Author's note: Something random that popped up in my head this week. Hope it isn't too awful!

Warnings: Sasuke's pov; canon divergent after the war; implied MPreg; established slash; references to mass murder; fluff

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!

If You Could Go Back

Small, chubby fingers closed around his index finger and Sasuke couldn't supress his smile, taking in how his son's legs jerked a bit. His dark blue eyes were unfocused, but that wasn't a surprise considering Asahi was only a couple of hours old. His black hair was soft and wispy and Sasuke couldn't resist carefully brushing it backwards, watching it fall back. With his light blue romper, silver stars stitched on it, he was absolutely perfect. The ideal mixture of him and Naruto; even seeing their son lying in his cot now after having felt him move around for several months, it felt almost unreal to know that he really was here.

Their precious son; their baby boy.

His family.

His breath hitched and blue eyes flicked towards him briefly before Asahi looked away, his tiny fingers squeezing Sasuke's finger. Behind Sasuke there was a rustling noise and he glanced backwards. He expected Naruto to be awake, but he was still asleep, simply having shifted around a bit. His right hand was now lying next to his head and he had somehow managed to kick off the blanket partly.

Tsking softly, Sasuke turned away from the crib and walked over to the bed, adjusting the blanket so that it covered Naruto again. It wasn't horribly cold in their room, but Naruto liked to bury himself in blankets the second autumn stepped foot into the country. As soon as the blanket was back up to his shoulders, Naruto sighed quietly and a vague smile graced his lips, making Sasuke unconsciously smile as well.

Mewling from the crib had Sasuke returning to it once again and he smiled down at Asahi, murmuring, "You managed to accomplish something that many haven't: you tired out your daddy so much he's still asleep."

Asahi mewled again, as if agreeing.

"Wish I could show you to my family," Sasuke continued and caressed Asahi's plump cheek. "Mother would have absolutely adored you, I'm sure. And nii-san …" he trailed off, before continuing haltingly, "Itachi would have loved you, no doubt about that."

If Itachi had been still alive, undoubtedly he would have spoilt Asahi rotten. He had always tried to make time for Sasuke when they had been younger, even after he had joined the ANBU. Sasuke had no trouble imagining Itachi making time for his nephew as well. If things had been different, Sasuke would be showing off Asahi to Itachi and their parents now. He would perhaps catch mother crying a bit as she held the baby, Itachi would look incredibly proud; even father might have softened up a bit.

It had been years since he had lost his entire family, but during moments like these – life-changing moments – their loss hit him the hardest. They would never know he had found someone who accepted and loved him in spite of his faults. They would never see how happy he had become in spite of everything that had happened. They would never get to know Naruto better or see Asahi grow up. If only he could go back in time and –

Asahi murmured something incomprehensible when Sasuke froze. Staring down at the newborn, Sasuke's mind went in overdrive. Theoretically he could go back in time. His Rinnegan granted him that opportunity; a fact he had found out after finding some very obscure scrolls a couple of years ago. He had actually tried it out back then as an experiment. He had chosen to go back one month to the day of Naruto's birthday to see if he would succeed in it. He had, though he hadn't used the technique after that day. The scrolls had warned against using the jutsu too much, because the risk of changing the present that way was too high. As he hadn't wanted to fuck up what he had now, he hadn't thought about that jutsu in so long …

Now, though … Now it could give him the opportunity to go back, just once. He could go back in time, show someone of his family Asahi, show them that he had managed to make it after all. His Sharingan would ensure that he could erase their memories afterwards, so that the present would never be at risk. He had sworn to himself that after the first time he wouldn't use the jutsu again, but … Just once. Just once couldn't hurt.

He could go back …

The note left behind on the nightstand barely fluttered when the portal opened, swallowing up two people.

In the years after the war Sasuke had not only spent time looking for more information regarding Kaguya, but he had also taken some time to dig more into his brother's past, trying to find out where the older man had been during those years they hadn't seen each other. It hadn't been easy, people's memories being fuzzy, but he had managed to create some sort of timeline at least.

That timeline left him standing in front of an inconspicuous house, barely better than a shack. It was almost hidden between two old, gnarly trees, the wooden planks forming the walls almost rotten through; there was nothing special about it, nothing that would attract attention. If it had more than one room it would already be a surprise.

