skin crawl with guilt whenever he thought of it.

And the fresh air was also helping calm the sick feeling in his stomach.

The sick feeling was true nausea that had made him vomit a few times, but mostly just made him lose his appetite.

Naruto nibbled his lip and ran a hand through his hair.

He'd started to feel...different lately, and he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Normally, he'd have just dismissed it as a little illness and be done with it. But he was distinctly aware that he'd been in heat roughly three months ago and-

Naruto grunted, and scowled at the ground.

If he were pregnant, now would be the time he'd really start to notice it- and there was obviously something wrong with him. He was often nauseous for no apparent reason what-so-ever, and it came and went randomly. And on top of that- he just felt plain weird.

His body simply felt a bit different than normal, he couldn't quite pinpoint the source, but it was starting to make him act weird too. Sometimes he'd feel so irritable with everything- with his feet, his hands, his head, the trees, the stupid birds, the flowers, Sasuke, everything! And then he'd feel extremely sleepy and even more worryingly, he would be unable to actually stay awake.

One of the reasons they'd made such slow progress, though Sasuke wouldn't ever say, was that Naruto would be forced to nap. Often.

And then there was the near constant need to know where Sasuke was- as if he'd suddenly get up and run away from him! This was particularly strange when he was pissed off at the Uchiha (which happened fairly often) and yet he still kept an eye on him.

The latest of the weirdness was the sudden...craving for raw meat. And lots of it. He'd made the excuse that not cooking after a hunt would be quicker, and Sasuke was well to agree, and nothing had been strange. But Naruto had been shocked at his own voraciousness when the deer was down and he ate like he'd been starved for days.

Thankfully Sasuke, though an observant creature, hadn't mentioned anything.

Naruto wasn't stupid.

He knew these were signs of pregnancy. But to actually think that he was, that there was a baby growing inside him, right at that moment, was too...unreachable, frightening and too hopeful of an idea for him to quite grasp.

After all, why should he now be pregnant, and not another time? But on the other hand why shouldn't he be this time?

Naruto grit his teeth and folded his arms, resting them under his ribs as he glared at the mossy ground around the rock perch he'd found for himself.

He couldn't bring himself to tell Sasuke so far. He'd never even said to Sasuke before that he felt pregnant, so Sasuke would probably make a big deal out of it. And if then it was a false alarm, Naruto wasn't sure if he could bear to see Sasuke's reaction.

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling mildly ridiculous.

They both dearly wanted a family, and yet here he was, hiding away from Sasuke.

The problem was that Naruto knew the mind could do weird things, even to the person's body too. An old woman that Naruto had vaguely known about back in Konoha, who had too many wrinkles, and not enough grey hair, had been sure she was fatally ill. She even had symptoms, and began to waste away, but no doctor could find anything wrong with her at all. The only thing wrong had been that her husband had died recently, and the forced diagnosis turned out to be that her mind wanted her to die.

And she did, only a few weeks later, even though she hadn't been truly ill at all in the first place.

Granted, Naruto didn't think this situation was nearly as morbid or as sad as that old woman, but he was sure it wasn't beyond his body to show symptoms of carrying a baby, even though he wasn't.

The nausea could be pure nerves, and the other things all in his head.

Still, there was one symptom that Naruto didn't think he could disbelieve, as it was a physical change.

The blond glanced surreptitiously towards his chest, before darting it away, as if he'd be whipped if he stared too long.

If he was having a baby, his body would start to produce milk for it, and that would mean physical changes in his...chest...area.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. He was also pretty sure that he did not want breasts! Though, it would be more of simply swelling, but...still!

It would be pretty weird.

And at this stage, it would probably be only some tenderness and...stuff.

So really, he only had to check and probably touch it to see.

But until now he'd shied away from it. Naruto didn't like being cowardly, but he felt that this was a different sort of thing- he'd be disappointed if there was no change (which was weird enough, thanks) but he'd also be just a tad terrified if there was. Even if he wanted a baby, there was a big difference in reality.

However, not knowing one way or the other was slowly driving him mad. Especially with keeping Sasuke in the dark so far. He didn't deserve that and this morning Naruto was determined to confess his feelings on the matter before they reached the port town.

