Chapter 8: News?

Notes:

So I totally went back through all the chapters of this story to try and better nail down the timeline (yes the timeline that I wrote myself lol), and I for sure couldn't help but realize how much of a difference three months has made in who I am. Some of my writing in the beginning chapters makes me cringe lol and I'm pretending that's growth. Anyway…some plot progress in this chapter. Not much excitement, but I still hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Naruto sighed as he stood up in the steamy water, his knee bumping Sasuke's thigh right beside him. His heat had ended the day before, so they'd come to the nearest hot spring at Naruto's request. Sasuke insisted it was unnecessary, that he was fine, but Naruto wasn't buying it. After the three days they'd just gone through, it was hard to imagine the relaxation wouldn't be beneficial to either of their bodies, but especially Sasuke's.

They weren't in a hurry either. Sasuke had decided they should take a trip to some natural wonder that was supposedly nearby. It was a combination of waterfalls and caves that he had suggested they go see not long after Naruto had admitted his fear of distance between them. He thought it might be an effort for them to savor some of the closeness they'd gained during his heat, and he definitely wasn't complaining.

"I'm going to our room," he said, looking over at Sasuke, before moving toward the stairs. He'd been right about one thing at least. Everything still felt open between them. He didn't feel like he needed to moderate his honesty or that there were thoughts and feelings Sasuke was holding back. It made him feel light inside. Relaxed emotionally in a way that he hadn't been in a very long time.

"Okay I'm coming."

It was obvious to Naruto that Sasuke at least felt similarly, in the way he made sure to initiate touches every so often even if they were small, or the way they no longer quickly looked away every time they happened to make eye contact.

He was especially sure, once they'd both climbed into bed for the night, when Sasuke started talking, completely unprompted.

"Is there any specific thing you want to know?" Naruto's head was on his chest, so he could hear Sasuke's words and also feel them rumble through his chest.

He wracked his brain for an answer to that. At the same time, he couldn't help but smile. That morning, when they'd been preparing to leave the cabin, Sasuke had brought up his idea for the trip, casually mentioning that it would be a nice way for them to spend some extra time together. It was how he knew Sasuke had taken his concerns to heart. It was also how he'd managed to sneak in the suggestion that Sasuke start sharing something random about himself everyday. Because Naruto knew all the important things and what made Sasuke…Sasuke, but there was no way he knew all the little insignificant things, and they'd never really gotten around to discussing everything that went on while he was with Orochimaru. Naruto wanted to know all the dumb little things Sasuke would normally hold back, or the thoughts Sasuke had never shared because their relationship had just been different until now.

God knew Naruto was never in danger of undersharing and had treated Sasuke to his verbal stream of consciousness on more than one occasion. He just wanted to actively feel the intimacy between them and part of that was sharing little secrets or things no one else would ever find out.

"How come you didn't want me to come with you?"

Sasuke snorted, "I thought that would be obvious by now."

Naruto actually picked his head up to look Sasuke in the eye. "I think this may be easier if you don't assume things like that where I'm concerned, like ever." He felt rather than heard Sasuke's silent laughter when he laid his head back down.

"I already had feelings for you, and you seemed not to return them. I wanted to get away from you, so I could keep them from getting worse. I was kind of hoping the distance might make them fade to a manageable level."

"I was an idiot," Naruto mumbled then. All that time Sasuke spent knowing how he felt, and it took them traveling together for months before Naruto realized himself. Oblivious was an understatement.

"Also every time you referred to us as friends, it made me want to light shit on fire."

Naruto couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. "But that's true, we're best friends—"

"You are an idiot."

"—no really. We're best friends, but not just that. We're mates for life too now, Sasuke, but what kind of mates would we be if we weren't best friends first?" Naruto couldn't help the hand that reached up to run over his mark. Even completely healed, it was more sensitive than the skin around it.

Sasuke was quiet for a while before he spoke, his voice small, "how long did it take you to realize that you liked me?"

"Uhhh," of course Sasuke would ask the one thing he was kicking himself for already, "too long. We were traveling together already, but it wasn't like I started having feelings then. It was more like I realized my feelings weren't just friendly anymore. I let myself be oblivious to it, no surprise, but once it hit me, I could think back and realize it was there for a lot longer than I knew. I've always been drawn to you in some way. It… makes me feel like we're like soulmates, ya know?"

