Naruto is the first to wake up when the sun finds its way through the window and into her face. She blinks her eyes open and basks in the warm light. She carefully unwraps Itachi's arm from around her waist. Itachi grumbles a protest so Naruto takes a pillow and places it under his arm in her stead.
He snuggles his face into the pillow and sighs. "I'd rather have you instead." He mutters.
Naruto smiles, knowing that Itachi always wakes up when she moves out of bed. She brushes some dark hair out of his face and places a kiss on his forehead. "I know, but I'm awake and I thought it would be nice to make Sasuke some breakfast since he was kind enough to let us stay with him last night."
Itachi opens one eye and looks at her. "You should be resting." He says.
Naruto rolls her eyes. "You can help if you want. That way you know if I'm overdoing it." She offers.
Itachi opens his other eye and sits up in the bed. "Fine." He says.
He throws back the covers and stands. He and Naruto strip the bed of its sheets and throw them in a pile in the corner of the room. They may not be dirty, but a guest is sure to want fresh sheets on their bed... If Sasuke ever has a guest.
The two make their way to the kitchen, and Naruto immediately opens the refrigerator to scope out breakfast food. She grabs the ingredients she needs and places them on the counter. Itachi watches silently and helps whenever Naruto asks for it.
When Sasuke walks into his kitchen half-an-hour later, breakfast is ready and the places have been set at the table. Naruto smiles at him. "Breakfast is ready." She says brightly. Sasuke looks at the arrangement of food and his mouth waters as the delicious aroma wafts around him.
The three sit down and eat. Halfway through the meal Naruto jumps up from the table and runs into the bathroom with her hand clamped over to her mouth. Itachi follows her only moments later with a confused Sasuke close behind. When Sasuke walks into the room he sees Naruto crouched over the toilet, gagging violently while Itachi holds back her long hair.
Itachi looks at the confused Sasuke and resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Morning sickness." He explains. Realization dawns upon Sasuke. "Would you mind grabbing a wet rag?" Asks Itachi. "It usually helps a bit." He explains.
Sasuke nods and leaves to find the rag. When he comes back into the bathroom, Naruto is sitting on the counter with her shirt pulled up over her stomach. Itachi has one hand placed on her bare skin with a... tender expression on his face. Sasuke halts in his steps, surprised at the look.
Naruto looks up and sees him standing there with the rag and smiles, with the same tender look in her eyes. "They're kicking." She explains, and takes the damp cloth from his frozen hand.
Itachi stands and kisses her gently before he lays his forehead gently on hers. "You stay here, I'll go pick us out a house."
Naruto smiles and puts her arms around his neck. "Pick us a good one." She tells him, and kisses him again. Itachi walks past the still frozen Sasuke without meeting his gaze.
Naruto waits until she hears the front door close before she waves her hand in front of Sasuke's eyes, to wake him up from his daze. "Teme, you okay?" She asks.
Sasuke finally twitches back to the present and stares at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto grins and pulls her shirt back down. "I know it's a lot to take in," She says apologetically "but I finally talked him into coming home for real to raise a family."
Sasuke opens his mouth to tell the blonde that he doesn't need her pity, but the stinging words die in his throat, because he knows it isn't true. He quickly closes his mouth to hide his blunder and leans against the door frame.
Naruto smiles as if she knows exactly what the man was going to say. "Would you like to feel?" She asks suddenly.
Sasuke blinks. Feel what?
Naruto rolls her eyes at his carefully hidden confusion and grabs his hand. Before he can pull it back she places it on her clothed stomach and holds it there. Sasuke stands perfectly still, still in shock. No one has touched him outside a spar in... far too long.
His musings are cut off when he feels it. A tiny flutter of movement just below Naruto's skin. Sasuke pulls back at the unexpected movement, but then replaces it when his curiosity wins over. Naruto chuckles at his reaction, and makes no attempt to pull away. Sasuke doesn't know how long he stands there, just feeling the tiny life that he had lost all hope for.
"Meet your family Sasuke-teme." Says Naruto gently. She directs his other hand to a different spot where an identical movement is made. Sasuke slides to his knees, keeping his hands in place. His family. Relief sweeps through him. He gets to have a family. One that will be raised the right way, and with the right morals. She and Itachi will raise the next generation to live a happier life than the one the three of them were trusts Them to do it.
Someone clearing their throat pulls his attention out of his happy thoughts and to an unhappy brother. Itachi glares menacingly at Sasuke, who has just realized he and Naruto's rather... compromising position. Uchihas are such possessive creatures.
"'Tachi, you should have let him have his moment. He was crying and everything." Says Naruto, sending her spouse a pout. "In fact, you should have brought a camera." She adds as an after thought.