And so, with only a little hesitation, Naruto finally reached up to grab the collar of his loose but covering yukata.

He gave a frantic look around himself, but only the birds were starting to wake, and feeling very much like he was feeling himself up (which was sorta gross), Naruto pulled it away to both stare down and let a hand paw at his chest.

At first he couldn't see any difference, and he felt his face flame in pure embarrassment at what he was doing, but he continued all the same, trying to find anything abnormal.

He pressed down gently and didn't feel anything, and he couldn't begin to explain the pit his stomach became, his chest became, or to explain it.

He was going to give it up as a lost cause, but decided to pinch a nipple regardless- it normally felt good, but it wasn't a hugely sensitive area.

"Ow!"

Blue eyes blinked, as the noise was spurted out more on reflex than actual pain.

Still, that had actually hurt a little.

Naruto bit his lip, and gave his nipples another once over, fiddling with his top irritably to see better, his face frowning in concentration.

They were a bit darker, he first decided, but more noticeably they were larger, and when the buds were put under pressure it was clear they were sore. Naruto found himself offhandedly think that it was good that he and Sasuke had been unable to find time for sex lately, let alone foreplay, cause if Sasuke had bitten them hard (as he was wont to do- the pervert) it would have hurt so much he'd have probably clubbed the cat over the head.

Feeling a little dazed, Naruto withdrew he hand.

It took a few moments, but the glaze on his eyes cleared and he snapped back to life, hurriedly readjusting his yukata and looking around frantically, not wishing anyone to have seen what he'd just done.

Eventually he settled, but he didn't feel much better. He bit his lip again, only now sure that unless he got an actual test or something, he wouldn't truly believe it. That or if he started to show.

He gave a fleeting glance to his stomach, which was still very flat. That didn't stop him from placing a tan hand over the skin there however. He even gave it a little rub, as if that would tell him whether there was a baby in there or not.

It only lasted a few seconds though, before Naruto removed his hand calmly, even as his eye twitched.

Another thing to add to the list- unfounded broodiness.

That, or he was just going crazy, he thought with a sigh as he pushed himself up from the rock he had been sitting on for a good half hour.

This was getting more embarrassing by the minute.

Sasuke would be waking soon; and very grumpily if he wasn't there.

And so he walked sedately back to the little camp they'd set up, feeling very happy when his dark haired mate came into view, his peaceful form slumped on its side under the boughs of a large tree.

Naruto smiled softly at the figure.

Still, he knew at least one thing after his little...er....inspection. He definitely had to tell Sasuke.

He was sure that Sasuke had taken his silence as evidence that their heat together had come to nothing again, though he was still waiting for the awkward little conversation to confirm it.

Watching Sasuke's painfully beautiful face covered with soft dappled light as the sun began to rise higher in the sky, and silken bangs strewn haphazardly over his cheeks and jaw, Naruto felt his chest bubble and warm with a great renewal of affection.

Walking towards his mate, Naruto decided to put the cat out of his misery.


Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, to be honest, when he was disturbed from the land of cool dreams by some moron poking him repeatedly in the cheek.

At first, he tried to ignore it, unwilling to yield to what obviously had to be Naruto being an annoying idiot again.

But the pokes didn't stop, and the repetition was starting to make his cheek ache, so with more than mild irritation, the cat opened one cranky eye.

His vision was assaulted by blond hair and blue eyes, confirming that it was, indeed, Naruto. He was ready to spit out a nasty remark for interrupting his precious sleep time, but something about Naruto stopped him.

The blond was crouching over his form, one arm wrapped around his knees, while the other continued its poking, as if he hadn't noticed that Sasuke had awoke, or simply didn't care. The strangest thing was the expression on Naruto's face, which normally so animated, was drawn in a strange blankness tinged with something like curiosity. With large, near glowing blue eyes staring at him, Sasuke just knew that something wasn't right with his dobe.

"What do you want?"

Still didn't stop his grumpiness from being woken up so rudely to completely dissipating though...

