Birthday surprise for Sasuke

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The box was wrapped in prismatic blue paper with a large red bow on top. The contents within would either make Sasuke extremely happy, or upset. Sakura wasn't sure which. Ino had gotten the onesies handmade by a local granny that was renown for her individualized baby clothes the day after Sakura and Sasuke's last date. It was time to tell Sasuke about their expected new addition. She was starting to show her pregnancy and Sasuke had to know it was more that her eating too many sweets.

She and Sarada had stayed the night with Hinata and Boruto. So she would be meeting Sasuke at her parents' house for brunch. She'd be announcing the news to him, Sarada, and her parents at the same time. Hinata had said something the night before that led Sakura to believe she might have known as well — which meant that Naruto knew.

Mother and daughter were dressed in matching white sundresses, hair tied back with silver barrettes. Sakura held Sarada's hand as they walked towards her parents' house, walking slowly yet with purpose at the toddler's pace. They had just climbed up the three steps leading to the front porch when Kizashi answered the door before Sakura could knock.

"What a sight! You two look beautiful!" He ushered them inside and then scooped Sarada up into his arms and grabbed the present from Sakura. "Sasuke arrived about ten minutes ago. He's nursing a hangover headache in the sitting room. Your mom made him a cup of chamomile tea, but he could really use your healing touch."

"Hopefully, that means he had fun last night." Sakura kissed her father on the cheek and headed towards her ailing husband. "Dad says you're in desperate need of medical attention." Sakura sat on the foot rest in front of Sasuke, placed her hands on either side of his temple for a moment.

Sasuke breathed an audible sigh of relief. "We put Kiba in charge of the drinks and he was bitter about being picked last for the game of charades. He was a little heavy handed."

"Yeah, he's known to hold a grudge," Sakura agreed. She held out her hand, Sasuke took it, and they walked together, hand-in-hand towards the dining room.

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The table was laden with a feast including quiche, pastries, bacon, pancakes and an assortment of fresh fruit and jams. The prismatic blue present sat nearby.

"I know it's my birthday weekend, but this is rather elaborate." Sasuke scanned the table and his gaze settled on the present. "Do I open my present before or after we eat?"

"I say before," Mebuki said. "Since I'm the cook this morning, I think I have the biggest vote."

"It's not a vote, Mom." Sakura smiled at her mother and made sure Sarada was secure in her booster seat. "This meal looks amazing. And sure, Sasuke, you can open it now."

Kizashi took the box and set it in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke lifted it and raised an ebon eyebrow in surprise at the light weight. Carefully, he began to unwrap the gift. He knew they wouldn't re-use the paper, but it was a habit he struggled to resist. His father didn't like to waste money on wrapping paper, so his mother often re-used wrapping paper for several years in a row. He lifted the box's lid and pushed aside crimson red and dark black tissue paper and then blinked in surprise at a pair of tiny blue long-sleeved onesies with the Uchiha family crest embroidered across the chest.

Sasuke looked across the table at his wife. "Does this mean you are expecting two?" His throat felt dry and scratchy, the headache that had recently disappeared rush back with a vengeance. His heart skipped a beat. The number of his children was about to triple and they would't even know him!

"We're having twin boys. They're fraternal, so they won't look exactly alike," Sakura explained. She reached across the table and touched his knuckles lightly and a wave of healing chakra automatically soothed all his aches, pains, and the symptoms of his anxiety "I was thinking we could name one of them after your brother —Itachi," Sakura said quietly.

"NO!" Sarada cried out. "Not Itachi!"

The four adults stared at the toddler, surprised at the outburst.

"Okaaaay," Sasuke said, breaking the stunned silence. He flipped his hand over and squeezed Sakura's hand briefly before drawing it to himself and tracing the embroidery on the onesies. "Do you have a different idea, Sarada?"

Their daughter stared off to the side of table, her dark eyes transfixed at a point over Sasuke's shoulder. "Takashi."

"Takashi?" Sasuke answered. He frowned. "That sounds too much like Kakashi."

"TAKASHI!" Sarada yelled.

"Okay, sweetie. Thank you for your suggestion," Sakura said, smiling kindly at their daughter.

Sasuke glared over his shoulder. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he knew that Itachi was watching over Sarada. She could see him, even if he couldn't. It must have been him that didn't want his nephew named after him. But, Takashi? Seriously? He had a love-hate relationship with the Hokage. They were too much alike and he'd made very obvious comments suggesting he was covetous of Sasuke's marriage to Sakura. What would he think if they named their son Takashi?

