There's Something I Need (To Tell You)

Chapter 10

16 weeks

Sasuke

"Sasuke, It's not a test. You're making me feel weird. The baby isn't grading you, so just say something already."

Sasuke threw the blonde a glare from his spot on the bed. Naruto was relaxing up against the headboard in a reclined position, a magazine in his hand. Sasuke lay on the bed next to him, on his stomach with his arms propped up by a pillow, his head next to Naruto's stomach where the blonde had pulled his shirt up so that he could talk to his kid. The only problem was that even though Sasuke had been looking forward to this for...god knows how long...he suddenly found himself with nothing to say. He'd stutter a few times, grimace internally, and would go silent again.

"It's not that easy." He defended. "I don't want to say something stupid." Naruto sighed at him over his reading.

"You're being annoying. It is that easy. I do it all the time. It doesn't matter what you say. It can't understand you. It's about your voice, not your vocabulary. Just...tell it about your day or something. That's what I do at night."

"But I didn't do anything but go to class today." Sasuke said.

"Then tell it about that. It's quantity, not quality." Sasuke thought about that. It made sense he supposed.

"Okay." He turned back to the task before him, and tried to find something to say about his day. "Um...so...well...uh..." Naruto cut him off.

"For fucks sake, Sas. Watch." Naruto put his magazine down and shuffled himself a bit to get into a more comfortable position. Sasuke watched the blonde use his index finger to trace random shapes and patterns across his stomach. "Hey, sweety. You wanna know something? Your daddy is being a huge idiot right now. He thinks you're going to bite him, or something. I wouldn't blame you with him being so mean and refusing to talk to you. Bite him, baby. Bite him!"

"Okay! Okay. I get it." Sasuke could feel the frustration practically rolling off of himself.

"And now he's yelling at me. You have such a mean daddy." Naruto was sticking his tongue out in a playful manner as he said this. Sasuke was still adjusting to the newly discovered sweet side to the boy, but was still rubbing his sore ego at being made fun of.

"I'm not mean. I'm just not used to it like you are. Wasn't it weird for you at first?"

"No. Not really. If it's weird for you just make it not weird. Get yourself used to it. Do whatever you have to do to wrap your head around it. Rub it. Explore. Talk! You can touch me too, ya know. You won't hurt me. Bond with your baby, Sasuke. That was the whole point of this." Naruto said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, and released slowly. He got up from his position next to Naruto and moved so that he was kneeling between his legs. Naruto adjusted himself again so Sasuke had the room he needed, and picked his magazine up again to return to reading. Sasuke repeated Naruto's action, and let a few of his fingers dance across the surface of the blonde's skin. It was firm, like before, and warm. He let his thumbs rub the bump affectionately, and felt that similar rush go through him at the contact. He let his palms come to rest on either side of Naruto's hips to rub the sides gently. Without thinking he leaned his head forward to rest it on the highest point of the blonde's swollen stomach, and began to speak.

"Hey, little one. Daddy's sorry he's not so good at this. Everything is new for me too. It seems I'm still pretty good at annoying your daddy though. I don't think Uncle Itachi ever annoyed your auntie as much as I annoy your daddy these days. He did this all the time with your cousins. He would kneel on the floor next to your aunt, and talk to her chubby stomach. For hours, sometimes. He's much better at this than I am, but I promise to try. I'll get better at this. Don't worry. I'll talk to you for as long as your daddy can put up with me for, and I'll bring you music, and I'll sing for you. I'll get better." He placed a small kiss to Naruto's stomach and raised himself up. He blushed when he realized that Naruto was no longer reading, but looking at him with something close to pride in his eyes. He held completely stone still as he watched Naruto raise a hand and push a lock of his black hair back behind his ear from where it had fallen while he was bent over.

"See. That wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked softly, almost affectionately, yet as though it was completely obvious.

"No. I guess it wasn't." Sasuke admitted.

"Something you said made me curious though." Naruto said.

"What's that?" Sasuke got up and moved to the side of Naruto, sitting cross legged on the bed, but still giving the blonde his space. They were finally getting along, and he wasn't going to push that. True to his word, Naruto was acting toward him like he did any of his other friends. Only maybe a bit more familiarly, and minus the moments when get got just a tad cranky. He wasn't hormonal per se, but every once in a while...Sasuke had to duck.

"Well, you called yourself Daddy, and you called me Daddy. Which I guess makes sense, and I just now noticed that I tend to do the same thing, but what about after it's born? Is it going to call us both Daddy? Won't that get kind of confusing? I mean, we won't be together all the time, but what about when we are?" Naruto asked. Sasuke thought on that for a moment. It was a good question.

"I...have no clue," He admitted.

"Hmm. Something to think on I guess."

"What if we let him just call us both Dad? I mean. When we're apart we'll know who he's talking to, and when we aren't it won't matter, so long as he gets the attention from one of us."

"Hey! That's not a bad idea. You're kind of smart sometimes, Sasuke."