Naruto finally stopped poking him, and instead turned to look at his face with an expression of muted surprise. The blond withdrew the outstretched arm, and tucked it under his chest with the other one.

He didn't say a word for a moment as he peered down at him intently, and Sasuke felt himself begin to wake up properly at Naruto's increasingly uncharacteristic behaviour, and he started to sit up.

Nothing could have prepared him, or made him expect the next words that would come out of that mouth. And for a good few seconds, Sasuke didn't think he'd actually heard them at all.

"I think I'm pregnant."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, still not blinking as much as any normal person should, and watched as a strange blankness completely covered his mate's face.

Sasuke's mind ground to a halt.

He was well aware that it had been a good three months since they had mated in the throes of heat together, and he knew that by this time he and Naruto would share the look of 'not this time' and the gauche conversation to affirm it.

He'd been wondering when it would come, as Naruto hadn't said anything yet- not even spared a look. He'd thought that his blond mate was just depressed that it hadn't happened once again, and so couldn't bring himself to say it to him. Sasuke had accepted this sign-less explanation, feeling more than a little discouraged himself, despite knowing that they were still very young, and being a bit ridiculous to be hoping so early.

He had, however, noticed Naruto's sometimes very peculiar behaviour, but attributed that to his little theory of Naruto's melancholy as well. And he had not wanted to risk bringing up the subject with a potentially sensitive Naruto.

He hadn't seen any signs of morning sickness or the like, and Naruto hadn't begun to smell any different either (though it was difficult to properly identify more delicate scents in such a confused location) and so he'd dismissed them.

As such, he was very much unprepared and caught off guard when his mate thusly told him he might carrying their child.

Sasuke blinked rapidly on the outside, and Naruto watched him peaceably, showing unprecedented patience as he waited for the cat to respond.

Cranks were slowly clanking into gear inside the Uchiha's head, and once they got going, they started to move at lightning speed.

Naruto thought he was pregnant.

Naruto thought he was pregnant.

As in, having a baby.

Their baby.

...

Thought.

Naruto watched with expectation as the blankness on Sasuke's face was replaced by a flash of white hot anger.

He didn't bother to be surprised as tight, grasping hands shot out and clutched his arms tightly, nor as he was pulled to his feet.

"Since when."

Naruto sighed at the demand, and felt his own irritation start to bubble up, despite his attempts to maintain his serene expression.

He let his eyes fall to the side, and when he didn't answer immediately, he felt Sasuke shake him- not as hard as he usually would, but with a restrained amount of force in his arms nonetheless.

Feeling hot and annoyed too all of a sudden, Naruto squirmed to get free; to get some space between them.

Sasuke didn't relent, and Naruto suddenly felt the last drops of his patience evaporate into thin air.

"I've been feeling a bit off for weeks, okay?!"

Sasuke growled at him.

"No, not okay! Why didn't you tell me the first time you felt something!?"

Naruto, with a surge of anger, finally ripped himself free, and stumbled back a few steps to get a platform for the match that was about to start. Naruto knew Sasuke was only acting out in anger because this meant so much to him, and he didn't like things that were so important to be played around with. He'd tried to placate him by not setting him off, but he was cranky, irritable, and right now Sasuke was working the fecking piss out of him!

Another mood swing to add to the list, it seemed.

Though Naruto didn't feel like acknowledging that right now.

"It's been ages since our heat, and you only tell me now? And what makes you so sure, Naruto? I don't like these things joked about with!"

Naruto gaped in hurt and rage.

"Oh! Well excuse me for wanting to make sure there was something to actually tell you about! I was only thinking of your feelings bastard, and when I tell you about it, you act like this!?"

Sasuke snarled through his rant, black eyes gleaming and shining like polished gems; cold and hard.

Naruto continued to spit out words, raising his arms to pull and tear at his hair in frustration.

He hadn't thought Sasuke would explode this much- or him for that matter.

"And because I was thinking of your feelings, I waited until I was sure of what was going on, you selfish, ungrateful prick! I've been having morning sickness, and cravings and even my fucking nipples!"

Naruto's chest was ballooning like a bullfrog, his voice near hysterical at the end as he screamed out.

"You're the one who hadn't seem to have noticed anything, you cold frigid bastard!"

The anger was starting to give way to hurt.

Sasuke snapped back, voice lower but honed to perfection as he seethed.

"Don't think I didn't notice anything! I was just waiting for you to come to me!"

Naruto just squeezed his eyes shut; hands entwined in his hair and shook his head from side to side vigorously.

Both said nothing more after that, their tiny camp filled with both their deep ragged breaths as they caught their breaths, their yells echoing silently between them.

Another time, they might have laughed at themselves.

A couple of tears, born from pure frustration crept out of Naruto's tightly clenched eyes as he tried to calm down, asking himself why he felt so defensive in the first place.

He collapsed on the still cool grass of the early morning and huffed. Silence reigned heavy and thick for a good few minutes longer, and Naruto didn't bother to see what Sasuke was doing.

He only opened his eyes again when he felt Sasuke linger, still standing, near to him. His presence didn't feel angry anymore, and when Naruto finally looked up to meet gazes with him, there was no way he could be angry at the Uchiha.

Sasuke had such an...open look on his face. It was unusual for him to let other people see just how big his eyes actually were. At times like this, with his face so open and vulnerable, and eyes so big and glassy, Naruto almost felt he was looking at a child; the child Sasuke had once been, could have been.

Sasuke bit his lip, large eyes darting around Naruto's face, before he finally asked in a small voice.

"Do you..." he licked his lips and glanced away just for a moment, "Do you really think you're pregnant?"

The air was awkward, but Naruto couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips, and Sasuke took this as his cue to sit down beside the fox, letting their knees brush.

Naruto noticed that Sasuke's expression was going back to a more normal one, but it was still somewhat earnest, and it was enough that he'd been able to see just how much this meant to the dark cat.

No apology was needed to pass between him.

It hadn't even been a fight really, Naruto mused quickly, more of a spark of frustration, and not at each other.

Not really.

"I can't be entirely sure, but if I'm not, then something else had gotta be wrong with me," joked Naruto, trying to get Sasuke to lighten a little.

The cat smiled weakly, not appreciating it very much, and Naruto could tell how nervous and on edge his mate was by the slight trembles in the finely crafted pale hands- in anyone else, they surely would have been wringing them.

"We can't presume anything- give me a full list of things you've been experiencing."

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, and answered slowly.

"Nausea, craving meat-sometimes at the same time- that's weird! Uh...I've been really tired lately-"

"I noticed that one."

"Shut up. I guess I've been kinda moody lately....and a bit broody again too," muttered Naruto, rolling his eyes to the heavens as he leant back on his elbows.

"Anything else?" asked Sasuke, sounding antsy. Naruto couldn't help but smile inwardly.

Before remembering what he'd done just a little while ago.

"Oh, and...umm...."

"What?" questioned Sasuke impatiently, starting at him with piercing eyes. The Uchiha became all the more curious at the bright red flush that came upon his mate's face.

He watched raptly as Naruto idly scratched his cheek, determinedly not looking at him.

"And, you know, my nipples have been getting really sore lately- that's a pretty big sign, isn't it?"

Naruto looked positively mortified, and Sasuke blinked, not quite understanding what was so embarrassing, considering all the sex they'd had over the years, but he smirked anyway, trying to cover up just how shaken and jumpy he was with the familiar visage.

Naruto didn't seem to notice it.

"But, I mean, we probably have to go...find a test or something right? To make sure?"

Sasuke nodded jerkily.

"Yes, to find out if you really...."

He tailed off and Naruto let him.

"So, we should get going then?" asked Naruto, starting to worry about his mate as he watched Sasuke stare at nothingness.

Maybe he broke him?

"....Ah, yes. Of course. The sooner the better," the cat finally muttered to himself, and as he pushed himself up to gather their meagre belongings, Naruto had to marvel at how unsteady the Uchiha suddenly seemed to be.

It seemed that the shock was wearing off, and the truth starting to set in.

Sasuke fumbled to hitch the full bag over his shoulder, not his usual cool self at all.

It almost made him want to giggle.