Inconspicuous, small, meaningless – the perfect hideout for an Akatsuki member.

Hidden behind another tree, Sasuke watched how Kisame closed the door behind him, stretching his arms before he walked away leisurely; his giant sword firmly strapped to his back. Once the blue skinned shinobi was out of sight and out of hearing range, Sasuke turned his attention back to the shack, in which he knew his brother was currently. This shack was located on the midway point to the Land of Snow and an elderly lady had mentioned seeing Itachi around these parts, a year before Sasuke had confronted him. She hadn't been able to really tell him much, save that Itachi had been accompanied by a "rather scary, tall guy with an odd blueish skin".

Sasuke had no idea how long Itachi and Kisame would be staying here; it couldn't be long as none of their stays anywhere had ever seemingly extended past a couple of days at best. If he wanted to do this, he would have to do it now.

Looking at the shack, knowing who was inside of it, his heart started thudding quicker and he adjusted his hold on the bundle in his arm. He could have gone even further back into the past, to a year in which mother had still been alive, but as much as he would have loved to see her one more time, speak with her and hug her one last time, it wasn't doable. She had always been surrounded by others; it would have been too risky trying to single her out without setting off any sort of alarm in the others.

Itachi was safe, however. He was alone and would perhaps better than anyone else understand how Sasuke came to be here. This was his chance to see his brother one last time, show to him that what he had hoped for Sasuke had come true.

One more chance to see the brother he had loved and adored so much before the council had ruined everything.

Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly and started walking towards the door, careful to keep his chakra contained. The last thing he wanted was to alarm Itachi before he could show himself and risk getting attacked.

"You're not Kisame," was the first thing Sasuke heard his brother say when he stepped into the shack, breathing in the damp scent clinging to the wood.

His brother was standing with his back to him, staring out of the sole window that the previous owner had installed. As Itachi turned around, Sasuke waited with bated breath, feeling small in a way he hadn't for such a long time now.

The second Itachi got a good look at him, he started to frown; his hand subtly moving beneath his cloak. "I know the years can change a person a lot, but I doubt it would change my little brother this much," he said sharply. "Who are you and how did you find me?"

"I'm your brother," Sasuke said, careful not to move now. "But one who already went through everything and gained new powers – just like you wanted me to."

"Prove it," Itachi demanded, shifting his left foot slightly. "If you're truly my brother, tell me something only he would know."

Well, this was going somewhat better than expected; at least Itachi hadn't tried to attack him yet. If he wanted proof, Sasuke would give him proof. Something that only he and Itachi would know about.

"Ever since I can remember you used to poke my forehead and promise me later," he murmured and watched Itachi's eyes widen slowly. "I never really understood why you kept doing that, because you knew how much I hated that, but you did it to keep me at a distance. You succeeded in that," he said wryly.

"This isn't possible," Itachi murmured, but his shoulders slackened and the disbelief in his voice was warring with a sliver of hope. "You're really …"

"A lot is going to happen in the next couple of years," Sasuke admitted and dared to take a couple of steps closer. "One of those things is me gaining both the Mangekyou Sharingan and the Rinnegan. It's the latter that allows me to come back."

"So I guess my plan will succeed after all," Itachi surmised and Sasuke's heart clenched painfully when his brother's features softened. "You will manage to defeat me in the end."

"I didn't want to do it," Sasuke brought out. "Not after – not after I understood why you did it."

"It's fine, Sasuke," Itachi soothed and god, how he had missed his brother's voice. "It's what I planned for. I know what I'm doing. My only regret is that I put you through all of this."

"The council is to blame for that, not you," Sasuke said, surprising the both of them with how vehement he sounded.

It was true, however. If the council had never stepped in, Sasuke's family would still be alive. He wouldn't have had to kill his own brother, he wouldn't have to use a rare jutsu to go back in time and speak to his brother one last time. He would still have his family. He would never forgive the council for taking away his family, no matter how long he would live.

Itachi opened his mouth, appeared to rethink what he wanted to say and instead asked, "Have you come here for answers then?"

"No, I already have all the answers I need," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

Itachi tilted his head slightly to the right. "Then why …"

"I wanted to show you that I will be fine," Sasuke said, swallowing the stupid lump down his throat. "I – found someone to love who loves me in return, in spite of everything I did to him."

