In which Sasuke learns about the Uchiha.

(please note I am a complete idiot and originally uploaded the wrong chapter for chapter 4. it has been fixed as of 8-17-2024)

"Did Minato find you, dear?" Sasuke heard his mother's soft voice, muffled through the door of his parents' bedroom, as she spoke with her husband. Sasuke lowered his breathing, still as a statue, and worked to maintain the dimmed version of his chakra signature.

The grumbled response was long, a few snatches of words floated through the wooden walls. Dango. Mumbles. Kakashi. More mumbles. Bloom of youth. A soft gasp from his mother. Cherishing petals.

Sasuke's nose wrinkled as he frowned at the phrase, brows furrowing in confusion. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant. Maybe Minato gave some kind of small speech to Kakashi, asking him to… cherish petals? What the fuck could that even mean? Sasuke silently groaned and scrubbed his fists through his hair. He knew – rationally – that there were a thousand other reasons why his father would seek out Uncle Minato. Mission reports, advising, Uchiha district discussions, police business. The list felt endless. But in the pit of his gut, Sasuke was sure this was about the incident.

He had been desperately hoping that fate would intervene and force his mother to drop this topic, let her forget that her son had a hand in traumatizing one of his teammates, and just… let him remain ignorant of bodily functions. He wouldn't ever need, nor did he want, to know anything about… the bloom of youth.

The idea sent a shock of discomfort down his spine and his fingers massaged into his temples. Any time he had thought about that dreaded class it was like a fist squeezed his core, nauseousness would nestle into his stomach, and he couldn't catch his breath. He didn't need to know what was going on with Sakura and the mysterious illness that caused her pain. She said it was a girl's thing, Sasuke was fine having that be the end of it. He really would have been fine with that, honestly! Except after resigning himself to purposeful ignorance, the unbidden thought of his girl – teammate – being in pain to the point of whimpering. That didn't sit right with him.

He knew Sakura. She had started out a bit of a cry baby, all those months ago. But she had improved so much. She was stronger, tougher, grittier. She could handle herself. And she could handle a bit of pain. Hell, the last time they sparred Sasuke miscalculated and accidentally kicked her in the jaw and she didn't even flinch. She took that shit like a champion, not a single tear shed, simply wiped off the small bit of blood from her mouth, flexed her fists, and continued the fight.

When she finally pinned him down, knees digging his arms into the ground, fist pulled back for a final strike Kakashi had called the fight. Sasuke had swallowed, tried to ignore the way her hips didn't feel unpleasant on top of him, and waited for her to get off. When she reached a hand down to help him up, she told him he had a really good kick. Which was true, and he knew it. He did.

But she hadn't cried. And he had been so proud of her.

Yet… suddenly…

Sasuke frowned again. Well… if he was honest with himself, he was a little curious about Sakura. For her health and wellbeing, of course. He wasn't curious in like, a weird way or anything. Just a totally normal way you would be curious about a teammate. Like, a normal, healthy way. A normal healthy way that sometimes made him wake up in the middle of the night sweating with his blood rushing around like fire in his veins and feeling a bit trembly. Like lightening was dancing right below his skin and he needed to let it out somehow but didn't know how.

And no, those nights he would wake up suddenly embodying electricity, he did not feel the sudden urge to walk over to where she slept to assure himself that she was okay. No, he definitely never walked over to check on her. And-and even if he did do that, he did not notice how her pretty pink hair turned silvery in the moonlight, or the way her chest lifted and dipped with every breath. No, he very much did not notice that her willowy frame was not so willowy anymore. And no, he didn't think about those things when she wasn't around. He didn't think about those things at all.

Well, okay maybe he did. But it wasn't weird.

It was completely normal and healthy.

That's what he told himself.

It was natural.

It was Shisui's fault.

He was always the one brining up girls and the idea of girlfriends, especially to Sasuke. Shisui seemed to plan these discussions for moments when Sasuke innocently going about his day, unsuspecting to any influence of his older cousin. But then afterwards, with the thoughts imposed on his mind, how was Sasuke not supposed to think about it?

It really was all Shisui's fault.

If anything, Sasuke was the innoc–

"Sasuke, dearest, are you in the hall?"

The youngest Uchiha jumped out of his skin at the quiet sound of his mother's voice, nerves instantly alight and prickling with anxiety. "Uh," his hands quickly fisted and released in rapid succession. "I am."

"I hope you're not practicing your information gathering capabilities." The bedroom door slid open and Fugaku looked down at him with an expression Sasuke was hesitant to label as amusement. "Because if you are, we need to work on your stealth."

Sasuke's lips morphed into a pout. "I… I wasn't focused." He admitted.

"Come in, dear," Mikoto called. She was already in her nightgown, a pair of reading glasses sat on her nose and a book was in her lap from her position on the futon. She tucked a few errant strands of long dark hair behind her ear as Fugaku patted Sasuke's head affectionately before stepping around his son towards the bathroom.

Nearly identical black eyes assessed one another before Mikoto folded the book and gently patted the space beside her. Sasuke nearly told her he was too old to seek comfort in his parents' bed, but his mother didn't seem angry with him anymore, so maybe she could be reasoned with.