Sasuke frowns. Crying? Who? Then he catches a look of himself in the mirror and realizes that it was him crying. He looks away from the mirror and stares at Itachi instead, unwilling to attract attention to himself while he wipes away the old tear tracks.
Itachi examines his face, before his gaze finally softens. He turns to Naruto and helps her off the counter. "The house right across from this one is perfect. There is a tree with a swing, and a small pond in back. There's also a garden, and plenty of space inside the house as well." He tells the two of them.
Sasuke nods. "I'll go hire a gennin team then." He says. He makes to do exactly that but is stopped by the sound of Naruto's voice.
"Wait teme." She tells him. "I think I'd rather do the cleaning." Sasuke turns back to the blonde. He and Itachi share an incredulous look.
"What?" They ask at the same time. Naruto smiles and rubs her stomach gently. Sasuke doesn't miss how his brother watches her hand in a very gentle and un-Uchiha-like way.
"I want to clean the house." She tells them slowly. "I've never had a real house, and if this is where we are going to raise our children then I want to clean it up myself." She explains.
Itachi and Sasuke share another look. They'd be in charge of all the heavy lifting. "I'll cook." Offers Naruto.
Sasuke leaps at the new deal. So long as he doesn't have to cook, he'd be up for anything. He really hates cooking. "I'm in." He tells her.
Naruto smiles and jumps off the counter. She grabs Itachi's hand, and he leads them to the new house. Before anything else they decide to tour the house, so that Naruto can get a feel for it. They explore the ground floor first and find a living room, dining room and kitchen. While they're in the kitchen Sasuke grabs a glass and fills it with water.
Naruto finds a set of stairs and insists they go explore. Sasuke decides to take his glass with him rather than chug it down quickly. He quietly leads the way up the dust stairs and notices the footprints in the dust. That means Itachi's already seen the upper level. When he gets to the top he stops and glances down the hallway, easily lined with seven doors.
Sasuke finds himself unable to hold back at the chance to tease his brother and his blonde wife. His revenge for the camera comment would be carried out to both of them at the same time. "Geez Itachi, how many kids are the two of you planning to have?" He asks, feeling tired and somehow extremely giddy.
Itachi glares at him in warning. Sasuke brings the cup to his mouth to hide his smirk and takes a long drink.
"Twenty one." Says Naruto. Sasuke chokes on the clear liquid and has to spit it out. Does she mean twenty one kids?
"W-what?" Asks Sasuke. Itachi looks at the blonde with a surprised look on his face as well.
Naruto turns around. "Twenty one. Hey, 'Tachi. If there are twenty one, should we get a baby gate?"
Itachi just stares at the blonde with an open mouth. "What?" Asks Naruto. "Twenty one stairs is a lot for anyone to fall down, let alone a child. I think we should get a gate to put up so when the twins get older they don't take a tumble down the stairs."
Itachi blinks. "Yes, I think we should get a baby gate." He says. Naruto frowns at the startled looks that are still plastered on the brothers' faces.
"You weren't thinking something perverted, were you?" She asks with a frown. Sasuke quickly shakes his head no. Naruto glares at them skeptically. "Ok." She says, though it doesn't sound like she quite believes them, and then explores the rest of the house.
"So," Says Sasuke. "Twenty one Itachi juniors?" He asks. Itachi sends him a glare that almost makes him shut up. Almost. "Then you'd prefer twenty one Naruto juniors. Imagine that sight. Blue-eyed, blonde dobes with Sharingan..."
Itachi activates his own Sharingan and easily becomes three times as intimidating. Sasuke quivers slightly. Naruto whacks the back of Itachi's head. "Put that away in my house." She warns. Itachi immediately de-activates his blood line, and turns away from Sasuke.
Sasuke relaxes. "Whipped." He mutters.
"Sasuke, stop agitating your brother and get down here." Sasuke frowns. How did she- "Come on Sasuke, I'm waiting." She warns.
What exactly had they just gotten themselves into?
For the next four months Itachi and Sasuke move furniture, clean up the gathered dust, and prepare the twins' bedrooms. Naruto is now much bigger, but still takes part in restoring their house.
A knock at the door one evening during dinner begins the snowball effect of gossip in the village. Sasuke answers the door of his brother's house and swallows a groan.
"Is he here? Where is Naruto?" Asks Iruka. "Is it true? Is he still alive? The Hokage just made the announcement. Can I see him? You must know where he is, I went to all of his usual places and he wasn't there." He continues in a rush.
Sasuke inwardly snickers. "One moment Iruka-Sensei." He tells the man. He turns into the house. "Dobe, you have a visitor." He calls to Naruto.
"Really? That's odd. Don't chase them off teme, it could be important." Sasuke turns back to Iruka in time to see the teacher's eyes widen at the familiar banter.