"Ha. Thanks. So. Have you thought about...names?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.

"Hmm. Not too much. I figured it would be better to do that after we find out the sex."

"He's a boy."

"I know you're pretty sure of that, but how do you really know?"

"I just do. It's how my family works. We make boys. Except Ita-"

"Yeah. Yeah. Except Itachi, but think about this rationally, Sasuke. You're a smart man. You know gender isn't genetic. You have a fifty-fifty chance no matter who you are, or how many kids you have. The whole 'Uchihas make boys' thing is just the world's biggest coincidence, and Itachi's just the odd man out by luck of the draw, and isn't the exception that proves the rule."

"I'm telling you, Naruto, it's not science, but it is a fact." Sasuke laughed.

"I'm going to laugh in your face when we find out we're having a girl, bastard." Naruto threw popcorn from the side table at him. Sasuke ducked, but couldn't stop laughing. This playful banter they had going on was beyond amazing.

"Care to make a wager on that, Uzumaki?" He dared the blonde. Naruto rolled over on to his side to face him.

"What'd you have in mind, Uchiha? Money or motive?"

"Motive, definitely. Hmm. Okay, how about this. If you're right, and we find out we are having a girl, I'll let you have my mustang until she's born, and I'll suffer through driving that springy little tinker toy of yours around." Naruto straightened up fully in his seat, his attention totally claimed at the idea of a solid four months of using the gorgeous black car at his whim.

"All right. I'm in." He said. "And if you're right, and they tell us it's a boy, I'll...hmm...I'll let you use my camera to take as many pictures of whatever you want until he's born. Even me." Sasuke was shocked. Naruto hated having his picture taken. He preferred to take the pictures. More to the point, Naruto never EVER let anyone touch his camera. Not even Sasuke. Then again Sasuke didn't let anyone drive his car either, so it seemed to be a fair trade.

"Deal." Sasuke said, and they shook on it.

18 Weeks

Naruto

"The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear. Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.' `Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

`It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

`Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.'"

Sasuke was back on his side next to Naruto, one hand propped under his head, the other rubbing Naruto's bare stomach while he read 'Alice in Wonderland' to it. Naruto held the book for him and turned the pages. It was the tea party scene; a particular favorite for both of them. Part of Naruto wished that he could just close his eyes and fall asleep to the sound of Sasuke's smooth voice as he read, but he couldn't. He was in charge of the page turning, after all.

After a few visits with him Sasuke had seemed to really get into the swing of talking to the baby. Sasuke would come over, tell it about his day, much like Naruto suggested, and then read a book to it. It was a nice way to end the day, and, without all of the fighting going on, Naruto had started to look forward to the every other day visits. Sometimes he went over to Sasuke's new house, a beautiful two story split level he was leasing near the campus, and once they had even managed to suffer through a dinner alone together with only a tiny argument over whether said split level was baby safe with all the multiple tiny stair cases.

He genuinely enjoyed this time with Sasuke. It was such a healthy change from the way they had been treating each other during the whole abortion fiasco, like shit, and the awkward interactions they were having before that first day Sasuke tried talking to the baby, weird. It was like they were just hanging out like normal friends, but you know, they had a kid together. Naruto knew Sasuke wanted more, and he couldn't deny that the lack of aggression between them reminded him of much better days when they were together.

It was hard for him to fight the soft feelings he had for the man sometimes. Especially when Sasuke did things for him as well, and not just the baby. Like the nights that Naruto did fall asleep to his voice, and woke up hours later to find himself covered in a blanket and the house locked down for the night. Or when Sasuke cooked for him simply because Naruto was lazy. Not even tired, just lazy.

He felt a war inside of him. It was eerily similar to the war he had had those first few weeks after breaking up with Sasuke, only with a lot less tears and heartache. It left him with this uncomfortable tense feeling. Like a rubber band stretching, and stretching, to the point of breaking, but just being held there instead. Not breaking. Not releasing. Just holding a tight tension inside his head and his heart. He was mortified the few times he had let his blank face reveal these moments of weakness in front of Sasuke. Sasuke would just smile widely at him, and Naruto would look away blushing before putting that wall back up. He could never really tell which way he wanted it to go with these torn emotions, and so for the moment Naruto just let himself be content with hearing his favorite scene from his favorite book.

He must have looked tired because Sasuke sat up and took the book from his hands.

"You want to get some sleep?" He asked.

"Maybe. Yeah. I just can't help it. It's relaxing when you do this. After all that fuss it turns out that you're a natural. No popping or tickling at all from her tonight."

"That's good. Do you want something from the kitchen before I go? Some of that weird tabasco tomato juice, or something?"

"No. Thanks. Don't want it right now. That stuff is so weird. You and your freak tomato obsession. You really didn't need to taint my baby with it."

"Don't look at me. Even I think the spicy V8 is odd. He's just plain weird, and I'm gonna put that on you."