"Takashi is a nice name," Mebuki said. "It means prosperous, esteem, honor." She smiled at her granddaughter. "And I can hardly believe Sarada came up with that name on her own!"

"Did you have a second name in mind?" Sasuke asked.

"I was thinking about stars and finding your way home, so maybe using a name related to the North Star — Myoken," Sakura said.

Sasuke stared at her for a long moment before a slow smile split his lips. "Myoken, that's a name I like." He slipped his arm around Sakura's shoulders and hugged her against him. "When are our sons due?" Sasuke asked. They could decide on a second name later. Maybe they could come up with something better than Takashi. Maybe something like Kenji or Yahiko.

"Mid-December," Sakura said.

Sasuke stared at her in disbelief. "You're five months pregnant!"

"Four and a half months," Sakura corrected. "I was nervous." She looked down self conscious at her belly. "I just look bigger because there are two."

"Those first three months are always tricky," Mebuki added. "The risk of loss is twenty percent. I'm so sorry you carried that worry on your own!" She reached across the table for Sakura's hand. "You can always come to me."

"You can always come to me, too," Sasuke snapped. He could feel his anger swell up in his gut. "I can't believe you've been pregnant for four months and are just now telling me." He shook his head. "I mean, I noticed you had gained some weight. I thought either you were pregnant or it was from working too much, not taking care of yourself. However, i assumed if you were pregnant you would have told me as soon as you found out."

Sakura bit her lip, the familiar look from when they were kids and he hurt her feelings. Sasuke immediately felt like a jerk, but he was still very angry. She better have real good excuse for keeping secrets from him. "You've been through so much, I wanted to make sure it would work out before I told you. I thought it was just one baby and I had intended to tell you after that dinner out when Ino found me and dragged me to the lady's room. Well, that's when she told me it was two babies and I was kind of in a state of shock." Her soft, apologetic tones ended and her voice raised in anger. "It's going to be hard raising three children without you! And I didn't want you to feel any more guilty than you already do!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, counted to three, released the rising tension from his shoulders. Sakura was scary when she was angry and so was he and he didn't want to scare his wife or his daughter. "I understand. But you've been through a lot too, Sakura." Mostly things he'd put her through. "You have to know you can tell me anything. I'm not so fragile that I'll turn evil again."

"Turn evil again," Kizashi repeated. "Now that's a comforting phrase."

"Crap," Sakura looked sheepishly over her shoulder at her parents. "Sorry Mom, Dad. I sort of forgot you were here."

"No, no, it's fine." Kizashi grinned. "You're just like your mother when that temper flares." He reached for Sasuke's shoulder and patted it awkwardly. "I'm sorry, son. My wife didn't have the strength to level forests with her fists. You are definitely the only man strong enough to be in a relationship with my daughter."

Sasuke snorted. His father-in-law may not have been able to become a genin back in his youth, but he could dispel a fight easily enough with humor. He focused his attention back on Sakura. "I will be away from the village in December," Sasuke said quietly, not mentioning he would likely not be in the same realm. "I'm going to miss their birth."

"I know," Sakura said, a grimace on her pretty face. She looked towards her parents. "I broke his hand - twice when Sarada was born."

"I think you should ask Naruto to be your birthing partner," Sasuke suggested.

"What a great idea!" Mebuki said. "Or me! I don't want the broken hand, but I'd be happy to be there." She glanced at her Kizashi, but he waved his hands palm out discouragingly. "Your father passed out at your birth, so definitely not him."

Sasuke shook his head at his mother-in-law. "Trust me, she's very violent when she's in pain. her partner needs to be a shinobi."

"Naruto will be busy. Hinata is also pregnant, and due around the same time," Sakura said.

"Crap." Sasuke fumed for a few moments. Both his and Naruto's kids would be born around the same time— again. "I mean Ino is great, but you'd crush her hands."

"KAKASHI!"Sarada shouted.

Sasuke ground his molars in irritation. He traveled to the land of the dead to bring back Itachi and now his brother is influencing his daughter to make his life miserable. "You want me to name one of them Takashi and to have Kakashi as the birthing coach." Sasuke glared at his daughter, but he was really talking to Itachi — wherever his spirit was lingering.

Sarada nodded her head with a big smile plastered across her face. "YES!"

"I mean, it's great that she's suddenly so vocal." Sakura stared between her daughter and husband, a bewildered look gracing her features. "Takashi is a nice name and Kakashi has dealt with broken bones before. He did say he wanted to be the fun uncle. He should have to earn that privilege, don't you think?"