He knew he shouldn't feel embarrassed for admitting the idea that'd been bouncing around in his head for a while now, but he'd been planning on working up to it.

The more he'd been thinking about it, though, the more obvious it had been to him. The way he and Sasuke noticed each other so early on, their similar histories of loss, the way neither of them could ever give up on the other, how their chakras called out to each other. Even their mating had been affected. Both of their marks had healed almost instantly, Naruto's of course, was no surprise, but Sasuke's? Naruto's chakra had healed Sasuke's mark without him even having to consciously try, and he knew there was no one else that could ever connect with him in such a way. Such a thing was unheard of. But not with them, never with them.

"I feel the same way," Sasuke finally said, "like we were made to be together, whether in harmony or chaos, just…together."

There was no denying the warmth spreading through his chest then, undoubtedly caused by Sasuke's words. It was going above and beyond what Naruto had expected of him just sharing something small about himself, but he could in no way complain.

If anyone would have asked him at the start of this journey if he'd be fully admitting to thinking Sasuke was his soulmate, he would have laughed in their face. It just went to show how much time could change things. Now he couldn't imagine his life without Sasuke by his side, as close to him in every way as they could possibly get.

As they both drifted off into their own thoughts, the silence comfortable between them in the dark, he couldn't help but feel glad for all the challenges they'd faced in their lives. Even though they'd barely made it sometimes, both of their decisions led them to this very moment, and nothing could make Naruto ever regret that.

Naruto's eyes cracked open to sunlight filtering through the window in their room. He and Sasuke were staying at an inn, halfway to meeting Taka in some place they were convinced would be their headquarters. They'd been traveling for pleasure for almost two months when they'd gotten the message from Karin. Apparently, the three of them wanted him and Sasuke to come check out the place, so they'd turned toward the direction she gave them and they'd been traveling a few days already.

For the second time, in what felt like their whole time traveling together, Sasuke was still sprawled across Naruto sleeping. Even on the occasions when Sasuke had stayed in bed until Naruto woke up, he'd always been awake already. Not today though. He was still sleeping soundly, his cheek sticky to Naruto's shoulder and their legs tangled together. It was…kind of nice, to feel Sasuke's hot breaths across his skin and to see his face so relaxed. It was a different look than the carefully blank expression Sasuke wore usually because it was a sincere absence of emotion.

Unlike the last time though, Naruto managed to crawl out from under Sasuke without waking him completely, so he got dressed and went to find them breakfast.

When he came back, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. For a split second his heart slammed against his ribs until he calmed down enough to realize he could still smell Sasuke's scent, that he was just in the bathroom and not gone.

Just about the time he was kicking himself for overreacting, the bathroom door opened and Sasuke walked out, still in his pajamas, still messy from sleep. It wasn't until Naruto watched him crawl back under the covers of the bed that his eyebrows shot upward.

"You're getting back into bed?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, his voice muffled where his face was half-buried in a pillow, "and?"

"Um, nothing I guess? Do you want breakfast?"

"Mmm maybe."

"Sasuke." Naruto's tone was enough to get across the unspoken, seriously?

"Fine, give it here." Sasuke turned around and sat up, but kept the blankets bunched up around his lap.

Naruto started gathering up his stuff while Sasuke nibbled his way through his breakfast, then finally got up and got dressed. His behavior was odd, to say the least, but the rest of their day was as ordinary as it could get, so he just let it go.

The next morning though, he woke up with Sasuke still asleep. Again.

Part of him wondered if there was something they did that was making Sasuke more tired than usual but nothing stood out to him. They had gotten to the current town later than normal, sure. It wasn't very often they didn't stop until dark, but last night they'd both wanted to continue because they would be almost all the way to their rendezvous before there was another inn where they could stay. Still, it was almost noon, so they'd definitely made up for the extra walking. But there Sasuke was, sound asleep and looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

He doubted there was still anywhere serving breakfast, so Sasuke was definitely getting up to help decide where they ate. Except, Naruto had to literally shake him to get him awake.

"What?" he finally said, eyes barely open and definitely not happy.

"It's almost twelve."