"Figures you would." Naruto stuck his tongue out before pulling his shirt down. He let Sasuke place a soft kiss to his stomach before fidgeting his way under the blankets. Sasuke turned the table lamp off before putting another kiss on Naruto's forehead. Naruto should have shoved him away, but instead just gave him a gentle push to his shoulder.

"Hey. We were having a good night. Don't ruin it by getting mushy on me Mr." He warned, even if it was half-hearted. In truth he wasn't sure he wanted to push Sasuke away anymore, but he certainly wasn't going to tell him that.

"Oh, stop. I didn't mean anything by it. I've been paying attention to him all night. You need affection too. It's healthy for you both, and you know it."

"I'm perfectly fine with you reading to both of us then." Sasuke sighed, and made an obvious decision not to push him, or pick a fight, which only made Naruto happier. It also made him angrier. Or was it more confused? Maybe both?

"Do you want to maybe go shopping next week? I thought that might be fun." Sasuke asked. Naruto thought about that. Yeah. He supposed it might be. Plus with two houses they had a lot of it to do.

"That does sound fun. I'll be sure to buy lots of pink." He teased. Sasuke grimaced.

"I'm telling you that there is no need for that. My son is not wearing pink...neither is my non-existent daughter."

"Then just what do you expect to dress her in?" Naruto asked.

"In my imagination she might be wearing light green, or maybe pastel blue, but not yellow, and certainly not fucking pink."

"Looks like she won't have too much to wear then. The world believes in gender roles for babies, Sasuke. Even if we don't that's just the market we are shopping in, and she can't be naked." Instead of arguing Naruto was rewarded with a beautiful, yet playful, smile.

"You should know better, Naruto. No Uchiha cares what the world thinks it should do. Not even the babies." Naruto laughed heartily at that, and couldn't even argue.

"Get out of here, bastard. Let me and the princess get some sleep."

"As you wish, your royal wrongness." Sasuke ducked as the pillow shot towards his head.

19 Weeks

Sasuke

"Sasuke, I don't want to go into Carter's!" Naruto whined in his ear. "It's all generic, mass produced, middle class, crap!" The last comment earned the blonde more than a few glares from the other customers entering and exiting the store.

Sasuke wished he could blame the whining on the hormones, but he knew it would be a lie. This spoiled little rich kid attitude of Naruto's was a monster of his own making. For almost two years now he had treated money as commonly as if it were water in regards to Naruto. With his internship a month away, Sasuke had no intentions of changing that habit, but this was only the first store they were going in to. He dragged Naruto through the doors.

"We're not getting the furniture or clothing here, Naruto. Just bottles, binks, and formula, and crap. Please. Do you really think I'm so low class as to dress my kid in..." He looked at an atrociously grotesque onesie with a blue giraffe on it. "...Jumping Bean?"

"But...Sasuke, what if our friends see us in here?" Sasuke couldn't ignore how Naruto called them 'our' friends. They had always run in separate circles due to their age. They interacted with each other only when the other was present. They didn't have mutual friends.

"Then they'll look in our basket, note...not cart, and see nothing but bottles, and binks, and formula, and crap. They're not going to be in here anyway. Why would they be?"

"I don't know. There are just windows and stuff."

"It'll take a half hour, Ru. Tops." Naruto looked at him skeptically, and Sasuke made a little cross over his heart in promise. Naruto tipped his head back and forth in debate before immediately heading for said isle, obviously determined to get it over with.

Sasuke carried the basket, and noticed that while Naruto had claimed such vehement hatred for the store, he was quite gleeful in throwing every bottle in every possible size into the basket that Sasuke carried. It was quickly half way filled. Then came the pacifiers. Sasuke was pretty sure Naruto wasn't even looking at this point because there were all sorts of colors in the collection tossed at him. Including both pink and blue. The pink ones were immediately plucked out and discarded for his own sanity. Naruto caught him tossing a third one and huffed at him. He slapped Sasuke on the arm and shoved it back in the basket.

"I liked that one." He pressed.

"That one wasn't even a pacifier, Naruto. It was the top extender for a breast pump." He pointed out, and then immediately laughed at the half shocked, half disgusted look he received.

"Okay, that's it. I'm done. We're leaving." Naruto turned tail and left Sasuke behind in the isle. Sasuke couldn't stop his laughter.

"Oh, c'mon Naruto. Don't get upset. I've changed my mind. It's not so bad. If you really want it we'll get it!" He called after the blonde. Naruto didn't even look over his shoulder while hurling said breast pump at his head. Sasuke ducked, and it crashed to the floor, drawing looks from other customers. "See. We have to get it now. You probably broke it." He shouted.

"Put the fucking basket down, and get your ass over here, bastard." Sasuke still giggled a bit, but did as he was told. They could just order this stuff online when they got back to Naruto's house. It had been so worth the trip though.

He found Naruto sulking outside of the store. He had his arms crossed, resting over his slowly expanding stomach. He glared when he saw Sasuke.