Naruto sat on the ground beside a tree, foot jerking and knee twitching as he impatiently waited for Sasuke to hurry back.

As soon as they'd collected their meagre amount of belongings, they'd set off right away to the little seaside town, who's only subject of note was the new wharfs and investment-funded shiny new harbour.

It was mid-morning by the time they'd arrived, and they'd perched on the edge of the village, looking in from the tree line. Naruto thought it was a quirky sort of place.

The money from the cities was obvious in the fresh, light wooded jetties, and the one single long metal rod that projected into the curved harbour like a pin into a cushion, where the largest ships, made of rusting, creaking metal and larger than buildings, docked.

Past the quayside, it was less obvious; there were a couple of shops that stood out, shiny clean glass and bright lights creating an airy feel, and with automatic doors. But right beside them were traditional housing, made of sagging dark timbers, riddled with grains and cracks seeped with rainwater. And in front of them were roads made of nothing but dirt, with water and salt holding them together.

The contrast was almost blinding; Naruto had never seen it so clearly before.

He'd seen country villages, and gleaming shiny cities, but never both together.

However, this mismatched clash would prove useful to them, as Sasuke pointed out to one of the out-of-place shops that served as a convenience store. According to Sasuke they would sell all sorts of things.

Including pregnancy tests, Naruto had asked sceptically, to which Sasuke had at least looked somewhat doubtful himself. He watched as his mate's dark eyes roved the pitiful options they were left with.

Finally, irritated, Sasuke had replied that convenience stores in the country often had bigger pharmacy departments as doctors and hospitals were far between, and were of the most use to the surrounding population.

Naruto had glanced towards the admittedly rather small shop, not much assured, but decided to leave Sasuke to it.

The Uchiha was looking more annoyed by the minute, and Naruto decided he could wait, as long as he didn't have to deal with that ticking time bomb in return.

As a result, Sasuke had shepherded him back a far ways into the surrounding forest and left him, saying he'd be back within the hour.

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have a watch or clock to keep the time, and all he knew right now was that Sasuke seemed to have been gone for a veeerrryy long time, and he wasn't sure just how much longer he could sit here and wait.

Naruto sighed irritably, continuing to let his foot jerk, in a vain attempt to exercise out his frustration.

He'd never been good at waiting; especially when he had absolutely nothing to entertain himself with, unless you counted counting leaves, and it wasn't at all helped by the fact he needed to pee- really badly.

But he didn't dare go relieve himself, 'cause he just knew, as soon as he came back, Sasuke would be waiting and then he'd have to wait even longer so he could piss on the thing, but with an agitated Sasuke to boot.

It was a tough call, but Naruto was pretty sure he chose the lesser evil.

Still, he'd been telling himself 'any-minute-now' for quite a while by now, and Sasuke the bastard still hadn't shown up yet.

Surely, it couldn't take this long!

And his bladder was starting to physically hurt.

Holding back a whimper, Naruto tried to both calm and distract himself with the many ways he could brutally murder his mate.

When he was just imagining how much damage he could do with a pit full of super heated metal toothpicks, Sasuke strode into the clearing.

And Naruto only noticed when the cat purposefully stood on a branch.

Darting his head up, Naruto instantly forgot what he'd been previously thinking, a belly full of nervous butterflies taking its place.

Sasuke had a bright white paper bag clutched in one hand, and a stony expression on his face, eyes completely blank.

With a single, jerky movement he threw the bag at the sitting blond.

Naruto knew that to anyone who didn't understand Sasuke, they would think of how cold he was, and uncaring- disinterested.

But Naruto knew that Sasuke was trying his best not to think of anything at all. The journey to this morning had been silent, but not due to furious thinking on either of their parts.

That sort of thing could come later- right now they were both suspended in motion, their lives at a halt until they knew which path they were taking. Then they could over think themselves as much as they wanted.

But right now, Naruto had been pointedly trying to think of nothing at all, not wanting to get carried away on either option, and Naruto was sure that Sasuke was trying to do the same thing, so he could keep his cool.

Naruto licked his dry lips and stared down at the little paper bag, contemplating whether he should ask something silly like whether he found it alright.