"Oh." Sasuke laid his head back down, and then almost immediately sat up to get out of bed and rush to the bathroom. Naruto sat there feeling like he was literally going crazy, like he couldn't even believe what his eyes had clearly just seen. Was Sasuke…sick?

If he was then Naruto should definitely be able to notice a shift in his scent, but by the time he came out of the bathroom, his scent was carefully dialed back to a fraction of its normal power, and before he could even say anything, Sasuke spoke.

"Can we go get soup?"

That caught Naruto by surprise too. "Soup?"

"Yeah, a ramen shop is fine."

And his confusion doubled. He couldn't remember a time that Sasuke requested ramen unless it was meant as a treat for him. The question on the tip of his tongue died at the shock, but he got up anyway. They dressed along side each other and walked to the ramen shop Naruto had noticed on their way into the town.

Then things were back to normal again, except not quite. They were halfway through their meals, if broth could be called a meal, when Sasuke reached for a napkin and knocked his drink into Naruto's lap.

He was stunned. So much so that he didn't even react, just stared down at his soaking wet lap until Sasuke started wiping the front of his pants with the napkins he'd been reaching for. And that was…not okay either because—

"Sasuke," he said, quickly grabbing for the Uchiha's wrist, his voice sharper than he meant for it to be.

"I—I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help."

"It's fine. It's just…you can't do that, can't wipe my, uhh, my pants like that. Sorry it's—actually why don't we just leave."

Naruto stood up abruptly and dumped money down on the counter. By the time he stepped into the street, Sasuke was right beside him.

The second they made it back inside though, "are you going to tell me what's up? You're sick? Is that really something that's so hard to tell me?" Naruto maintained eye contact with Sasuke, which made stripping out of his pants awkward, but he didn't even have time to focus on that.

"No! It's not like that!" Stress was evident in every line of Sasuke's body. It was rolling off of him in waves, and he was honestly surprised he couldn't smell it in his scent, but then he remembered that Sasuke was making sure to keep that locked down tight.

"Then what is it? You're making me feel—" Naruto reached up to press his hand to his chest, "I can just tell you're upset. I don't like it. I can't even smell you."

"You can scent me," was all Sasuke said. He looked at him for a beat, as if waiting for him to say more, before he spoke again.

"Then let me."

"Just…sit down first."

Naruto was getting tired now. He didn't even understand what was going on, and the stupidity of the situation was weighing him down, but he listened anyway. He sat down on their bed and scooted until his back was against the headboard.

Then Sasuke crawled into his lap, and at least he understood a little better, until, "you first."

Naruto didn't have it in him to even question it. He let his scent out first, feeling at least a little better when Sasuke leaned forward to breathe deep, his nose pressed against Naruto's skin, and his muscles relaxing almost the second he did so.

It felt natural for his hands to rest on Sasuke's hips, though he knew he wouldn't feel truly calm until their scents were mixing together. Sasuke sat up to look at him and the last of his irritation ran out of him, he reached up to run his knuckles along his jaw, "your turn."

Sasuke hesitated visibly, his eyes locked onto Naruto's, and he though he may have to ask again when he felt the scent waft over him. But something was—his eyebrows drew together because Sasuke smelled different, and he knew it wasn't because he'd forgotten because he could never forget that smell. It was a part of him and it always would be but now, it smelled…

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide where they were still locked with Sasuke's. "You—are you really?" But Sasuke looked away.

"Sasuke." Naruto felt tears prick his eyes.

"I think so," Sasuke finally said, but he was still looking away. Naruto felt like a fist was wrapped around his heart, squeezing until he couldn't breathe.

"Sasuke." It felt like all he could say, his voice syrupy with emotion, all other words dying before they could make it out.

"I know we didn't really plan it—"

"A baby." He felt the tears finally fall to drip down his face. He couldn't resist wrapping his arms tight around Sasuke, his wet cheek pressed to his chest. "I'm so happy I don't believe it. A baby, Sasuke, really?"

He felt arms wrap around him, and they just stayed that way. Holding each other. So many thoughts were running through Naruto's head. He was in shock, complete disbelief, before he realized his nose would never lie to him. His stomach was so giddy he thought he could scream and tears were steadily tracking down his cheeks. Only when they finally pulled apart, did he realize Sasuke's eyes were wet too.