"You're not really mad at me, are you?" He asked slinging an arm casually over the blonde's shoulder. Naruto didn't shrug it off, and just let himself be coddled. Sasuke had to admit that it was something Naruto had made a definite improvement on. Months ago being in the same room as Sasuke would have sent him on a homicidal rage. Now Naruto allowed most of his touches, and even seemed to enjoy them for a time before putting up that stone wall of his and pretending otherwise. And Sasuke knew it was pretending. Naruto was a sucker for physical attention in just about every form. He'd simply been forcing Sasuke to dole it out in itty bitty pieces if he didn't want to deal with a hissy fit.

"No." Naruto huffed.

"Embarrassed?"

"...Maybe." Naruto admitted.

"About grabbing breast pump pieces, or secretly wanting one?" Sasuke joked. He got elbowed in the gut for his trouble. Sasuke doubled over, but laughed all the same.

"Shut up, asshole."

"Don't be mad. This was supposed to be fun remember? C'mon. Let's get you two some lunch, and then I'll buy you both something nice, alright?" He rubbed Naruto's stomach a few times in both apology and bribery. Naruto twitched his lips a bit at that.

"Gucci?" He asked. Sasuke nodded his head.

"Yeah. That sounds good. Let's get you guys some Gucci."

"Sweet! Okay, lunch time. I want sushi. With hot sauce. Hot sauce and cream cheese. Maybe some yogurt." Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the order. Sushi was fine but...ew.

"Not all together, dumb ass. I want the yogurt for dessert." He said as if this clarified everything.

"Whatever your freak taste buds want." He replied.

"Changed my mind. Gucci first."

"Okay, Gucci first."

A half hour later and they were seated at the bar of a small sushi restaurant. Naruto refused to take off his new sunglasses, and had set the small bag containing their child's first closet item on the floor. It was a tiny black polo shirt with a matching bib. Completely unisex, and so adorable that it had set Naruto's rare hormones off and made him cry. Sasuke had wanted shoes too, but Naruto had insisted that his baby would be wearing nothing but classic Chuck Taylor converses. This, Sasuke did not fight him on.

"I'm full." Naruto said, pushing his dish away.

"Okay. More shopping?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head.

"No. I'm tired. No yogurt either. Too full. I want a nap."

"Alright. Back to the car." Sasuke commanded.

"Carry me?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not carrying you through SoCal, Naruto."

"Please, Sas." He begged. "I'm wiped. You promised! Whatever I needed,you said. I need carrying."

"It's not safe in this crowd." Sasuke pressed.

"I think you just don't want to admit that I'm too heavy for you." Naruto teased. Sasuke scoffed.

"You are not too heavy for me to carry. You've barely gained fifteen pounds in five months."

"Can we just go please?"

"Yeah. Come here. Give me your hand." Naruto did as told, and let Sasuke help him down off of the high bar stool. He could tell just by looking that Naruto was completely exhausted, and so kept his hand in his as they walked down the street. For his part Naruto was content to be lead blindly back to the car. Sasuke kept directly in front of him, his arm going behind his back to keep Naruto protected from the crowd with his height. He tipped the tired blonde into his car, and wasn't surprised to find he had fallen fast asleep before they had made it even half of the way back to Naruto's apartment.

He ran his fingers through Naruto's hair gently, coaxing him awake. Naruto slowly came to and mumbled,

"We home yet?"

"Yeah. We're home." Naruto was already falling back asleep.

"No, no. Gotta stay awake, Ru. Just a bit further and you can get into bed."

"Carry me?" The blonde begged again. Sasuke smiled. He couldn't help himself.

"Okay. If you can get out of the car I'll carry you upstairs." He negotiated. Naruto was out of the car and leaning on the closed door before Sasuke even made it around to the other side. "Don't jump." He instructed. "I got you." He assured Naruto. He bent down, placed one arm under Naruto's knees, and the other behind his back, swinging him up into his arms easily. He felt Naruto shift a bit, getting comfortable, before letting his head fall on to Sasuke's shoulders. Tired though he knew the boy was, Sasuke could never replace the utter happiness he felt at having Naruto in his arms. Just letting himself be taken care of.

He carried Naruto easily up the, admittedly long, four flights of steps. He really hadn't gained as much weight as he thought despite his growth in size. Sasuke didn't even need to put him down to unlock and open the door. He quickly had the tired blonde tucked into bed. It was still daylight out, and so Sasuke went to get a glass of water for Naruto to have on his night stand for when he woke up. The noise stirred him for a moment.

"Are you going home?"

"Yeah. You need sleep. Just call me when you're up for it, okay?" Naruto hummed in acknowledgment. Sasuke went to turn and leave when he felt a warm hand reaching for his own. He turned around to see what Naruto needed.

"You're good to me, Sasuke. Thank you." He said before letting go of the raven's hand.

"You don't need to thank me for anything. Now good night." Sasuke leaned down to give him a kiss to the forehead.

Naruto let him.

20 Weeks

Sasuke had made it to the doctor's office before Naruto did that day, and he wouldn't be ashamed to admit it was because he was excited for more than one reason. He didn't have to wait long for Naruto to pull up next to him in the parking lot. The blonde had a smile on his face. He was obviously having a good day. He waited for him to get out of his car before approaching to give the baby a hello.