Naruto comes hobbling around the corner with one hand resting gently on top of her swollen stomach. "Oh! Hi Iruka-Sensei!" She greets enthusiastically.
Iruka stares at the girl for a long moment. Then he faints.
Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"That went better that I thought it would." Says Naruto. "He teme, do me a favor and bring him into the kitchen. While he's here I'll invite him for dinner."
Sasuke sighs and grabs Iruka around the waist. Naruto shuts the door behind them and follows Sasuke as he half drags and half pulls Iruka to an empty chair.
"Do we wait for him to wake up, or do we find a way to wake him up." Asks Itachi.
Naruto grins. "Leave it to me, though you may want to plug your ears." The Uchiha brothers take the blonde's advice.
"Iruka-sensei, Sasuke-teme is cheating off my paper again!" She yells.
Iruka immedietly stands and slaps his hand on the desk, and uses his other hand to point at Sasuke. "Detention!" He yells. Then he blinks. "Wha-?"
"Iruka-sensei!" Interrupts Naruto. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"
Iruka looks at the pregnant blonde and blinks. "Naruto." He says sounding hesitant. "You are a girl." He states. Then he looks down at her stomach and back up at her. "A pregnant one." He says, sounding shocked. Then he turns in his seat and glares at Sasuke, completely ignoring Itachi. "What have you done?" He demands, sounding angry.
The three Uchihas share a look before Naruto bursts out laughing. Itachi looks upset, and Sasuke looks like someone just suggested that he swallow his own kunai. "What do you mean what did I do?" He asks. Then he points at Itachi childishly, but desperate to get Iruka's attention off of him. The man's 'teacher face' plus 'mother hen mode' is scary! "It was Itachi!" He tattles.
Iruka blinks and looks at Itachi for the first time. Then he smiles. "Congratulations." He says brightly, fully displaying a 180 degree emotional turn.
Sasuke scowls. Why does Itachi get a smile and he almost gets killed? Naruto notices and chuckles. "Let's face it Sasuke, you will always be a teme."
Iruka smiles gently and grabs Naruto's hand. "Why didn't you tell me you were alive, that you were back?" He asks sounding hurt.
Naruto squeezes his hand. "I missed you so much Iruka-sensei, but no one could know that we were alive. By being dead, we could easily move through the shadows and gather the information we needed. As for why I didn't tell you I was back, we had to wait for Baa-chan to finish the paperwork. She had to declare Itachi a loyal shinobi and prove his innocence, and then she had to make sure our marriage was authentic and not made up or forced." Here Naruto rolls her eyes. "She was actually afraid that I forced Itachi to marry me." She jokes, knowing that Tsunade would have been afraid that the opposite was true.
It works, and Iruka smiles. "So how far along are you?" He asks.
"This is my final month. I'm due in about a week." She says cheerfully.
Iruka goes back into his mother hen mode. "Have you been eating right? Ramen isn't good for anyone let alone a growing baby." He frets.
Naruto laughs. "Actually, I haven't had any Ramen. The smell is actually repulsive. I've been craving peanut butter, ketchup, and jalapeno peppers." She admits.
Iruka turns slightly green. "That's... interesting." He finally manages.
Naruto nods. "I have to admit, it does actually seem really gross, but if it makes them happy then I'm not about to start complaining." She tells him.
"Them?" Asks Iruka.
Naruto nods. "Yup, them. Twins. One boy and one girl."
"Congratulations." Says Iruka again. Then he stands. "Thank you for having me over, but I think I should go home and ponder over everything you've told me today before my brain implodes." He admits.
Naruto smiles. "I understand." She reassures him. The two hug gently.
"I'll show you out." Says Itachi.
"I'll follow Iruka out." Says Sasuke.
The three of them make their way out the door and close it. Iruka immediately turns to Itachi. "Take care of Naruto. He, she, deserves it." He corrects himself.
Itachi nods. "I will do my best to do so in every possible way, sir." He vows.
Iruka smiles and then turns to Sasuke. "Don't do anything... stupid and end up loosing the best thing that has ever happened to you." He warns.
Sasuke allows his guilt to show. "You don't have to worry. I won't give up my family for anything. Not ever again." He tells them.
Iruka smiles. "I'm glad to see that you have finally grown into the man I always knew you could be." He tells him. Then he turns, and walks home.
Sasuke and Itachi watch him go. "Did he just imply that I was stupid and it's only because of you that I have become more mature?" Asks Sasuke.
Itachi turns to look at his brother. "Sasuke, do we need to have 'the talk'?"
=D =D =D =D =D =D =D
Sorry about making Sasuke and Itachi both a bit ooc in this chapter, but I just had to put those parts in there. I'm not very good at gloom and doom, so I guess that's just a bit of my personality slipping into my story again. ^.^;
I would love to hear what you think.