"We don't have to figure this out today," Sasuke said. He'd need to have a talk with Itachi in his sleep. The problem with that was dream memories were tricky — there was no way to know if he'd remember or not.

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"Seriously, our parents named me after a weasel. You're not naming my nephew after me. I gave you a good name and Sakura gave you a good name for the second boy." Itachi confronted Sasuke almost immediately once he'd reached REM sleep.

"And here I thought it would be difficult to find you and communicate," Sasuke said. "I didn't realize you'd be ready to pounce."

"I've been watching over Sarada. I was able to hear the story about Tsunade and Sakura's summoning creature. Also, I think you can't take the prosthetic because of the Senju aspect to its basic structure. I'm sure Sakura will figure something out. "

"It's not necessary," Sasuke protested.

"You're looking into facing off against the Okotsuki, an alien species where the lowest in their hierarchy have godlike powers," Itachi argued. "You literally want to fight them one-handed? Don't be so stubborn. Sometimes, you're more like Dad than you realize."

"I wouldn't know," Sasuke retorted coldly.

"You are a bastard!" Itachi laughed. "No wonder Sakura didn't tell you about the pregnancy earlier. She was probably worried you'd blow up."

"Don't act like you know my wife," Sasuke hissed. "You've been haunting my family for only six weeks."

"Seven weeks and I'm guarding over, not haunting." Itachi threw his hands into the air in exacerbation. "You invited me. I admit, it's an unusual situation. I've never been a ghost before, so it's all new territory for me too."

Sasuke rubbed his palm over his face. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm grateful, really. I'm just really stressed out. Staying with my family is the right thing to do. Protecting all of Konoha is the right thing to do. I cannot do both."

"Isn't your family part of Konoha?" Itachi reasoned.

"It's so unfair to Sakura. People gave her grief about her feelings for me. Our genin class — the Konoha Thirteen — they sent her out to kill me. They wanted to sacrifice her to save Naruto. I almost killed her. First Kakashi and then Naruto stopped me. That blond idiot didn't need saving." He leaned against a nearby tree. "It's never been easy for her — loving me. And now, we're married and have children, and yet, here I am, leaving her behind again."

"That is unfortunate," Itachi agreed. "I was forced to murder my fiancé on orders by the village. I believe I can sympathize somewhat."

"Crap. I'm sorry, Itachi. I shouldn't be complaining about me after everything you went through," Sasuke grimaced.

"No, no. It's fine. You were the only reason I was able to persevere. The hope that you could have a future — and you do!" Itachi reached for Sasuke's left hand and squeezed. In the dream, Sasuke's arms were both complete. "It's not easy, but honestly, wouldn't you be bored if there wasn't a crises to train and prepare for?"

"I mean, it is better than everyone being sacrificed and turned into a giant battery for a deranged rabbit goddess," Sasuke agreed.

"That's the optimistic Uchiha outlook!" Itachi teased, a wry smile on his face. "So, about that name, Takashi?"

"Yeah, where did that come from?" Sasuke demanded.

"Do you remember Izumi? I suppose she was my girlfriend, or at least the closest I had to one," Itachi said. "I was only thirteen at the time. As she lay dying in my arms, I put her in a genjutsu and we lived our entire lives together in those moments. Takashi was the name we chose for our son."

Sasuke stared at his brother. He tried to envision being of sound mind and killing Sakura, living their life in a genjustu — it was almost that very scenario. If he'd hit her with that chidori, he would have snapped out of his madness long enough to do the same with her. "Your dream son?" Sasuke clarified, forcing his mind to the present.

Itachi nodded. He couldn't speak, overcome with emotion.

"Alright fine, we'll name one of the boys Takashi," Sasuke agreed.

"The first born," Itachi suggested.

"Sakura will decide their names after she meets the boys," Sasuke said.

Itachi waved his hand and a throwing star target materialized several meters away. He held out a trio to Sasuke and held another three in his other hand. "Shall we practice throwing stars like when we were kids?"

"I wonder if other people dream about training in their sleep," Sasuke mused. He tossed the stars with his left hand, enjoying the feeling of completion. "What does Sakura dream about? New healing techniques? Me?"

"You want me to find out?" Itachi asked. "I haven't tried dream walking, but I probably could."

"No. She doesn't know that I brought your spirit out of the afterlife. I don't want to spy on her, I just want someone I trust to watch over her and Sarada when I'm gone. And now the boys," Sasuke explained. "I'm not sure what she'd think if she knew you were here. Naruto thought you were his dad."

