*Important Notice!* For readers who don't keep track of me and my many life changes, this chapter has NOT been edited because it already abides by the FFN guidelines. Explanations are on my profile and links to the unedited versions of all my stories.
I have had problems writing, I'm not going to deny it. But it's been way longer than I anticipated getting chapter drafts written. I can't promise I'll be updating in a timely manner but I just wanted to let everyone know that I have not dropped this story. Writing it is just taking way longer than I expected. So I'm posting this to show that I am still working on it.
All my thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, Lady Spain (Explanations are on my profile), omgistdanimals, Haruka Uzumaki21, DrowingHeart, AzucenaXshadows, sohrem666, SweetHunniiBunnii, and Love4Words. You all are wonderful!
November nineteenth, the twentieth-eighth week
Sasuke was sitting in Taji's office as he found himself here, shirtless, more often than not these days. He patiently sat in his chair, let Taji and Kusushi do what they wanted until they were satisfied and let Sakura drag him off to lunch or home to prepare it. This time, the pregnant male found his thoughts interrupted by Sakura who was holding out a cup of familiar liquid.
"I already did this test." He told her. She ignored his reluctance to take the drink and moved it closer. Sakura held it in front of the Uchiha's chest, her stern gaze telling him if he didn't take the cup, she would force it down his throat. Her forcefulness made Sasuke want to roll his eyes; his mood swings had become more prominent the last few days.
"It's a follow up, just drink it." Sakura sighed. She raised the cup to his face, inches from his lips and Sasuke turned his head, reaching for the cup. He took it from her and lowered it so he could peer at its contents.
"She's right, we need a follow up result of the GCT test." Kusushi spoke up. Sasuke didn't take his eyes off the liquid he knew was going to be ridiculously sweet for a second then glanced to Taji, who nodded to him. At that, the pregnant male returned his attention to the disgusting liquid and lifted it to his lips to drink it.
"Thank you, now was that so hard?" Sakura berated him with her arms crossed over her chest. The Uchiha scrunched his face at her as he swallowed the liquid quickly, attempting not to taste it. Once it was gone, he held the cup out for someone to take as he made a face of disgust.
"Yes." He answered her. Sakura exhaled loudly through her nose and Sasuke could see Taji smiling out of the corner of his eyes. "What's next?" The Uchiha asked. Kusushi shifted in his seat, turning to face Sasuke with a clipboard in hand.
"We're going to bump up your visits to every two weeks, and then every week when you're thirty-five weeks along, around January seventh." The brunet male looked up from his clipboard, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose as he assessed Sasuke for an answer. Sasuke glanced to him, his mood darkening even further at the thought of even more of these boring checkups.
"Wonderful." He said sarcastically. Kusushi nodded solemnly and turned away again. He looked up to find Sakura staring at him reproachfully. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and set his hand on his abdomen, feeling the baby shift.
"Why are you so testy today?" Sakura asked him. The baby, his little passenger as he had recently named him or her, kicked and he shifted in the seat, his organs taking the brunt of the innocent's attempt to get comfortable. It only seemed to worsen his mood.
"I'm pregnant." The Uchiha answered. His pink haired friend opened her mouth to retort but his appointed obstetrician interrupted them before it became a spat.
"Is the baby kicking?" Taji questioned. Sasuke looked to her and watched her make a gesture to his where he had placed his hand. Sakura deflated as well, stepping back demurely so she was no longer hovering over the pregnant male.
"Yes." The Uchiha answered in a much softer tone than he had used before. Taji nodded with a gentle smile, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes creasing with it, and rolled her chair so that she was sitting at his side. She splayed her hand out, waiting for permission to touch him. This happened every time and Sasuke nodded his assent to her so she could settle her hand on his mountain-sized stomach. She felt around for any of the baby's movement and blinked in surprise when the baby shifted against her hand.
"You'll need to start counting the kicks, what time of the day, or night, he or she is most active. You can either lie down on your side or sit with your feet up to count ten of they baby's kicks. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes but if you don't feel ten kicks in two hours, get Sakura immediately." Taji's hand began to glow in the healing green of her chakra and she ran her hand across Sasuke's stomach. "Also, don't feel shy about talking out loud when you're by yourself, it will help the baby." With a nod of her head, the obstetrician let the glow fade and pulled her hand away, obviously satisfied that he or she was still healthy.
"How?" Sasuke asked. She turned away from the dark haired male, writing her findings down on a sheet next to Kusushi's clipboard.