He didn't bother, confident that Sasuke would snap if he did, like a rubber band stretched well beyond its limits.

It would be quite cute, if Naruto didn't feel the same way.

So instead, he simply sprang to his feet and fumbled a rectangular box out of the bag. He let the wrapping fall to the floor, and he glanced to Sasuke, who was looking at him with a small amount of expectancy on his face- nothing else.

Naruto gave him a sharp nod, though it could have meant anything and turned around to find a concealing enough tree.

His steps felt heavy, and his stomach felt very sick indeed now- even the butterflies seemed nauseas. He blinked rapidly, as he became light headed, feeling very hot and for a moment he thought he'd fall over for sure.

The thick cardboard of the box felt heavy in his hand.

Naruto staggered the last few steps to a private enough place, feeling like he'd walked a marathon, though in truth he was only a few yards away from Sasuke.

The sickness in his stomach didn't fade, and for a moment he was sure he'd actually throw up for real. Scared to prolong this anymore, Naruto hurriedly fumbled the thing out of the box, trying to frantically undo his zipper at the same time.

He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible- no interruptions.

He nearly dropped everything, his fingers numb, but he managed it.

Even he could piss on a stick, thank you very much.

Feeling mildly disgusted, he held the thing by the tip as he wandered back into the clearing, squished box crunched in his other hand.

Sasuke immediately darted his head up, and the look in his eyes was so raw, Naruto couldn't speak for a moment.

He frantically attempted to unglue his mouth before the fire could die out in those eyes.

Any chance of not setting themselves up for a fall was long gone.

"Needs another two minutes," he croakily managed, waving the hand holding the box listlessly.

Sasuke nodded, eyes darkened once again, returning his gaze to the floor.

Naruto was sure he'd never lived through a more tense two minutes.

He felt like he was suffocating, and from the way Sasuke's hunched shoulders would bunch randomly, he knew he wasn't alone in that.

He felt the world tunnelling in and out of focus, and a menagerie of what-ifs broke through his defence at the last.

He desperately wanted to ask Sasuke, try to discuss this with him. To find some reassurance that this would all be okay, that- that....

"It's been more than two minutes..."

Sasuke's gruff voice startled him, and he nearly dropped both items in his hands.

He stared at Sasuke with large, unseeing eyes, before he registered, and without any preamble, flipped the test over in his hand.

He stared at the lines, and it took several seconds for Naruto to realise he didn't know what they meant. Panic seized him at last, and he nearly ripped the flattened box in two as he tried to find his answer.

When the blond went rigid, staring at the cardboard lifelessly, Sasuke couldn't hold back the urge any longer and was instantly at his side, fumbling for tan hands.

"Naruto...?"

The blond shook a little, but didn't turn to him. Agonised, Sasuke finally reached out a pale hand to gently grab at Naruto's chin and turn his face towards him.

Blue eyes were wet, and as tears streamed down from his eyes Sasuke thought the worst, and felt his own eyes sting, unbidden.

"Naruto?" he whispered softly, not knowing what he was asking, or if he was asking anything at all. He was left dangling above a dark pit.

Naruto's lips and jaw twitched, and Sasuke didn't recognise it for a few moments. Naruto's mouth was open, but he was smiling- tentatively- dazedly.

Sasuke searched Naruto's gaze desperately, bemused for an answer.

"We're having a baby..."

Sasuke's stomach contracted fiercely, as his heart stopped.

"What?"

Naruto was grinning, though he seemed just as shocked.

"We're having a baby!"

The words were so quiet, but not hesitant, and Naruto threw his arms up around Sasuke's neck, burrowing his face into the crook, pressing their bodies completely together.

Sasuke felt his heart start again with such a thump; he thought he might be having a heart attack.

"We're having a baby," said Sasuke, a little louder than Naruto, sounding dazed, but increasingly jubilant.

"We're having a baby!" Sasuke practically shouted, and Naruto, eyes still streaming, mouth grinning and fecking glowing nodded frantically,catching Sasuke's gaze with a heady laugh.