"Ah," Itachi said. "It could have been his dad visiting," he said with a shrug. "I'm not the only one that was snatched out of the afterlife one too many times."

"Do you see other ghosts?" Sasuke asked, disturbed by the idea that there were things beyond his senses.

"I've seen other lost spirits. Some have been haunting this land for many generations — confused why things look different, not understanding that they are no longer alive. Some are echoes of a certain event — good or bad — with a strong emotion." Itachi held his hand out and the six throwing stars reappeared flat on his palm. He handed half to Sasuke.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed. Throwing his three stars at the same time, hitting the center. "Naruto is probably going to teach my kids to throw stars."

"Sakura could show them," Itachi pointed out. "I could show them."

The stars materialized in Sasuke's hands and he threw them again with precise aim. "By the time they'll old enough for target practice they probably won't be able to see you anymore. What if she asks Rock Lee or worse yet, Sai?"

"You're really getting the hang of manipulating this dreamscape," Itachi noted. "And frankly, I'm sure Sakura will make sure your children are trained by the best possible shinobi."

"Uh, then she'll probably ask Kakashi," Sasuke reasoned. "Kakashi teaching Takashi. I can see it now."

"I think you're worrying too much about things you cannot control," Itachi soothed. He laid his hand over Sasuke's upper back and patted twice. "Sakura will have volunteers out her ears asking to teach your children skills. She might even go all the way to Sand and have Gaara teach them."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I've seen the way the Kazekage looks at her. She better not go to Sand."

Itachi burst into laughter. "I'm glad to know that my stoic, cold little brother is actually red, hot with jealousy! You don't like Kakashi, Sai, or Gaara. Or anyone really."

"Kakashi is alright," Sasuke begrudgingly conceded. "I just don't care for his comments eluding to his interest in Sakura."

"He's twelve years her senior. I don't think they will see each other in the way you're worried about," Itachi reassured him.

"Oh yeah? What was the age different between Mom and Dad?" Sasuke challenged. He knew the answer and it was part of the reason he viewed the casual threats seriously.

"They were a different generation," Itachi hedged.

"Thirteen years. Dad was thirteen years older than Mom," Sasuke pointed out. "Mom was twenty and Dad was thirty-three when they married."

"Yeah, well, Sakura is married to you, so stop worrying," Itachi snapped. "If all you're going to do is complain and shout out paranoia to me, I'll be happy to go back to limbo. It was peaceful there."

Sasuke stopped his tirade and stared at his brother, shock evident on his face. "Seriously? You'd rather be in limbo than have an argument with me?"

Itachi met Sasuke's gaze, their eyes a mirror for the others. "No, Sasuke. I won't leave you or your family. I was stuck in limbo because of this purpose. We will all find peace together, hopefully, many decades down the road. I eagerly await seeing your grandchildren one day."

"That's hard to imagine," Sasuke said.

"Sarada is probably going to marry Boruto," Itachi teased. "So you and Naruto will be in-laws. And former enemies — Uchiha and Hyuga — will be one."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sasuke suggested. He felt better. His anger and hurt about Sakura keeping the pregnant from him had ebbed. He was also relieved that she was pregnant. Sarada would be less likely to be lonely with siblings. Maybe he'd be off on his solitaire missions, but his family would have each other. He'd see Sakura at the Five Kage Summits. That would help him mark the time.

"It seems you're at peace," Itachi commented. He waved his hand, the target disappeared and they were sitting on a dock, feet dangling over the side, fishing poles at their sides. "You might not remember this, but we used to go fishing with grandfather — our mom's dad."

"I don't remember," Sasuke said, thinking back. HIs grandfather had died when he was about five. He mostly remembered how sad his mother was.

"The day I picked you up from school when Sakura had used her bow on your skinned knee — I was the one to pick you up because mother was at her father's bedside, as he laid dying," Itachi explained. "I did wonder, if he had lived, if he'd have been able to reason with father and the whole massacre could have been avoided."

"If Minato had lived, it would have been avoided as well." For a moment Sasuke thought about how different Naruto would have been if he'd been allowed to grow up as the golden boy, only son of the Fourth Hokage. He probably would have been more insufferable.

Itachi smiled faintly. "It would be interesting to imagine who different Konoha and our lives would have been."

"We'd probably be giant batteries for the new god tree and the Rabbit Goddess would have won," Sasuke pointed out.

"There you go. Life never goes smoothly for long in our world," Itachi concluded.

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