"Babies can recognize voices in the womb, it will also help with future language development." The elder woman responded, her tone mostly clinical.
"So my husband isn't crazy?" Sasuke snorted. He had known that his little passenger could recognize voices before they were born but the helping with their language development was news to him.
"No more so than he was before you were pregnant." Taji answered warmly. The pregnant male chuckled under his breath, the edges of his lips twitching as he attempted not to smile.
"Is there anything else we need to discuss while we wait?" Sakura asked. She looked to Taji and Kusushi and Sasuke was reminded that he had a little less than three hours to just sit in this room. All that time to make small talk with his old teammate that had the tendency to piss him off, his obstetrician he sort of enjoyed talking to, and Kusushi, who half the time was so caught up in his work he forgot the Uchiha was there and the other half was scared of him.
"Well, what's interesting is that this week, your baby's eyesight is developing," Kusushi spoke up suddenly. "He or she can blink their eyes and probably has eyelashes to go with them." The brown haired man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he looked up from his clipboard.
"Fascinating." Sasuke drawled in a bored tone. He watched Kusushi blink rapidly before turning his head back to the table, unwilling to meet the Uchiha's gaze. The sonographer was still afraid of him, even though he knew Sasuke was harmless, essentially.
"Back to being overly moody, I see." Sakura sighed. Holding back the urge to stick his tongue out at her, the Uchiha huffed and rolled his eyes at her. Taji was quietly chuckling in her seat but Kusushi was gathering his materials and moving to stand up.
"I think that's my cue to leave. I'll be back in time to check your test results." The man with glasses murmured. The man nodded to Taji before he turned and all but fled the small room, the other three people in the room watching him.
"Sakura, make sure that door is locked." Taji ordered the pink haired woman. Sakura dutifully moved to the door, flipping the lock and then checked the knob. Sasuke frowned and shifted in his seat, his eyes stuck on the door as his friend took Kusushi's chair.
"Naruto said he'd stop by after he got off perimeter duty." The Uchiha glanced to Taji who didn't seem surprised at his statement and watched her smile kindly.
"He can knock when he gets here, unless you want someone to walk in here like last time." Sakura answered. That brought the memory of when someone had walked into the room, a nurse whose eyes had immediately gone to Sasuke's stomach. Sakura had immediately moved to shoo her out but the woman had started asking questions so the pink haired woman had to push her out while Taji had grabbed his shirt to cover the Uchiha's form. That had been embarrassing.
Three hours later...
"You'll start to gain a pound each week." Taji answered conversationally. Kusushi had come back after three hours and completed the test and left again, Taji and Sasuke had been talking while they waited for Naruto since Sakura had nodded off. A knock on the door woke the pink haired woman with a start, her chin jerking up off her chest and bright green eyes opening in a startled fashion.
"Exciting." Sasuke responded sarcastically. He watched his old teammate rub at the sleep in her eyes as someone knocked on the door again. Still half-awake, Sakura stood up and went to unlock the door, peering out into the hallway from the cracked doorway.
"Hey, Sakura, were you asleep?" Naruto's voice questioned. The Uchiha knew Taji was smiling again; she had taken an immediate liking to Naruto when she first met him and it only seemed to grow every time they met. Sasuke blamed it on the annoyingly high level of seriousness Naruto took on his impending fatherhood, Taji seemed to find it endearing.
"Yes, what do you want?" Sakura huffed indignantly.
"To see my husband? He is still in here, right?" The blonde's voice practically bounced as he tried to see over Sakura's head.
"Let the idiot in." Sasuke sighed with a smile. Sakura opened the door wider, stepping aside to let the blonde in. Naruto was standing in the doorway, trying his hardest not to smile at the bleary eyed Sakura. His eyes landed Sasuke when he stepped into the room and let their friend close the door and lean against it. After Naruto was caught up to speed on how his husband was doing, they'd be free to leave. "How was work?"
"You know, same old same old." Naruto glanced to Sakura as he stole the seat she'd been sleeping in and leaned forward on his knees. "Sat around at the gate and stared at falling leaves for the last five hours." He glanced to Taji and nodded in greeting with his bright smile that further ensnared the obstetrician.
"You lost janken pon again?" Sakura called out in disbelief. "That's the fourth time this week, you really do suck at hand games." She smiled at the blonde in a pitying kind of way.
"They're cheating, I'm sure of it." Naruto responded brightly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde's positive enthusiasm but his husband ignored the look and turned to Taji. "So how were the tests, did everything go well?" He asked. His tone was hopeful but as always, there was a hint of caution underlying it and Taji's expression softened further.
"He passed, with flying colors I might add." She motioned to her file on the desk.
"That's great!" Naruto sighed in relief. He beamed at Sasuke and the dark haired male rolled his eyes, his husband was far too chipper for the pregnant man. The blonde's smiled waned slightly and he looked to Sakura with slightly wide eyes.
"He's just being moody, you're fine." Sakura told him. That seemed to ease Naruto's fears and his smile returned full force, regardless of the Uchiha's scoff.
"We're bumping up his check ups to every two weeks." Taji told the blonde conversationally. That caught Naruto's attention and he looked to Taji as he nodded in understanding.
"Okay. That shouldn't be a problem for me once I'm on maternity leave." Naruto sat back and shrugged his shoulders to the older woman.
"He'll also have to start counting the baby's kicks which, you can help out with if Sasuke wants you to." Taji gave Sasuke a knowing look. It wasn't until the dark haired male heard his husband splutter that he looked over and saw him reaching for the Uchiha's stomach.
"Why? Is something wrong with the baby?" Naruto's gaze was flickering between the obstetrician and his stomach. Sasuke rolled his eyes again and smacked the blonde's hand, ignoring the cry of pain that followed it.
"No, no." Taji shook her head and raised her hand, shaking it a short quick motion as Naruto rubbed the back of his wounded hand. "Everything is fine. Sasuke should be feeling the kicks regularly now and I want him to count them. It's an easy way to figure out their schedule."
"Idiot." Sasuke added.
"Oh," Naruto's fear melted off his face at the explanation and he looked to Sasuke with a relieved smile. "That's good then." He completely ignored the pregnant male's last comment and Sasuke grumpily crossed his arms over his chest. Sakura tried not to giggle, stifling the sounds through pursed lips and the Uchiha sent her a dark look.
"Well then, you're all set." Taji spoke with laughter in her voice. Unwillingly, the pregnant male dropped his glare and moodily moved to sit up, ignoring his husband's helping hand. "I'll see you two in two weeks?" The older woman asked.
"Yeah, I'll try to be here for it next time." Naruto chuckled. He rubbed his nose as he stood, bright blue eyes watching Sasuke stand and grab his jacket.
"Good, now go get yourselves some lunch. No ramen, Naruto, it's too salty." Sakura pointed to the blonde as she moved into the room so she could open the door. Sasuke turned to Taji and bowed, knowing that she would shush him if he tried to thank her. Naruto followed him towards the door, mouthing 'thank you' with a smile as their friend held the door open for them.
"You're not joining us?" Naruto asked the pink haired woman. Sakura shook her head as she hid a yawn behind her hand. The married couple stood outside of the room now, ignoring the curious gazes of people walking down the hall.
"No, I'm picking up a shift at the maternity ward. I'll see you guys at dinner." She responded. "Go on, Taji-san is going to go over your chart with me." The pink haired woman made a shooing motion with her hand and shut the door with a tired smile.
"Don't overwork yourself." Sasuke called through the door. They didn't hear Sakura respond and the dark haired male felt Naruto's hand brush against the back of his own before. Taking the blonde's hand, they turned and walked down the hall with the ring on Sasuke's finger pressing into his skin in a way the pregnant male liked.
"Where would you like to eat? I'm out of ideas since Sakura pulled Ichiraku's is off the table." Naruto asked with a grin. Sasuke glanced to his husband and shrugged his shoulders, his mind working in about six different plans, all of them with the same goal.
"I need to stop by one of the scroll rooms before we go to lunch." The dark haired male murmured. They made it into the main foyer of the hospital without anyone stopping them to ask about the baby and the Uchiha considered that a small victory.
"Okay, no problem." Naruto responded easily. Stepping out into the brisk, chilly November air and cloudy skies, the blonde visibly shivered and pulled his hand away to zip up his flak jacket. Sasuke started walking ahead of him, stepping aside when a woman in a nurse uniform walked past. She only glanced at his prominent stomach once and did it as she was nodding to him as she passed. "You warm enough?"
Sasuke jerked his up in a nod once, waited until Naruto was trying to slip his hand back into the Uchiha's grip. They walked together away from the hospital, the blonde pulling the dark haired male's hand into his jacket pocket with a wide grin when Sasuke gave him an exasperated look. Naruto's thumb was rubbing the back of his palm slowly; it was a soothing gesture that Sasuke was grateful for. The quick walk to the Hokage Tower was done in comfortable silence. Not a lot of people were out in this cold weather, those that were passed by quickly and didn't bother staring at a married, pregnant couple.
"Wait here." Sasuke murmured when they reached the front door of the tower. The dark haired male opened the door and frowned when Naruto pulled it open wider and held it open. Giving his husband frowning glance, Sasuke stepped inside and held out his hand, holding it in front of Naruto's chest to keep him from entering too. "I said to wait here."
"Okay," Naruto spoke the word slowly. The blonde was giving his husband a confused look. "Do you think it's going to take long?" He asked and wrapped his free hand around his chest to emphasize just how cold he was.
"It shouldn't, I'll have you inside in a few minutes." Sasuke stepped away from the door, wanting to warm himself up before he had to deal with a certain, irritating, man.
"And what are we going to do exactly?" Naruto leaned in, letting the open door narrow so as not to keep letting the cold air in. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde and shrugged his shoulders.
"Just, wait here." He responded with more force. He stared the blonde down until his husband sighed and closed the door, leaving Sasuke in hallway alone. Not wanting to leave Naruto out in the cold for long, he quickly made his way the nearest flight of stairs and up to the office of the sad little man in charge of the scroll room. Luckily, the man was there and Sasuke didn't have to go searching for him.
"You're back I see." The man haughtily called out. He sat behind his desk that was covered in scrolls and folders and didn't bother looking moving gaze from the file he was reading in his hands.
"I need to do some more research." Sasuke sighed. Unzipping his jacket, he leaned against the doorframe and waited for the older man to care enough to look up.
"You're always needing to do more research, when are you going to find what you're looking for?" He still didn't look up and the Uchiha fought back the urge to roll his eyes. It wouldn't help his case with the man.
"Hn." Sasuke murmured. He'd used that sound more than he actually spoke entire sentences to the man so he assumed it wouldn't irritate that much more. His response seemed to be exactly what the clerk was waiting for and the man set the file in his hand down on top of the cluttered desk.
"If I see that pink haired medic in my scroll room again, I'll ban you from them for the rest of your life." The clerk finally looked up. Sasuke watched the older man finally look up, smirking. Refraining from rolling his eyes again, Sasuke let the man think he won. He'd do it because it was a small price to pay to get back into the scroll rooms.
"I'll be sure to tell her so." Sasuke straightened and slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, he made himself look bored and sent the man a deadened stare. The clerk's victorious smirk disappeared when he realized the Uchiha wasn't going to give him a response to his gloating.
"Hmph!" He sat back in his chair, surveying the pregnant male with a scowl for a second before standing up and brushing past said male. Sasuke smirked and turned, following the shorter man back to the stairwell and up to the third floor. The pregnant male waited patiently for the clerk to get the key to the specific scroll room out his pocket and to unlock it.
"Thank you." Sasuke murmured when the clerk opened the door. The shorter man stuffed the key back into his pocket and stepped back so the Uchiha could enter the room. Sasuke glanced to the clerk, holding back a smirk at his disgruntled expression.
"Remember to lock up when you leave." The clerk growled. He turned and stalked away from the pregnant male. Sasuke shut the door to the scroll room behind him and waited ten seconds. Then, he left the scroll room and crossed the hall, opening the nearest window and leaned his head out. Naruto was exactly where he left him, running in place with his hands jammed into his flak jacket pockets.
"Dobe." Sasuke called out. His husband's head jerked up at the sound so quickly that the pregnant male couldn't help but smile. "Get up here." He tried to stop smiling as Naruto took another moment to bend his knees and the next second he was face to face with his husband.
"Why did I have to wait outside if all you were going to do was climb a few flights of stairs?" Sasuke stepped back, glancing to the stairwell for any sign of the scroll room clerk as Naruto climbed through the window. As soon as the blonde had shut the window and latched it, the Uchiha dragged him into the room. "Sasuke! Did you sneak me into a scroll room?" Naruto hissed quietly. He surveyed the room wide eyed and Sasuke glanced to the room he had been spending so much time in.
"To show you what I've found." The Uchiha locked the door and surged forward. He glanced at each shelf, all the scrolls in place and not a speck of dust to be seen and the simple wooden desk against the back wall and the chair, the one with a reclining back and comfortable seat that Sakura had replaced the wooden uncomfortable one with without the clerk's approval.
With a learned fluidity, the pregnant male collected the scrolls he needed. He plucked one or two from the top of neat piles and eased others from the bottom of others until he couldn't carry any more and set them on the table before getting more. Naruto watched silently and moved closer when the Uchiha beckoned him and then started to open scroll after scroll.
"What if we get caught?" The blonde asked quietly. Sasuke didn't look up, too busy opening scrolls and laying them out on the desk for Naruto to look at.
"Sakura was the one that got me into trouble last time." The Uchiha replied hotly. He blinked, realizing how moody he sounded when he wasn't actually feeling moody anymore. "Don't worry, I was careful and we won't be here long enough to get caught." He added with a quick glance to his husband. Naruto nodded with a small smile, he still wasn't affected by Sasuke's mood and the pregnant male was grateful for his patience.
"I know you haven't found anything that can fix Apricot's seal but what am I looking at?" The blonde questioned. Sasuke looked at the now cluttered desktop and moved to sit in the comfortable chair, easing himself into it. Naruto stood on the opposite side of the desk, leaning over as he glanced at the multiple scrolls. His gaze was concentrated and after a moment he frowned, biting his lower lip as his gaze flicked to another scroll.
"Strengthening her seal time after time isn't a viable solution but what we can do is work with yours." Sasuke's eyes lingered on Naruto's lower lip before meeting his husband's gaze and shifted in his seat. His mind was wandering places it shouldn't be but he didn't realize just how turned on he was by Naruto's focused and thinking look. Stupid hormones.
"My seal? But nothing's wrong with mine." The blonde leaned forward, setting his hands on the edge of the desk. Sasuke forced himself to look down at the scrolls and skimmed over their content, he'd already read them several times over.
"Yes, your seal was done correctly. The structure of it is stable." He leaned back and set a hand on his stomach, unable to stop from glancing up again with a lopsided smile. His husband was outright confused now, frowning with pursed lips and utterly adorable.
"So?" Naruto flicked his gaze up and caught Sasuke's stare. The Uchiha's smile widened and he reached inside his pants pocket and pulled out a folded sheet.
"So, that means we have a stable base to work off of." He unfolded it and set it on top of some of the scrolls, showing his husband the copy of his seal with notes written all over it. The blonde blinked and leaned closer to the desk, looking closely at what was written in the notes. It took Naruto a few minutes to sort through Sasuke's cramped but organized notes and then it seemed to click, the blonde realized what the notes were describing.
"You want to add to my seal? I didn't think that was possible." The blonde continued to study the notes, picking the sheet up and holding it up for him to get a closer look. Sasuke smirked and glanced down to his hand, playing almost absentmindedly with his ring.
"That's one of the better parts of seals, so many layers to weave through." He looked up, smirking as he added a suggestive tone to his words. Naruto flashed him a quick grin before replacing it with a thoughtful look. A thought started to filter through the pregnant male's mind, he'd fantasized about his husband while working in this room countless times but this was the first time Naruto was actually in the room. He wondered how long it would take before the clerk came to check up on him and if they could get away with a quickie, Sasuke nearly licked his lips at the idea.
"What would we have to do?" Naruto set the sheet back down and eyed his husband appraisingly. "It can't be as simple as drawing one or two extra lines." Sasuke nodded. The blonde seemed to be more receptive to the idea than Sakura had been, though she didn't have Sasuke's research laid out in front of her.
"It's much more complicated than that. Most of the work will be trial and error, trying to find the best combination that works." The Uchiha picked the sheet back up, folding it and returning it to his pocket. Naruto rolled up one of the scrolls and moved it so he could sit on the edge of the desk.
"When are you going to go to the Hokage with this?" He asked. Sasuke's mind seemed to be a little busy imagining himself on his knees in front of his husband rather than thinking of a response. Standing up with only a little difficulty, the Uchiha walked around the desk and stood next to his husband.
"Soon. I'm making a list of possible combinations so we can start testing them as soon as we get her approval." He leaned into the blonde's personal space and gave him a kiss, setting his hands on Naruto's thighs and rubbing them suggestively. Naruto was grinning when the Uchiha pulled away, hands coming up to his shoulders and sliding down to his waist.
"What's up with you? You went from moody to all, this." The blonde murmured. Sasuke answered him with another, deeper kiss and let his fingers slide to his husband's inner thighs. He heard Naruto inhale sharply through his nose as his fingers wandered closer to his groin and he smirked, his idea might be closer to reality than he first thought.
"I imagined us doing it here, on the desk." Sasuke knew he didn't need to explain what 'it' was. He opened his eyes and found that Naruto was already looking at him, his bright blue eyes wide and focused on his lips. The dark haired male leaned back a little farther and licked his lips teasingly. Naruto's mouth dropped open at the sight and when Sasuke was certain the blonde would take him up on his offer, Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head.
"You know we can't." Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek to keep from outright frowning as his husband gently pushed him back a step. "I thought you didn't want to get caught with me in here." Naruto gave him a hopeful smile, probably fearing that the pregnant male would take his rebuff badly and go back to being moody. It wasn't Sasuke had been hoping for but he wasn't entirely disappointed, the blonde did like his ideas about the Kyoko problem.
"Doesn't stop me from thinking about it." The Uchiha huffed. Sasuke leaned in for another kiss, which his husband accepted passively. It seemed he was stunned by Sasuke's easy acceptance. "Fine, let's go." He pulled back with a smirk and watched the blonde blink rapidly. Stepping back, the dark haired male turned to the door, wanting to check the hallway before he let Naruto out. It wouldn't do to get caught, especially if they weren't going to be caught in flagrante delicto.
"Sasuke, we can still do it! I mean, you know, at home." The blonde finished lamely. With ease that could only come from muscle memory, the pregnant male unlocked the door, turned the handle and opened the door silently.
"I know that, Dobe." He peered out into the hallway, found it to be void of any life and opened the door wider. Naruto stepped up behind the pregnant male looking relieved. Sasuke grabbed him by the arm and led him out of the room, ushering him towards the window. "Go." The Uchiha hissed in a loud whisper.
He watched as the blonde opened the window and hoisted himself up through it with a giddy smile. Sasuke shut the door to the room again and moved back to the desk, rolling the scrolls up with care. It took a little time for him to place the scrolls where they belonged but once he finished he was out the door, locking it behind him. Sasuke maneuvered himself down the stairs, past the clerk's office door that was purposely left open so he could watch for the Uchiha leaving, and out the front door quickly. Naruto was waiting for him just outside the doors and immediately grabbed his husband's hand.
"Still want to go out to lunch?" The Uchiha asked. He let the blonde pull their hands into the flak jacket pocket as they left the Hokage tower. His husband shrugged his shoulders with a smile and the dark haired male knew that going out to eat was no longer on the table. Not that he actually cared about what he was going to have for lunch.
"I'm sure we can whip something up at home." Naruto hummed. Sasuke snorted, his grip tightening around the blonde's hand inside the pocket in anticipation.
November twenty-third, still the twenty-eighth week
"Why are we going to meet with the Hokage?" Kyoko asked. She sounded hesitant as she spoke just loud enough to be heard. The red haired girl was sticking annoyingly close to his side as they made their way to the Hokage tower. This was the fifth day in a row he was making this trip but it was the first time he was bringing Kyoko with him and the younger girl's antics were grating his nerves.
"Because this concerns you." He tried not to snap at her. It was early in the morning and the few people that were already up and about avoided the two as they walked down the street. The girl didn't take well to the people who looked at her in fear and even less so to the ones that were glaring at her.
"Oh," The girl seemed to be mollified, at least until she opened her mouth again. "Did you find something? Are you going to be able to fix everything?" Sasuke looked down at her sharply and she shut her mouth, her teeth clacking together loudly. She looked down at her feet and slowed her pace until she was trailing after him, practically on his heels. The red headed girl was obsessively running her hand over her braid now, her breathing shallow and little harsh, rasping sounds. He'd set her off on a mini-panic attack, again. At least Naruto wasn't there to make it worse.
"I'll explain when we get there." The Uchiha sighed. She nodded her head without bothering to look up and the pregnant male thought she looked like a small dog, following him obediently. He tried not to grin at the thought and he made a note to remember to tell Naruto about it later.
Kyoko managed to remain quiet for the rest of the walk to the tower and Sasuke made sure to shoot glares back at anyone who sent glares their way. Shizune was waiting for them when they entered the tower and she smiled at Kyoko, Sasuke's stomach and then Sasuke, in that order.
"Apricot, Sasuke, it's so good to see you again." The older woman greeted. Kyoko tentatively raised her head, peeking from under her bangs to give a small smile.
"Shizune." Sasuke murmured. He unzipped his jacket, already feeling stifled in the heated building and watched the red head next to him started to fidget. The girl was playing with the hem of her green sweater and constantly moving her feet inside the shoes the Uchiha had ordered her to wear.
"I'll be taking you up to the Hokage's office." Shizune crossed her arms over her chest and turned her body in the direction she would lead them. Kyoko immediately stepped forward and as Sasuke started to follow, he could feel someone watching him. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he moved to flank the younger girl while Shizune took her place on Apricot's other side.
"What's with the escort?" Sasuke questioned softly. Shizune glanced to him but looked away as soon as they made eye contact. Kyoko's eyes were wide as her shoulders stiffened at the thought of someone following them.
"They're aware of the situation, Apricot is a bit of a wild card." The dark haired woman grinned. Her voice was playful but Sasuke got the message layered underneath the joke. The anbu were aware that he couldn't use his bloodline limit while he was pregnant and were there to watch Kyoko in case she lost control. Sasuke knew they hadn't been followed from the compound so at least he knew where the anbu stood with their priorities. "How have you been, Apricot?"
"Okay, I guess." The red headed girl answered softly. "Iruka's been teaching me a lot." Her voice quivered with nervousness and she bit her lower lip as she glanced up to the older woman.
"Like what?" Shizune asked. She smiled kindly as they started up the first flight of stairs; Sasuke let the two women move ahead of him so they wouldn't take up the whole stairwell. Kyoko turned her head to the older women as she responded, her cheeks flushing red.
"How to write and read." The girl answered softly. She seemed embarrassed admitting it and the Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the back of her head. It had been a while since he'd seen her embarrassed; normally her response was to quietly fume or voice her indignation loudly.
"Are you having a hard time with it?" Shizune asked. They paused on a landing, letting a couple of older chuunin pass them on the landing between flights. Kyoko lowered her gaze to her feet and Sasuke glared at them as they passed.
"I, I don't think so." The smaller girl answered. She seemed surprised the amount of interest Shizune was taking in her studies. "Kakashi and Yamato's training is harder, they make me practice it until I can't do it anymore." Sasuke ignored the several anbu watching them from the ceiling and the few jonin loitering around when Shizune led them down a familiar hallway.
"How long does it take for you to get their training down?" Kyoko looked up to Shizune with a small smile at the question.
"Eventually. It takes a couple days sometimes." Apricot's answer made the older woman laugh and the red head's smile widened. Shizune stopped in front of the Hokage's office door and held out a hand, motioning for them to wait. Sasuke watched Kyoko nod as Shizune slipped into the office and shut the door behind her. It opened a few seconds later so the dark haired woman could poke her head out.
"She's ready for you." She murmured softly and opened the door wider. The pregnant male waited for Kyoko to step inside first and followed her into the room. Tsunade was watching them with a stern expression as they came in, her fingers intertwined in front of her with her elbows on the desk.
"Sasuke, Apricot." She said in a cool welcome. The redhead stepped in front of the desk stiffly, her eyes cast downward as she played with her braid. Sasuke took his place next to her, shifting his weight to find a comfortable position to stand.
"Hokage-sama." He responded quietly. He could see Kyoko tilting her head to glance at him from the corner of his eye and then jerk her head back to face the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama." The redhead quickly followed the Uchiha's lead. Tsunade smirked, dropping her hands onto the desk and leaning back in her seat.
"Let me start of by saying that none of our experts have found anything of use." She crossed her arms over her chest and appraised the pregnant male in front of her. Sasuke tilted his head in acknowledgement but he wasn't surprised that they hadn't found anything.
"I'm assuming they suggested a few other things we could try?" He asked. It wouldn't surprise him if they had told the Hokage that the best option was to kill the girl, or worse, try to seal Kyuubi's chakra into someone else.
"More than a few," She snorted with derision. "What have you got for me, Uchiha?" Tsunade didn't elaborate but the dark haired male knew that whatever they were, it wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"Kyoko's seal isn't what needs to be fixed." The blonde woman's eyes widened and she blinked twice before the Uchiha continued. "It's Naruto's." This time the dark haired male glanced to Kyoko to see her whip her head in his direction. She did it so fast that her braid hit her in the face and she spluttered in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked. Her eyes had narrowed into slits by the time Sasuke looked back to her.
"The parts of her seal that are missing could only have been made when it was first created." Sasuke started to explain. He paused as Tsunade rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"There's nothing we can do to fix Apricot's seal, I get that." The Hokage huffed in annoyance. "Explain what you meant about Naruto's seal needing to be fixed." Apricot shifted next to him, shifting from one foot to another before rocking forward onto her toes and then back on her heels. Sasuke mentally counted to five to keep himself from making a sarcastic remark.
"Naruto's seal contains half of Kyuubi's chakra easily. With a few modifications and a lot of effort on Naruto's part, he should be able to take the rest of the demon's chakra and keep it contained." He explained concisely.
"Transfer Apricot's half of Kyuubi to Naruto." Tsunade murmured thoughtfully. "It's such a simple idea. How do you propose we go about it?"
"I've compiled a list of possible additions to his seal, I just need to find the combination that works best." The Uchiha paused before adding. "If your experts can think of anything else, they can be added." Tsunade smirked at that and motioned for him to come closer.
"Did you bring the list with you?" She asked. Sasuke nodded and pulled a folded piece of paper out from his pocket. He stepped forward as the Hokage held out her hand for it and slipped it into her grip. The Hokage unfolded the sheet of paper and looked through its contents as the dark haired male stepped back. "This is a list of scrolls with seals in some of the scroll rooms."
"That's my list." Sasuke responded. Tsunade raised an eyebrow but looked interested.
"I'll send a copy of this to our so called 'experts' and see what they have to say. Get Kakashi up to date on what you've found, he'll be taking the lead on this."
"What?" Sasuke growled. He could hear Kyoko stepping away from him as he curled his hands into fists and frowned at the blonde woman in front of him. Tsunade wasn't fazed by his reaction; she set the piece of paper aside on her desk and turned her attention back to the Uchiha, an eyebrow raised.
"Did you think I would let you continue to do this on your own? You're on maternity leave, Uchiha." The Hokage stated simply. Sasuke clenched his teeth as he tried to breathe steadily through the anger.
"You can't just take this away from me, Naruto is my husband, Kyoko is my responsibility." The pregnant male tried to keep his voice steady but it was deep and dark.
"Apricot is this village's responsibility." Tsunade shot back. She glared at the pregnant male, daring him to correct her. "Your husband may be the Kyuubi's container but you have to understand that the safety of your child needs to come first."
"I do understand that." The pregnant male snapped.
"Then you know if Kyuubi breaks free at any time during these attempts, even for a second, you'll be in danger. Your child will be in danger." Sasuke opened his mouth to retort but the Hokage continued. "You can't always do everything by yourself, brat." The Hokage finished with a smirk because they both knew that she would have the final say.
"What would I have to do?" Kyoko spoke up for the first time since the conversation started. Sasuke turned his head to look at her, she stood several feet away from him but at least she wasn't nervously twitching or looking down at her feet. "What can I do to help?" The younger girl was staring at the Hokage, her face set in determination rather than fear.
"Don't let Kyuubi escape, to start." Tsunade answered. "But I'm assuming she's integral to testing the effectiveness of Naruto's modified seal?" She directed the question at Sasuke who nodded.
"At the cost of her seal degrading rapidly, yes." The pregnant male answered. He could see the redhead shudder but the older blonde woman didn't seem to be fazed. "Naruto's clones and Apricot would have to physically touch each other to test the strength of each addition and combination."
"We'll just have to set up extra precautions then, won't we?" She asked with a grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes before glaring at the blonde woman.
"Kakashi will have to, you mean." He corrected her. Apricot seemed to relax when she heard his sarcasm; she stepped closer to him and resumed her position standing next to the pregnant male. Her expression was determined and the Hokage gave her a quick glance with a smirk.
"And Yamato, might as well bring him into this too." Tsunade added. The older woman was now grinning gleefully at the Uchiha.
"Fantastic." Kyoko muttered sarcastically. Sasuke agreed with her but didn't bother to say it out loud. The Hokage shrugged her shoulders, as if she could care less and turned her attention to the sheet Sasuke had handed her.
"Off you go then," Tsunade waved the back of her palm towards them in a shooing motion. "And relax, Uchiha, wouldn't want you going into labor prematurely." Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from making a snappish reply.
"Hokage-sama." He murmured instead. Beside him, Kyoko bowed her head as he turned to leave.
"Hokage-sama." Kyoko echoed. Sasuke could hear the redhead chasing after him as he opened the door and stepped out of the office. The young redhead caught up to him by running down the hall and was watching him with wide eyes. "Why are you mad?"
"I started this, I should end it." Sasuke ground out.
As I mentioned above, I'm not prepared to start monthly updates. It took me three weeks to write four pages, I ended up scrapping it and rewrote the four pages in three days. Feel free to check my profile for news on updates.