"Hello, little one." He purred, stroking Naruto's stomach. "You ready to help me prove your daddy wrong today?" He took a few steps back and gave Naruto a smug smile. "I hope you brought your camera, Naruto. Get ready to lose."

"In your dreams, bastard. It's at home nice and cozy in the closet where it belongs. You should thank for me bringing my car instead of making you walk all the way back to my apartment for it.

"C'mon. Let's go settle this so I can force you to let me take a picture of the look on your face."

It was with anxious boredom that they sat through the routine questions, and standard check up. Sasuke saw Naruto instantly perk up when he saw a keyboard being brought out and plugged into a small television. He looked over at Sasuke.

"You ready for this?" He asked. "This is going to be one of those intense moments. Even I'm not sure what to expect." Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Yeah. I got this." Though he didn't sound too sure, even to himself. He watched as calmly as possible as the doctor finally had Naruto lie back to pull his shirt up. He heard him hiss as cold gel met skin. There was a faint hum as the frequency for the machine kicked in. He saw the wand finally touch Naruto's tight stomach, and then he was lost as he heard that blessed sound enter his ears again. He'd heard it a million times at this point. Had watched the cd Naruto had given him months ago endlessly. It was nothing compared to the experience of actually being in the room. He felt Naruto grab his hand, and he squeezed it back.

"You still with me? It's about to get crazy." Sasuke didn't have time to register the warning, let alone respond, before the screen in front of them turned from black to ultrasonic. He nearly choked on his breath as the picture came to life before him and his vision took in the sight he was seeing. It wasn't just some small half formed thing like he had seen before. This was so much more. It actually looked like a tiny little baby, all curled and bundled up inside the small space. He heard Naruto gasp next to him, and turned to look at him. The blonde had one hand to his mouth in his own expression of shock, and Sasuke felt the hand in his tighten. He looked back at the screen.

"There we go." Said the doctor. "Nice clean picture. Size looks good, position is stable." He began pointing to the screen. "There's the head. I see...there's an arm, fingers. See that long string of pearls right there?" Sasuke nodded dumbly. "That's it's spine. It looks well formed. Everything looks good." He continued to move the wand over Naruto's stomach, giving them different angles to see from.

It was honestly the most beautiful thing Sasuke had ever seen. Had ever dreamed of seeing. Their baby was...perfect, and beautiful, and he felt such an overwhelming sense of emotion at that moment that he didn't know what to say or do. He just stared at the wonderful sight in front of him.

"Oh my god." It was all he could say, so he repeated it. "Oh my god."

"I know." He heard Naruto say from beside him. Then the blonde broke out in loud sobs that he tried to cover up with his hand, and Sasuke immediately pulled his chair as close to him as he could, squeezing the blood from both of their palms, running his fingers through Naruto's hair, and kissing his temple repeatedly.

"This is amazing." He whispered in Naruto's ear. "You are amazing, and this is amazing, and I love you so freaking much. Thank you." Naruto just nodded his head and removed his hand from his mouth so that he could bring it up to meet the fingers Sasuke had running through his hair. He didn't push him away, only laced their hands together and brought both that hand and the ones by their side to his mouth so he could kiss the knuckles. He seemed incapable of speech.

They watched the screen for a few more minutes before the image froze and the doctor tapped a few keys on the board in front of him. He handed Naruto a box of tissues for his stomach and face while he got up to make a few notes in the file. Naruto blew his nose and wiped his eyes while Sasuke cleaned his stomach off for him, spreading several kisses over the surface. He spoke to it softly.

"I didn't think it possible to love you more, little one." A few more kisses before he pulled Naruto's shirt down for him and helped the blonde sit back up. As they both caught their breath and bearings a bit Sasuke saw the doctor open a drawer that appeared to be filled with dozens of little blue and pink pacifiers. Moment of truth. Sasuke watched him grab one and fold it into his hand secretively.

"Okay, anyone wanna guess the color?" He asked.

"PINK!"

"BLUE!"

They both shouted contradictory answers at the same time. The doctor simply chuckled before tossing the small object to Naruto. The blonde quickly opened his hands to look.

"Sonofabitch!" He yelled, throwing the small blue pacifier at Sasuke's head. Sasuke didn't even bother ducking, just let it hit him in the head before catching it as he fell. The only thing larger than Sasuke's smile was his laughter.

"Ha! Told you! Pay up, loser!" The doctor laughed at them again.

"You guys are some of my most fun clients. I hope the wager wasn't anything too drastic, Mr. Uzumaki," Naruto huffed.

"Only my soul." He answered with his arms crossed and a severe pout on his face.

"You guys can go. I'm sure you're anxious to spread the news. We'll call you in a month."

()

Back in the parking lot the two stood side by side next to Sasuke's car.

"I did try to tell you." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, yeah. Well. I have a secret for you, bastard."

"What's that?" Sasuke asked. Naruto left him to go to his car. Sasuke watched him take a large black case from the back seat. Sasuke recognized it to be Naruto's precious, and very expensive, camera.

"I did bring it with." Sasuke laughed.

"Alright, Naruto. A deal is a deal. Set that thing up for me while I grab something quick." Naruto set the case on top of the car and began to do just that. Sasuke went in to his own back seat, and pulled out a small Tommy Hilfiger bag. When Naruto had the camera set up he threw the contents of the bag at him. It was caught easily. "Put it on, suck it up, and strike a pose, loser." He commanded jovially. Naruto pulled a plain white tee shirt out of the bag and looked at it.

"You're kidding me right?" He asked.

"Not even slightly. You said of anything, even you." Naruto huffed, but took off the tee shirt he was wearing to reveal a tight fit white beater underneath that stretched, in what Sasuke could only say was a very flattering way, across his stomach. He pulled the new shirt on and looked down at it, scoffing at the custom printed decal. The tee shirt was tight as well. It had bright blue writing that simply said, "IT'S A BOY!...DUH!" With an arrow pointing down. No one else who saw it would understand the last bit, but the point Sasuke was making was completely obvious to anyone who mattered.

Sasuke fiddled with the camera settings until he had the ones he wanted. He pointed it at Naruto. "Okay. Make it pretty. I'm sending this one to your grandparents." Naruto dropped the scowl and gave a bright smile. He stuck his tongue out for the camera and gave his signature 'rock on' hands. The flash went off a few times. He walked up to the blonde and shoved the little blue pacifier into his mouth before backing up to snap the shutter a few more times. Then he set the camera back down in it's case and closed it up. He didn't want to torture the poor thing too much. He was surprised when he turned around and Naruto wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly, his stomach pushing gently at Sasuke's flat abs. Sasuke wasn't sure what to do when Naruto didn't let go. Naruto fidgeted a bit.

"Why aren't you hugging me?" He asked.

"I didn't think you wanted me to." Sasuke admitted. "Thought maybe you just needed a bit of contact. Didn't want to push my luck." Naruto took Sasuke's arms and wrapped them just as tightly around his own waist, and he moved his own to wind up around Sasuke's neck.

"It's not like that, Sas. This was awesome. It deserves a hug. I just have this urge to be close to you right now." Sasuke wasn't going to miss the opportunity so he simply held on tight and placed a kiss to Naruto's head.

"Yeah." He agreed. "It was awesome."

"Can I tell you another secret?" Naruto asked from his where his head was buried in Sasuke's neck.

"Of course."

"I'm glad he's a boy. I really wanted him to be a boy. I was only being contradictory to be contradictory. Somewhere inside me... I think I somehow always knew you had given me a precious little prince." Sasuke rested his chin on Naruto's head and let one of his hands drop from the blonde's waist to rub the side of his stomach gently. The contents of which he now knew was his first born son. It made his heart sore and soar.

"I'm glad you're happy. That's all I wanted."

()

22 weeks

Naruto

Naruto was currently in the kitchen waiting for his rice to finish cooking. It was one of those rare weekends that he got to see Sasuke during the day. He usually only saw him during the week after classes, but having the whole day with him was actually lots of fun. They cooked, and shopped online. Sometimes they went out to shop. They had even signed up for the childbirth classes they had been talking about. They had decided to do all six sessions over the course of a long weekend upstate at some reproduction center, and he was really looking forward to it, as gross as he had heard some bits of it were going to be. He was beyond even caring or trying to explain what the happiness at all this time with Sasuke might mean. All he knew was that it was a beautiful Saturday, he had slept amazingly, and Sasuke was helping him make his spicy sushi. Lots of it. Enough to last for the entire week that Naruto would want to be eating it all day while Sasuke wasn't there. Plus even more extra to take to school with him. The cafeteria food was way too gross for his new picky palate. He didn't even care that it was quickly adding to his already gaining weight. After all, fish was healthy...right? All that folic acid his doctor had been rattling on about.

Sasuke was currently at the store buying some supplies. They had run out of cream cheese an hour ago, and a lot more was needed. Naruto was cutting fish and vegetables until he returned.

Naruto heard a lock in the door, and couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. He had returned Sasuke's key not long after their ultrasound appointment three weeks ago. They had been getting along really well up until that point, but that day...it had just changed something in Naruto. He had this urge to be around Sasuke a lot more, and he didn't mind all the friendly touching Sasuke had been giving him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that that experience was something he had been waiting for from the very beginning. It wasn't the cold anger of the clinic table, or the distant horror of that first scan where he cried pitifully because he was suffering alone. No. The moment had been perfect. It had been everything he knew it should be, and maybe it was the hormones, but he was having a hard time shutting the raven out. Or even wanting to. Oh how much things could change in the course of a simple three months.

To his surprise though, it wasn't Sasuke entering the kitchen, but Sai. The smile remained.