"Yeah?" Itachi smiled; the corners of his eyes wrinkling a bit. "I'm glad to hear that. Who is the lucky one?"

"Naruto," Sasuke admitted and smiled wryly when Itachi chuckled knowingly. "Yes, I guess you were onto something when you told me to give him a chance."

"I do have my smart moments at times," Itachi teased, just like the old times.

"And I wanted to show you someone," Sasuke continued and this time he crossed the distance between them completely, shrugging away his cloak until the bundle in his arm was revealed.

The sight of the light purple blanket had Itachi's eyes widening and a wet sheen covered them when he realised just what – or more accurately, who – the blanket was covering.

"Is that …" Itachi trailed off; his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Itachi, meet Asahi. Asahi, meet your ji-san," Sasuke smiled and if his smile trembled, his older brother didn't comment on it.

"He's beautiful, Sasuke," Itachi breathed out and for the first time all the stress, accumulated over the years, seemed to melt away, making him look so much younger. He reached out with his hands, halted, and looked at Sasuke carefully. "May I?"

"It's your nephew," Sasuke said and let Itachi take Asahi from him.

Itachi's gaze momentarily sharpened when he realised Sasuke was missing an arm, but then Asahi started to fuss and all his attention went straight to the baby boy, just like Sasuke had envisioned it would. His brother looked absolutely enraptured by the baby in his arms and it only made Sasuke ache more for everything that had been taken away from them.

"He seems to have Naruto-kun's eyes," Itachi commented, starting to rock Asahi like a natural.

Mother had told Sasuke time and time again how Itachi had lugged him around as a baby, always the first one to soothe him if he had started crying. If there was somebody a natural with babies, it would be Itachi.

"Hm, that's what happens when you let that usuratonkachi convince you to let him use that ridiculous jutsu of his," Sasuke said, slightly exasperated, but he couldn't be truly annoyed. Not when it had given him the greatest gift of all time.

"I've always thought Naruto-kun would do amazing things," Itachi chuckled and his gaze was utterly smitten, soft when he looked down at Asahi.

"He is definitely something," Sasuke agreed wholeheartedly.

Itachi's smile slowly faded away and his rocking came to a halt. "I wish things could have been different," he murmured; his eyes turning distant.

Sasuke swallowed. "Yeah, me too."

Itachi looked up at him and the look in his eyes made Sasuke's own eyes sting. "Thank you for showing me you and him," Itachi spoke and his voice was rougher now, uneven in a way Sasuke hadn't heard in such a long time. "I want you to know that I love you, always will, no matter what."

"I know," Sasuke managed to bring out and bit down hard on his inner cheek. "I love you too."

Itachi stepped forwards then and like before he reached out with one hand, resting it on the back of Sasuke's head while he kept his other arm securely fastened around Asahi. He gently brought their foreheads together and Sasuke's breath hitched.

"Thank you for being my little brother," Itachi murmured. "I'm proud of you, remember that. Always have, always will."

This time a couple of tears did spill, sliding hotly down Sasuke's cheeks.

"I was wondering when you would be back," Naruto's voice spoke up when Sasuke stepped through the portal.

"How long have you been awake?" Sasuke asked surprised, approaching the bed when Naruto beckoned him closer.

"A little while," Naruto replied and patted the bed. "How did he react?"

"What?" Sasuke stared at him startled.

Naruto smiled crookedly, raising his legs. "I doubt you created a portal just to take Asahi outside. Especially not in this type of weather," he mentioned and jerked his head to the window, where rivulets of rain were dancing down the glass. "You mentioned once before that the Rinnegan had interesting powers – I'm not as analytical as Shikamaru, but I can still put two and two together, you know."

Sasuke huffed in disbelief, shaking his head. "Nothing gets past you, hm."

"I have my moments," Naruto said and shrugged, but his eyes were sharp. "So?"

"He was happy," Sasuke said after a pause. "And – proud. Of what I've become."

Warm arms slipped around his shoulders. "Of course he was," Naruto murmured and kissed him softly. "How couldn't he be proud of you?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and kissed him back, conveying everything he couldn't say. Naruto tightened his embrace, showing he understood.

He might not have everything anymore, but he still had this and that would be more than enough.

The End

AN2: Perhaps a bit weird, but well, my brain is weird. Sorry. More updates will follow this weekend!

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.