Sasuke stared at Naruto in wonder a moment, until what could only be described as joyful laughter bubbled up from the throat of the usually very serious cat.

Sasuke clutched Naruto to him desperately, squeezing him tightly unable to contain himself.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with such an intense, emotion filled, loving happy gaze that Naruto felt a few more tears slip out. And then Sasuke was kissing him, hard and deep, and Naruto pushed back as hard and fierce as he possibly could, as if they could meld their bodies together.

It was hard and hot and passionate, full of love and every aching sentiment they felt for each other, but it wasn't erotic, and they had to pull back for air, both thrumming with too much energy of elation to know what to do.

Naruto honest to god giggled, as Sasuke spun him round a couple of times, clutching his waist so tightly he thought he might rip in two.

"Fuck, I love you so much," Sasuke whispered brokenly as he pressed their foreheads together, their noses rubbing against one another.

His eyes were overflowing, and his throat was so tight and dry that Naruto could only manage a breathy "D-di-ditto," back to him.

Sasuke gave a rather wet laugh at this, and hugged him even tighter to him. They began to sway a little bit, bathing together, before the inevitable happened and they both crashed to the ground, Sasuke making sure that he hit the ground first, letting Naruto fall on top of him as a cushion.

Sasuke wasn't going to let anything happen to Naruto.

Not now.

Not ever.

The blond giggled from where he lay, giddy as anything, and he happily let Sasuke move him around like a doll.

"I can't believe it- you're pregnant. You're pregnant," murmured Sasuke breathlessly into the soft golden hair that lay at Naruto's nape.

Naruto twisted his head to look at him, smiling wider than Sasuke had ever seen, and he felt a smaller tan hand reach out and grasp his own tightly.

"Yeah- I'm pregnant."

Naruto wasn't sure if he could even breathe properly, but when Sasuke smiled softly in return, so sweetly and so warm, he was so very beautiful that Naruto wanted to start crying again.

Not that he'd really stopped; but he didn't care- you could cry as much as you want when you're happy.

Naruto squeezed the hand in his as hard as he could, and Sasuke stared at him a moment before changing his gaze. Following it, Naruto found it resting on his stomach.

Oh.

Yes.

Before Naruto could do anything else, pale hands were already scrambling to pull apart his yukata. His face flushed as from the waist up, tan skin was revealed to Sasuke's roving eyes.

Sasuke planted light, little kisses on his mate's neck as he stared down to where he now knew his child lay.

Their child.

He let his hands rest on the lower part of Naruto's abdomen, as if testing to find a bulge, or some sign.

"It's still so flat," he said softly. Naruto let his own hands slide down to join Sasuke's.

"For now," murmured Naruto, suddenly feeling a little forlorn.

He groaned, and Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in question, though his black eyes were still swimming with feeling.

"I'm gonna get fat," the blond moaned, though it wasn't really a complaint.

Sasuke chuckled and pressed another wet kiss to Naruto's neck.

They stayed in that position a long time, letting the shock fade to leave contentment behind.

Naruto, exhausted by both the emotional upheaval, and the little one growing inside him, soon feel asleep in the balmy hot weather, and to the lull of Sasuke's loud, blissful purring.


Sasuke was somewhat shocked when he realised that he was waking up; he'd never noticed that he'd fallen asleep in the first place. He blinked a few times, for a moment wanting to believe that he'd just closed his eyes for a few moments, but the sky had darkened, showing it to be late afternoon.

The cat blinked once more, eyes adjusting to the steadily fading light. He tensed his arms up, only to find that Naruto still lay in his arms, dead to the world and almost in the exact same position Sasuke had last seen him.

This was a mildly unusual occurrence, considering that Naruto had a most vexing habit of moving more while asleep than awake.

Hell, they'd even gotten halfway through sex one time, before Sasuke realised that Naruto was still officially unconscious.

But Sasuke quickly eased any worry he had for the blond. Naruto had been so tired recently, and the emotional upheaval of the day must have tired him out even more.

Sasuke felt a little smile grace his lips, unbidden, as he gently shifted the softly snoring fox to a more comfortable position, so he could get some blood flow back into his numb thighs.