"You're really happy? I was—I wasn't sure."

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" For a second, he was on cloud nine. He couldn't even think of a reason why Sasuke thought he might not be happy.

"We didn't really plan it. We haven't—I mean we've been together almost our whole lives, but we haven't been together that long and we just. We never discussed this and we definitely should have."

"I understand. Like I know what you're saying, but I just can't not be happy. A baby. Something we made together, Sasuke. That's just so special."

By the time they made it to the place Taka had found, Naruto still felt giddy every time he remembered. It was like the information was so new, it wasn't real in his head yet. A couple of times on the last leg of their travels, Sasuke had caught him staring, sometimes daydreaming and others just…looking at him, a dumb grin on his face no doubt.

It wasn't like he didn't realize the impact their decisions would have. Neither of them knew the first thing about parenting, and they weren't exactly living a lifestyle that a child would easily fit into. They'd have a lot to do and figure out over the next seven months, but reality was still cushioned by his excitement just then. It probably helped that some deep instinctual part of him was over the moon with the knowledge that Sasuke was carrying their baby. In not so long, there would be living proof of the love that he had for the Uchiha, his best friend and now mate.

Back when they'd gone to Kiri to help for the exams, over two months ago, they'd managed to talk to Kakashi at least a little about them having some kind of base outside of the village. It was meant to be in the Land of Fire still, but not within village boundaries.

To Naruto, it was a compromise. Sasuke didn't want to stay in the village, and he, at the very least, didn't want to leave the village unprotected, and so they'd managed to start the beginnings of a plan into motion.

Sasuke had discussed it with Taka, they'd both discussed it with Kakashi. There was a small town not far outside of village gates that they could settle closer to, while still being within calling distance of Konoha itself.

It was an added benefit that there was some land already owned on the outskirts of the town. It had been set aside a long time ago for some unfinished project, so Kakashi had mentioned to them that it was open for their use if they found it suitable.

The note they'd gotten from Karin was brief but gave directions to a shelter already built that she thought they could at least look at, and it could serve as a sort of outpost or maybe even a place for actual ethical research. If the location was good, then it would be nothing for them to build a place for themselves to live around the same area, especially since they'd sort of done that not so long ago.

Walking up to the building now, it was easy for Naruto to tell that they would still have work to do if they wanted it to be functional. It was clear that it had gone unused for a long time, though the actual structure wasn't completely dilapidated. He didn't have long to appraise the outside, however, because the front door opened as they approached, to Karin and Suigetsu.

"It's about time you two," Karin said, but her tone lacked malice, so Naruto figured that was just her way of saying hello.

"We literally got your message like a week ago, chill." Sasuke snorted at him, no doubt because of the obvious dismissal in his tone.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get in here and take a tour."

The tour hadn't taken long, and Karin and Suigetsu had shown them to a room inside for them to share, so they could put their stuff down. Overall, the building wasn't in an awful state of disrepair, not as much as it probably should have been as long as it seemed to have been sitting. It made Naruto wonder if it was just a regularly built shelter or if maybe a wood style jutsu had been used to create it. Either way, it'd take them days just to get the inside clean, let alone start with actual repairs and preparation.

Currently, though, they were all standing in one of the main rooms and their conversation had veered away from their plans for the building.

"But seriously, what's up with you two? You're acting different." Karin had been shooting them looks ever since they'd been inside, but Naruto swore they hadn't even so much as smiled at each other.

Before either of them could even answer, Suigetsu spoke up, "Ah Karin, why don't we let it go for now?" He had obviously picked up on something she hadn't. The way he spoke, made it seem like he knew something, at least.

"I'm not an idiot, Suigestsu. I see their mating marks. That's not it, there's something else."

Shit. Naruto looked over to Sasuke because he, at least, had probably been prepared for the inquisition. Sasuke just raised his eyebrows in question, a quick movement between them, that was enough for Naruto to understand that he was asking his opinion. So he twitched his shoulders in a minuscule shrug and left it up to Sasuke.

It wouldn't be the end of the world for them to find out. Sasuke had some kind of weird friendship thing going with Taka, so it wasn't as if they wouldn't eventually find out anyway. Even still they'd just found out themselves, and Sasuke was two only months in. Either way, Naruto was totally fine with not making the decision.