He padded across the floor and then nudged his way into the open spot, leaning against the mountain of pillows, and pretended to be a bit reluctant when she held her arms out for him to nestle into. But he did, and there was a brief moment, a flash of insight, that maybe in another life he would have longed for this contact with his mother. Longed for her love. It instantly caused his mood to blur to moroseness and he shook the thought from his head, even though the new ache refused to tumble away.

"Sasuke," she combed through his hair. "What is it? You haven't come to us like this in a few years."

He felt his cheeks reddening. "Do I need a reason?" he asked softly with a small frown, purposefully looking away from her. His mother rolled her eyes at his show of false stubbornness.

"You do not, but," she playfully nuzzled her nose against his cheek, ignoring his huffs of protest. "I do know you. And I know that there is something in your heart."

He held it in for a few heartbeats, absently picking at a loose thread on the blanket. Before he knew it, the words tumbled from his mouth. "I am worried for Sakura."

"Aa." His mother nodded sagely. "Is that all?"

"I… I do not wish to go to this class. I…" his entire face blushed furiously. "I am worried that I am not normal for feeling this way about her."

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but with the knowing look in her eyes the small laugh that pushed from her throat definitely wasn't it. He turned on her offended and desperately embarrassed, attempting to draw himself away but she held him resolutely.

"My love," her hands moved to his cheeks, thumbs cool against his warmed skin. "You are not normal, you are an Uchiha. And Uchiha…" she trailed off for a moment and Sasuke's heart seized.

Dread dripped from the crumpled remnants of his heart, pooling deep into his stomach. Maybe this was the instant she would reveal that their clan was something ancient and cursed, something dastardly and mythical, something that would explain why he was so consumed with his pink haired teammate. Why he felt territorial over her for no good reason. Why he didn't trust her safety even to Naruto or Kakashi.

This was it. His mother would tell him. Absolve him from any sins.

Then he could move on. Be normal. Or as normal as Uchiha could be.

Sasuke found himself holding his breath.

"Uchiha feel things more deeply than most." Her smile was gentle as she tucked a few pieces of his hair behind his ear. "What you are feeling about Sakura… is a completely normal part of growing up."

His breathe fell out of him in one singular lump.

"What?" his mind jumped back through her words, searching for a secret meaning, a misunderstanding, anything that would validate the uncomfortable way his blood was traveling in his veins. "B-but – I can't – it's not – but – what?"

The edges of her mouth tipped down ever so slightly. "I think," she knocked her forehead into his. "This is perhaps a conversation better held with your father."

Sasuke's eyes widened but she continued before he could protest. His father?

"You have many shared qualities, you and your father." She didn't move away from him as she talked, simply kept eye contact with her forehead pressed to his. "Many are good – like your strength, tenacity, and loyalty." Sasuke's ears burned with the compliments. "However, in some instances these proclivities will leave you susceptible to bouts of extreme stubbornness." His mouth twisted into a pout.

"I do not."

"Oh?" she let him go and turned her face away from him, pursing her lips playfully and giving him a side eye. "You are not stubborn?"

"I am not." Sasuke refuted, trying his hardest not to chuckle at the skeptical look she was giving him and her slender fingers poking at his cheek. Huffing a little and unable to stop the small smirk manifesting on his face he pushed her hand away. "Stop teasing me, mother. I…" he felt his heart tighten in his chest again. The playfulness he had momentarily felt melted back into the pool of anxiety still sitting at his navel. "I do not like feeling weak and Sakura…" he swallowed thinking of the fact that he could not do anything to help her. That Naruto was better at something than he was. "S-sakura makes me feel weak." He revealed meekly, cheeks flaring crimson. His mother was looking at him, jaw slightly ajar with his revelation, and though he was staring sharply down at the duvet he noted she quickly recovered from her surprise.

Suddenly she scooped him into her arms and pulled him onto her lap, squeezing him into a tight hug. "My boy," she nuzzled him, smiling as he squirmed to get away from the blatant affection. "My love, I promise that what you are feeling is not weakness."

Before Sasuke could ask what that meant, a low, deep voice called from the hall.

"Darling," his father peeked around the doorframe with warmth in his chocolate eyes and a brow furrowed. "May I come back in?"

"Of course," Mikoto greeted happily.

As his father padded back across the wooden floor Sasuke felt his entire body flush with embarrassment. He was still wrapped in his mother's arms her soft cheek pressed against his. It felt like someone had doused him with gasoline and tossed a match. How long had he been standing there? What did he hear? Surely – surely – his father had not been present long enough to hear the confession.

Sasuke had worked too hard to get into his father's good graces. Practiced his katon until his lips were charred. Practiced with shuriken until he could hit his targets even if he was blinded. He had practiced until his small hands were sore and bleeding, body screaming, and lungs fated to forever breath ash.

Fate wouldn't be so cruel to allow his father to hear that.

It felt like an eternity before Fugaku had settled onto his side of the futon and Mikoto finally loosened her grip enough for Sasuke to scramble off of her lap. He was still beet red as he scurried to the door, intent on quickly going to his room to rot with anxiety and embarrassment alone in peace. But before he fled completely, his father's voice called him once more.

"Sasuke?"

The youngest Uchiha stopped in his tracks, eyes squeezing shut, and he shuffled the few steps back to stand in front of his parents' open door way.

"Goodnight," Fugaku nodded, perhaps a bit discomforted as his wife smiled so brightly at them both.

"Goodnight my love," she called. "Sweetest dreams."

"G'night." Sasuke squeaked, and then he ran.

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