He couldn't help from taking a lock of silken golden hair, rubbing it between two of his fingers, quite content to let Naruto continue to sleep away peacefully.

The little blond most certainly needed it.

That brought Sasuke a strangely giddy, light feeling to his chest, which was distinctly unfamiliar to him. He'd known he'd been happy before, but this was a strange sort of daze for him that was unparalleled to any before it; it was most definitely a very different sort of emotion.

He was going to be a father.

Not only would he have a true family once again, but this time, he would be the dad.

He'd have a little person adoring him just because.

A little person that was not only related to him, but what came from him too.

And given birth by his most beautiful Naruto.

Soft purring once again filled the secluded clearing.

A strong surge of warm, budding paternal feeling filled his chest.

At the moment it didn't really feel very daunting.

Sasuke couldn't help thinking about his own family however; his father and mother and brother.

He'd always known that he didn't want to take his own father as a model of parenting. He could still recall that as a small child he'd often been snubbed in favour of Itachi, and not even the martyrdom of death could make Sasuke feel completely reconciled with his sire over the matter, and he was determined never to favour one of his own children over another.

Sasuke wasn't too worried he'd take the same route as his father. After all, he found it hard to imagine his father being so thrilled to learn he was going to have a child, as he himself currently was.

So naturally, they simply couldn't be the same sort of person.

Still, Sasuke mused, letting his tail flick back and forth slowly, he didn't know much about being a parent- a good one anyways. Actual physical babies were pretty foreign to him.

But, of course, being Uchiha Sasuke, he was sure he'd learn quickly enough.

Not to mention, as he glanced down at Naruto, he wasn't doing this alone.

But, that was for the future- it would be many months until the baby was born, and for now Sasuke had to concentrate on taking care of his pregnant mate.

For even humans found pregnancy difficult, and youkai ones were even harder.

It took a hell of a lot to bring a baby demon into the world, and conceiving one was just the start. Naruto may be generally not too affected yet, but the baby was so small at the moment.

The cat's dark eyes trailed over the smooth, flat expanse of Naruto's stomach.

Naruto would become very vulnerable very quickly, as the child within commandeered most of his chakra, his energy and his attention.

Naruto would need Sasuke to protect him now, whether he liked it or not, and Sasuke was more than willing to step up to the challenge.

His brow furrowed as he thought furiously.

A baby on the way would mean several changes to his plans, and a certain degree of unavoidable chance.

Chance was not something he wanted near his family.

Naruto would need to be both well protected and provided for.

First of all, he couldn't keep them wandering around the countryside like they had been, but that was fine- after this they were going back to the city, and Sasuke had already planned to stay there this time.

The dark cat mused silently in his thoughts, clutching his mate in a gentle, but firm hold, busy plotting away for his growing family's future.

It would be somewhat difficult, but to him, family was the most precious thing he had, and he'd do his all.

It probably wouldn't truly hit Sasuke the true weight of being someone's father until the baby was actually born, but he at least knew his responsibilities and would step up to them.

There was some hope for the Uchiha youkai.

First things first, the cat thought, was this last 'mission' before they would travel to Tokyo.

Sasuke knew for a fact, that he couldn't let Naruto come with him.

And that would indeed pose problems.

Sasuke sighed out loud, once again shifting to get comfortable.

He could recall the last time he'd tried to completely control every aspect of his mate's life, and it hadn't ended prettily.

Stupid dobe didn't know what was good for him.

Sasuke scowled and briefly entertained the hope that Naruto, as the most surprising person he knew, would suddenly bend to his will, in a very helpful hormone-induced mood swing.

...

Sasuke's eye twitched at the impossible scenario and he stifled an irritable grunt.

But this time, he was determined to get his way.

Hard, burning eyes of onyx scowled into the rapidly fading light, while Naruto slept sweetly oblivious to his mate's devious plans.


A/N: See? Cuteness! And quite exciting to see how this is going to affect things, right? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to give feedback or to ask anything.

Next chapter, Naruto and Sasuke clash a little, and Iruka and Kakashi should show up once more! Now, if you excuse me, I need to do some serious last minute packing!