"Hey!" He said happily. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"I finished putting in that security system on your laptop like you asked. Now if it gets stolen at the coffee shop again you don't have to worry about hackers."

"Or worse, 'journalists'." Naruto scoffed. "Thanks." Sai looked him over for a few seconds.

"You're in a good mood today. How's mini-you doing?"

"Hmm. Fine. He keeps giving me the hiccups. Or maybe he's the one with the hiccups. I feel all this like...kind of bouncing today. And of course I'm in a good mood. We're making sushi today." Naruto grinned, popping a piece of avocado in his mouth and offering one to Sai, who took it.

"By we I hope you don't mean you're using your stomach to hold the cutting board like I saw you doing with your cereal bowl last week."

"No. Sasuke's helping. He just went to the store to grab a few things things...oooh. Yeah. He's going to be back soon. That's not a problem is it?"

"No. It's your apartment, Naruto."

"I mean is that going to be a problem? You guys didn't exactly hit it off last time."

"I'm fine if he is. You know me. That crap rolls right off my shoulders. Besides, you said he has calmed down a lot since then. What with mini-you and everything."

"Yeah. He has turned into a softy hasn't he?" Naruto noted. Not that Sai would know the difference. As though he knew they were talking about him, Naruto heard Sasuke's voice from the living room.

"Naruto, did you unlock the door? I could have sworn I locked it behind me." He entered the kitchen and stood in place when he saw the other occupant. Naruto could practically see the hairs raise on the back of Sasuke's neck. "I didn't know you were expecting company today."

"I had Sai put some security software on my laptop. He was dropping it off." He explained.

"Hi, Sasuke." Sai said conversationally.

"Hey...Sai." Sasuke looked back at Naruto. "I picked up like five more things of cream cheese, and some of those weird vanilla rock candies you said the runt wanted." He said, putting the bag on the floor by the fridge.

"I'm going to head out, okay, Naruto? I just wanted to check in and drop your stuff off. Sasuke, good to see you again. Try to not let him eat so much ramen this week. He's slipping." Sasuke shot him a look, and Naruto blushed guiltily.

"I didn't mean to. Your mom gave me a taste for it. I want it late at night...It's not my fault!" He defended.

"Hn. Sai, before you go. You, me. Living room please." Naruto couldn't help but be mortified as the two men left the room together. Oh god! They were going to kill each other weren't they? He trusted Sai to hold his temper relatively well, but most certainly not his tongue, and Sasuke wasn't capable of holding either. He stilled his hands on the knife, and tried to listen, but all he could hear was muffled conversation, and maybe a few curses, followed shortly after by a door slamming. Naruto felt his anger rise a bit. After all the progress they had made, especially on this topic, if Sasuke had chased Sai away...he'd be just so angry.

To his surprise it was Sai that came back into the room, not Sasuke.

"Everything okay?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Everything's cool." He promised.

"You sure? I thought I heard the door slam."

"Yeah. He left. Don't think he's far though. Probably just needed a bit of air."

"I'm sorry if he started something. I talked to him about this..."

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"Then what?" Naruto asked.

"He wanted to thank me he said." Naruto's eyes bugged.

"He what?"

"'Yeah. Granted it wasn't the prettiest speech I've ever heard, but I think we're cool."

"Oh. Well okay then." He really didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm gonna go. I have a few more things I have to do today. Let me know if your laptop gives you any issues."

"I will." Naruto had to admit that his head wasn't really in the conversation anymore. He was off in la la land, imagining a Sasuke that was thanking Sai for something instead of ripping his balls away from his body. He left the cucumber he was slicing on the board, and got a tomato from the crisper instead. He was halfway through cutting it up, a gift to the man to show his gratitude, when he heard the door open again. Sasuke came back into the kitchen, but didn't say anything as he busied himself putting the groceries away. Naruto could tell his good mood wasn't what it had been.

"You okay?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Fine." Sasuke clipped.

"Sai said you left."

"I just needed some air." Sasuke replied.

"Sai told me what you said. I really appreciate it. I know you don't like apologizing."

"I didn't apologize." He huffed as though offended, stuffing yogurt to the back of a shelf roughly. "I have nothing to be sorry for, but yes, there were some things I wanted to say to him." Sasuke explained.

"Either way. It really means a lot to me. That you would do that. Please don't be upset...I made you a tomato." He offered. This seemed to stop Sasuke from his distant actions. He tilted his head as he looked at Naruto, and approached the counter he was cutting on. Standing beside Naruto, he took a slice of the half cut tomato and ate it. Naruto stiffened slightly in surprise as Sasuke wrapped a hand around his waist to rest on his hip, and felt warm lips meet his cheek.

"Thank you." Sasuke said softly, the anger obviously gone from him. Naruto inhaled sharply. This was different. This was something very different. Sasuke didn't touch him like this anymore. There was the occasional kiss to his forehead, or maybe an arm over his shoulder, but Sasuke hadn't approached him in such an obviously romantic way since Naruto had first found out he was pregnant. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he knew how Sasuke still felt about him when Sasuke was trying to give him his personal space. This was nothing like that.