Karin was looking back and forth between them now, her brows lowered, obviously not willing to give in very easily.

Sasuke looked back to Naruto before he sighed, "I'm pregnant."

"WHAT?!" Suigetsu yelled, but whatever he said after was drowned out by Karin's voice.

"Sasuke are you serious?! How could you guys do that now. Last time we saw you two, you were all awkwardly denying that you both had feelings and now you come back knocked up. It's been like four months since we cleared out that last hideout. What the fuck, what the fuuuuck."

"Karin." Sasuke's voice was a clear admonishment, and she shut up almost immediately. "The decisions made in my relationship are none of your business. We—"

"No no no," she interrupted, her hands held up in front of her, "you two are soulmates, whatever. Everyone and their brother knows that. I don't care what you do or how fast you do it. I just mean…have you thought about what you two having a baby will mean for your lives?"

Naruto had been following along pretty easily, but those words lost him. Sure, both of them would be new parents, but he thought they could probably stumble through—

"Because it's us?" Sasuke seemed to understand what she meant, of course, but it looked like Suigetsu was confused too, at least.

"You two are the most powerful ninja of our time. Your child will be a product of that power, and for many people, that's all they'll see."

Ahhh now he understood. Their child would be seen by many as a weapon, just the same as Naruto was treated for the majority of his life. It was…not something he'd even had time to think about, but now—

"I guess the baby is lucky we'll be its parents, then."

"You guys can handle it. I don't doubt that. I just…wouldn't be a friend if I didn't make sure you weren't prepared for what you'll be up against. Maybe your news should be kept a secret between only those that need to know. You should have a plan too, we could help you."

"I've already thought of that," Sasuke said, his tone sharper than it was before, "we won't be shouting it out in the street, but you'd have likely found out anyway. I'm sure it won't be long before we'll have to tell Kakashi."

When Sasuke said that, his eyes flicked up to Naruto's. He was too busy trying to play catch up to do much more than gaze back.

He really shouldn't be surprised that Sasuke had so much planned already. It wasn't unlike the Uchiha to be steps ahead of Naruto in that respect but still. The information hit him like a tidal wave. He felt bitterness start to well up in the back of his throat. How dare he think they could actually just be happy like normal people over one fucking thing.

Karin's voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts, "you don't have to do that right away. It won't hurt to wait and figure out what you want first." Her tone seemed different then, even to Naruto's ears. Gentler, like she'd picked up on both of their tanking moods.

"I mean I didn't think I'd be made an uncle at this young of an age, but I guess I can get my life together a little earlier than planned." Suigestsu had finally managed to pick his jaw up off of the ground only to have Karin slapping him in the back of the head.

"Why do you have to make everything about you, huh?"

Their shouting distracted them both enough for Sasuke to send Naruto a look conveying everything he felt himself. He knew Sasuke just wanted to echo all the things he'd said before, about it being bad they'd let such a thing happen unplanned. Just the idea of him saying those things again was enough for Naruto to pull himself off of the negative path he'd been letting his thoughts go down. Whatever extra precautions they'd have to take to protect their baby, he wasn't letting it spoil the excitement for him or Sasuke.

The bickering only stopped when Juugo walked in. "Are they fighting about anything that actually matters?"

"Sasuke's knocked up," Suigetsu said, extricating himself from Karin's limbs and shooting her a glare. She smacked the back of his head again.

"Don't say it like that, Suigetsu."

"You literally said that yourself earlier!"

"Whatever—"

Their voices faded into the background again as Juugo looked wide eyed at Sasuke. "Really?"

"Yes really. No negative advice, though, thanks. We've had enough of that."

"No, I think it's great. We should celebrate. We could all go for dinner in the town. No one needs to know the what the special occasion is for us to have one."

That was the best idea Naruto had heard yet.

The thoughts themselves of just what they'd gotten into were a big enough burden without the others adding to them. Besides, it was useless for them to worry about having the baby when they had months to prepare. For now, keeping the secret inside a trusted group of their choosing would be their best bet. It wouldn't be forever, but it would buy them enough time to plan for the worst.

Still, if there was one thing Naruto knew without a doubt, it was that he would protect his baby and Sasuke until his very last breath.

Notes: