Reviewer Shout-Out: Jnaruko & The Unapologetic. Keep up the reviews! I love hearing from you guys and thanks for bearing with me as we go through these angsty chapters. Enjoy!

SAME WARNINGS AS THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER!

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Chapter 57: Swallowed Pride

Naruto's P.O.V.

"Ugh, my head is pounding. I need to stop drinking so much,"

I groan without opening my eyes. However, I knew I was no longer in the real world, but I don't care. I figured Kurama would have pulled me into my subconscious, especially after yesterday. I feel bad for sending him away when he was only trying to cheer me up. But with all the information thrown at me yesterday, I'm not even sure how to process the information.

Knowing my mate's actual status and that he had an abortion without telling me hurts too much to handle. I'm trying to understand and sympathize with his actions, but it's so hard. I want to be angry with him. I want to scream again, pull my hair out, anything to make the pain stop, but I won't leave him. Even though his confession, I could see how vulnerable he was. For him not to want to ever tell me about the abortion must have had a lasting effect on him. Part of me wants to pull him in and hold on tight while the other half wants to punch his stupid face. I'm ok with us not telling each other everything but this was definitely something he should have told me.

I roll over onto my back before rubbing my face. Trying to recall my memories after getting drunk with the guys, I want to smack myself, "We're supposed to talk about today. Why must I be so insistent on shit? And Kurama is going to want to talk to me too? I don't feel like doing shit today. Maybe if I keep my eyes closed and pretend to be asleep, I can avoid it for a little while,"

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! I KNOW YOU'RE PRETENDING TO SLEEP! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE, YOUNG MAN!" I hear my mother's angry voice yell.

"Shit,"

Deciding not to make her angrier, I open my eyes and slowly sit up. In front of me are my angry mother, an angry humanoid version of Kurama, and my dad trying to hold them back.

"Minato! Let me go so I can properly scold our son!" my mother yells.

"Not until you to promise to calm down,"

"Wait until I get over there, you brat! I'm going to tear you to pieces!" Kurama shouts against my father's hold.

"Can you guys please keep it down? I have a major headache," I groan while holding my head.

"Why you little!" "Let me at him!" both my redhaired fox parents scream in anger.

My father manages to turn them around and sit them down with a stern look on his face, "Stop this right now. You two need to get ahold of yourselves. Our son needs us to talk to him, not threaten him for making a mistake. Now, can we all come together and just have a discussion like adults?" Kurama and my mother looked away for a moment before answering when my father clears his throat.

"Fine," both sign with their eyes closed.

"Good, now on to you, Naruto" I watch my father sit beside me with a comforting hand on my shoulder and a smile, "Let's talk,"

"You're scary when you're stern," I say as a shiver goes down my spine.

His smile widens as he places a hand on top of my head, "And don't you forget it. Now, how about you tell us what happened,"

"Don't you guys already know what happened? I mean, you are in my mind,"

"Yes, but we want to talk you through it. You're obviously in a lot of pain from Sasuke's confession, no?" my father softly says.

"Yeah and I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, I can get passed that he's actually an omega. In fact, I'm ecstatic about it. It's the abortion that I can't work through. I'm trying to be compassionate about why he did it, but I'm just so angry. How could he get rid of something that we created? He was pregnant with our first child. I would have given anything to be there for him had I known. I just… I guess… I don't know anymore. My head hurts too much,"

Even though I turn my gaze to the ground, I can feel the anger disappear from Kurama and my mom. The scent of lilies fills my noes as her comforting arms wrap around the head and shoulders. My forehead leans further into her chest as I try to hold back my tears.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. But it'll be alright. You're going to get through it. Both of you will,"

"But how, mom? How am I supposed to forgive him and move on from this? I feel like I can't trust him anymore. How could he want to keep this a secret from me? I failed. I failed him as alpha and a mate. He should want to run to me if he ever needed me, right? I just want to know what I'm doing wrong," I cry, tears spilling down my cheeks at this point.

"You didn't do anything wrong, kit. You didn't know about any of this until just yesterday. You need to stop feeling guilty for something you had no control over," Kurama says.

"But~"

"No stop it. Naruto, you have to understand that you cannot control what others do. I know you have this "power" to make people care, but it doesn't always work. Not completely defending the brat, but Sasuke was in a position he could escape from,"

"He could have come home," I argue.

"Without Orochimaru killing him?" Kurama rebuts. I open my mouth to argue but nothing comes out, so I rebury my face into my mother's chest, "Not to be pessimistic, but you do realize that Orochimaru would have killed him, right?"

"Kurama!" my mother scolds.

"It's the fucking truth and doesn't act like I'm wrong! That snake of a man wanted Sasuke's body for power. Sasuke, a Sharingan user and one of the last remaining Uchiha he had access too, was pregnant with Naruto, my vessel, child. Any children they have will be overpowered as fuck and in the wrong hands could destroy the world! He would have never let the Uchiha brat leave and when he gave birth, would have either killed and kept the child or used Sasuke as a baby maker. If you ask me, this was the best decision that Sasuke could have made is his situation,"

"Kurama is right, Naruto. Now if Sasuke knew that or not, we don't know. But the boy seems smart. It very well could have crossed his mind. I know I would not want to have any of my children forced into that kind of life," my father says.

"Bur Sasuke said that Orochimaru gave him the option to abort it. Doesn't that mean that he would have let Sasuke leave?" I ask, somewhat hopefully.

"Oh baby, no. He wouldn't have. If I remember anything about that snake, he saw that as a win-win situation for him. Either he would have gotten your child, or he would have gotten Sasuke. And, from what I remember, Sasuke said Orochimaru asked him, "What he wanted to do,". That doesn't mean he really had an option. It was a power move to make Sasuke feel like he had an option. If Orochimaru made the decision for him, then Sasuke would have rebelled and possibly ended up dead," mom explains.

"So, you're saying that Sasuke really didn't have a choice?" I look at each of their faces. And based on the awkward faces they were making, I was right, "Fuck. Now I feel like an asshole,"

"You shouldn't. Even though Sasuke made a tough decision, that doesn't change the fact that you're still hurting from this, Naruto. I can honestly say that, if your mother came to me with the same confession, I would react in almost the same way. It's always hard when you find out that something you wanted to be was snatched from you, no matter the situation,"

"We cried the day you were born because it was the day we died. Your father and I had been so excited to meet you. Ask anyone who knew me. They would all say that I was going crazy waiting for you. So, when the day came you were born, we both knew this would be the first and only time we'd meet you in the real world. You were snatched from us because it was apart of other people's plans. But we don't regret it. You're our son, Naruto. If someone would have told us the outcome of your birth, we would still have had you. We love you, Naruto. No one was going to stop us from having you,"

"And in the end, you were given to me to raise. I'm not going to lie, at first, I hated being stuck with a crying baby as a host. But I'm grateful for it. You made me realize that we were no different. We're both weapons of war, but you didn't see me as a monster. To you, I was "Uncle Kyuu", "Uncle Kyuubi", or "Dad". I grew to love you, kit. In the end, I wouldn't have changed it either,"

I look around to see them and felt my heart swell. Knowing that all three accepted their fates and bonds to me with their heads held high and smiles gave me some hope about working through this with Sasuke. I tightly grip my chest as it beats against my chest.

"I wish I was as courageous as all of you," I sigh.

"You are. You're just in a hard place right now, but you'll get through it," dad smiles with his fingers playing in my hair and with my ears.

"But~"

"Sasuke and you are supposed to talk today, right? Listen to him, baby. You couldn't be there for him then, but you can now. He needs you more than ever. He's submitting to you and showing his vulnerable side to you and is looking to see if you're going to either reject or accept him," mom says.

"Of course, I will accept him. I love him and will do anything for him. I'm just lost,"

"Then let him guide you home, kit. One thing that I have come to understand about humans is that sometimes they have to hide things to protect others. Maybe Sasuke was afraid you would reject him if you found out like you did yesterday. Go makeup with him and continue onward. This is just one of the bumps in the road for you guys to get over. Just try not to shut him out,"

"Thanks, guys. I'll try my best,"

"Good. Now, wake up and go be his alpha,"

"Thanks, mom," I say as I wrap my arms around her. "I love you all,"

"And we love you, Naruto," dad smiles.

"Make us proud, kit. And stop getting drunk so much. It gets trying to heal you from your drunken stupor,"

I nod a final time before closing my eyes and waking up in the real world.

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I groan and hold my head as I wake up. My eyes flutter open to sunlight filtering into the living room. A blanket is thrown over me and our apartment is silent. Suddenly, I feel Sasuke's chakra behind me. I lift my head to stare at him. His eyes are wide and scared. His black ears are flattening back, and his tail is puffed out. I slowly turn around and try not to scare him more. I look down to see a glass of water and something in his clenched fists.

"Hey," I softly call out.

"Good morning,"

"What do you have there?"

He looks at me for a moment before realizing what I'm referring to, "I brought you some medicine and water for your hangover. Figured you'd need it since you were pretty drunk last night,"

I hold my hand out to take the two white pills and glass of water from him, "Thanks," I saw as I swallow both the medicine and water.

"Do you want some breakfast?"

I stare back at him. The air around us is cautious and awkward. I'm trying to respond carefully to keep him from running off, "Sure, but not right now,"

"Ok,"

I sit up and move over so he can sit next to me. Taking my hint, Sasuke carefully sits down without looking at me. I let my head wrap around the air and situation, not sure of what to say next. I know we need to talk but am not sure how to approach the subject. I'm worried about him running off again, so I take a deep breath and calm myself.

"I'm sorry,"

"What are you sorry for?" he asks.

"For everything. For making you feel like I rejected you, for letting you down, for pushing you to that confession, for being an ass, for all of it. I'm sorry for all of it. I should have been more sensitive to your situation and feelings. I'm just sorry, Sasuke. Please forgive me," I nervously rub my hands together, hoping he'll accept my apology. After a while of him not answering, I look up to see him glaring at me while his tail intensely swishes behind him, "What?"

"I hate that you do it,"

"Do what?"

"Apologize for shit that isn't your fault. You shouldn't be sorry about anything. I'm the one who's sorry. I just didn't know what to do. I wasn't in the most compromising situation where I was going to win either way. I had to do what was best. I knew that it was 100% possible for Orochimaru to take our child and use it as a weapon. I damn sure wasn't going to let that happen. If he was going to use someone for their body, I would have wanted it to be me,"

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

He sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair; his ears are flattening against his head in a sad expression. He looks tired. I want to hold him but will wait until he comes to me first.

"I don't want to, but we need to," He signs again before leaning back against the couch, "When Orochimaru told me that I was pregnant, I was in shock. Hell, I was shocked when he said I was an omega. There's so much I needed to learn about my body now that you and I were separated. I was 8 weeks and 3 days along and growing. My first thoughts went to our fight, but when he confirmed that the fetus survived the fight and is stable, I had a choice to make. He gave me a week to decide.

For that entire week, I sat in my room and just stared at the wall. I didn't know what to do. On the one hand, I could have kept the child, but I knew that he would have either taken it and killed me. Or he would have used me and our child to create an army for war. I couldn't let that happen. He already had me. Either way, he was going to win. So, I gave him to me. As I said, if he was going to take anyone's body for power, it was going to be mine.

Naruto, I can't make you understand what I was thinking at the time. In the grand scheme of things, I don't even know what I was thinking either. I was overwhelmed with emotions. I left you for dead by the falls after our fight, finding out about me being an omega and pregnant, plus my training to defeat Itachi… I was 13… I was 13 and had to deal with all of these emotions and facts by myself. Even if I wanted to, Orochimaru would have never let me leave. What was I supposed to do? Even if I had the baby and killed Orochimaru, I still couldn't come back. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't force you and me into that type of life. We both had shit to do and a baby would have complicated it. Call me selfish. You already called me a coward and you were right. I have always regretted a lot of my decisions, but this one will forever haunt me until I die,"

I don't say anything. I want him to get it all off his chest. Apart from it is for him, but I think I needed too. When he realizes that I'm not going to talk, he continues, "You know, after you closed that door… I heard you cry on the other side of the door… For 1 hour and 37 seconds, I listened to my alpha, my mate cry because of me. I know that because I cried against the other side of that door too. I've made so many mistakes when it came to my life and us. It's like no matter what I do, I keep fucking up. I keep fucking up and hurting you. But through it all, you still stay with me. You're honestly the best thing that ever happened to me, outside of Itachi. I… don't know what I'd ever do without you.

After you finally left, I continued to sit there in my own worthlessness. I was afraid you'd never come back. As much as I kept saying that I didn't need or want you to keep try saving me… I lied… I never wanted you to give up on me… Just like everything else in my life, I needed someone to knock some sense into my thick head. That's why I'm grateful I have you. You keep me grounded and from doing the unthinkable. When I was alone… I think I actually prayed that you'd come back. I needed you to come back. There's nothing worse than begin rejected by your own alpha. I promised myself that if you come back, I would hold my head high and face my consequences without fear… no matter what they are. All I ask… is that you don't walk away… please…"

I stare at him with wide, shocked eyes. Not only is that the most I've ever heard Sasuke talk, but he's being so open with me. This is everything I've ever wanted, but it's just… so much… He has so much emotion built up inside of him. And for once, I don't think I can handle it… not all at once anyway… He's right… we need each other…

I reach out, grab the back of his head, and us into each other until our foreheads touch. Our breaths ghost over each other's lips. I look deep into his endless onyx eyes; the same eyes that bring me back to myself every time.

"I will never reject you, Sasuke. You are mine and that's it. I'd sooner die than leave you. I just… need some time to work through this, and you do too. But, no matter what, promise me that we'll get through this together. No more secrets. No more lies. I will never intentionally make you uncomfortable, but I need you to be more open with me… when you're ready. Can you do that?"

"… … Yes…"

I slightly sit up to kiss his forehead before resting my head in the crook of his neck, "Good,"

"Thank you,"

He wraps his arms around me, and we sit like this, in silence, for a while. Soon more questions pop into my head, "How did you have it? The abortion, I mean. You're a guy, so I know you have a dick, but how would you have gotten an abortion and given birth?"

"I can get pregnant the same way as females can, that's obvious. But when it comes to giving birth or abortions, it had to be done through a c-section. A day before the abortion, he gave me some medicine to help with cramps. When he was actually performing the abortion, he made a small incision at the base of my stomach and stuck something inside of me to suction the fetus out. I had him put me under anesthesia. I couldn't watch him do it. After I woke up, he told me what happened; I asked to be spared the details. He said he removed all of the tissue and gave me some antibiotics to help with the cramping and pain afterward. When I was well enough at my check-up appointment, he gave me some stronger medication to hide my omega statue and double as birth control. I've been taking it ever since,"

"Wow. That must have been traumatic as fuck. Sorry, you had to go through that,"

"It had to be done. I couldn't take it back, but I regretted every bit of it,"

"Now that he's dead, have you still been taking them?"

"Karin makes them in his place. Orochimaru left her in charge of giving me any medicine during our time there. She still makes and gives them to me. No one knows about it though,"

"I understand taking the birth control, but why the suppressants?" I ask.

"To help with my heats when you we're not around. Because we're mates, I cannot be taken by another alpha. My body will reject them, and it will be too painful for me to handle. However, I can still become pregnant. Plus, with me being a Sharingan user and an Uchiha, there are plenty of people who would want to get their hands on me. I couldn't let that happen. So, the suppressants hide me being an omega and give off a beta scent,"

I feel my claws digging into my palms with anger. The thought of anyone touching what's mine made my irises bleed red. Soon I relax as Sasuke lets out his strawberry scent. It calms me until I settle against him again,

"Calm down. I'm too strong to let that ever happen. I was fine,"

"But what if you weren't?"

"I've been fine all these years, haven't I?"

I let out another deep sigh, feeling exhausted, "Are you going to stop taking that medicine?"

"I guess I don't really have a reason to take them anymore,"

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to,"

"If I stop taking them, then it will be a possibility of me becoming pregnant again. Also, when my heats come, I will be more vulnerable than if they were natural. My scent could cause you to go into heat as well. It'll be rough and everyone will be attached to my scent. I won't be able to defend myself. I will have to be around you the entire time. I'll need to be weaned off them or else it can mess up my body. The first two months are the riskiest. I would prefer to wait until after the war,"

"Makes sense. That sounds like hell though,"

"Everything is hell when you're an omega,"

"I'll protect you. You know, that right?"

"Of course. As much as I detest being weak, I know I can rely on you. It's comforting," Neither of us says anything for a while until he pushes me against the back of the couch, "I'll be right back," I watch him leave the room and return shortly with something in his hand. He sits down beside me and hands me a black and gray photo dated three years old, "It's the ultrasound I had from Orochimaru. I've kept it all these years as a memory. I figured you'd want to see it,"

My eyes widen at the picture. With shaky hands, I reach towards the picture and examine it. I don't know exactly what I was looking at. To be honest, it looks more like a blob. But in the center of the picture is a large circle with the words "Baby A" above it.

"Here are the measurements and at the top, it shows the 8 weeks and 3 days of when he took the ultrasound picture. I was 9 weeks and 5 days when I terminated the pregnancy,"

"It's so little. Did he tell you the gender?"

"No. I would have found that out around 15-16 weeks,"

"It's still beautiful. Just like you," I stare at the picture a little while longer as tears spill from the corner of my eyes and down my cheeks. I rub my snotty nose on my arm before throwing myself onto him and gripping his shirt, "Thank you," I barely get out as I continue to cry.

He holds me close, rubbing soothing circles in my back, and lets his strawberry scent fill my nose again. We stay like this for a little while, even after I stop crying, "Do you want me to make you some breakfast?"

"… … yeah… I think I have more of a headache coming on,"

"Okay…"

He peels me off him and leaves me to sit on the couch. My swollen eyes focus on the picture more as I think about the possibilities. More of the information settle in my head, but this time I'm not overwhelmed. I'm filled with so much love and happiness. I loosen my grip on the paper, making sure not to cringle it any more than it already was. I kiss the film and hold it close. This definitely isn't the outcome expected, but it is one that we needed.

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To Be Continued…