Naruto's shock took his attention away from what he was doing, and he felt the slice in his finger as the knife slipped in his grasp.

"Ouch. Fuck!" He cursed.

"Hey, careful." Sasuke let go of his hip and took the knife from him. Naruto was almost thankful for the painful distraction. The moment had been a bit too close for comfort. He let Sasuke pull him over to the sink to run water over the cut. He watched as the man cleaned and bandaged the cut, though it wasn't very deep, and then place a soft kiss to the injury. Naruto tried to get away from the gesture. He suddenly felt very hot, and very crowded.

"I'm fine, Sasuke. It's just a little cut. You don't have to fuss." Sasuke simply shushed him.

"You cut yourself making something for me. It hardly seems fair that I let you suffer." His voice was soft, and sweet. He didn't let go of Naruto's hand, simply held it.

"Really. I'm okay. Please. Could you back up a bit? You're crowding me." He watched a look of concern cross Sasuke's face.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No. Of course not. I just need some space. I'm hot." Sasuke nodded and took a step back before leaning in to give his cheek another kiss. He flinched when Naruto deliberately turned his head away from the gesture. A moment of clarity seemed to hit the black haired man, and his easy smile disappeared.

"Is that what this is about?" He asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Naruto plastered a look of boredom on his face. Sasuke's frown deepened.

"We were doing so well. Please, don't shut me out now."

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Naruto feigned ignorance.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Naruto. I'm talking about this." And before he could register the movement Sasuke had closed the distance between them again. His hands came up to hold onto the counter on either side of Naruto's hips, effectively blocking him in. He pressed his body closer to the blonde until there was barely an inch between them So close, but not touching. Those warm lips grazed across his cheek again, but never fully kissed. Then the lips left, and Sasuke's forehead came to rest against his own. "I'm talking about us, and this," a gentle hand swept across his swollen abdomen, "and this." The hand returned to his hip, and Sasuke nuzzled his forehead where they were connected.

"I...you...I..." Naruto swallowed thickly. "...I don't know what to say to this, Sasuke. I can...barely think or...even breathe right now." He stuttered when confronted with the close proximity, and the warmth it brought to his skin. Naruto bit his lip instead of trying to talk, and inhaled sharply. He had almost forgotten just how direct Sasuke could be when he had a point to make, or a prize to claim. It was a dangerous mistake. Naruto wasn't sure which one he was, but just being in this situation was making him hyperventilate. Sasuke seemed to pick up on his ever rising agitation and nervousness.

"Why are you doing this to yourself, baby?" Sasuke asked him. So, so soft was the voice near Naruto's ear, the voice filled with non-judgmental pity and sadness.

Naruto could have cried upon hearing such a sweet term of affection. One he hadn't heard in so long. He didn't realize just how badly he had missed it. He couldn't do more than breathe heavily. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what not to do. So much of him wanted to give in to these feelings running through him, but his head was screaming at him. 'Stop!' It yelled. 'Nothing good can come from this! He doesn't really want you! Just the kid inside you! He's only going to hurt you!' His heart had an entirely different opinion. 'You love him! He loves you! You know he does! And he's right here!Take him, you idiot!' The two sides warred within him. It was all he could do to beg Sasuke to let him go.

"Please, Sasuke. I can't do this. You know I can't talk about this." He couldn't even look at the man.

"Ru, it's okay. Look at me, baby. Please." Naruto did, and those black eyes that bore so deeply into his own gave him a melting sensation. He looked away, looked back, looked everywhere else, but again looked back. He felt one of Sasuke's hands come up to gently cup the side of his cheek, and his thumb stroked the side of his face sweetly. "It's okay. You're okay. I know it's hard." He promised.

"No. You don't know. You don't know how confused I am. You don't have to live in my body, or in my head, with my thoughts, and my feelings. So how could you possibly know?" Sasuke just kept his gaze steadily on him, that hand never leaving his face.

"Because I feel it too. That thing. The one that makes us live and breathe only for the other even when it's the thing that hurts us the most. Because of that nameless presence that has always been there." Naruto saw Sasuke shut his eyes briefly, and inhale deeply, as though tired in his own way. "Because it's us, Ru, and that's just how we exist in this world. Even when you hate me, and beat me down. Even when I hurt you beyond repair. Because I know you. You think I can't see it in you? The way you struggle everyday to keep me out? To not let me know you have those cracks in your heart? The ones that you so obviously want me to fix for you because you know that I can, and will...if you'd just let me. I see it in your eyes when you look at me. I feel it to the pit of my soul when you touch me. You need me just as much as I need you. You want me just as badly as well. You can't hide anything from me. Just the way I can't hide anything from you. I know it. You know it. So, why are you fighting it? Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I don't know any other way of doing it, Sasuke." His answer was nothing but honest, yet did nothing to calm him or fix that tight tense band on his heart. If anything it stretched further still, not breaking. Never breaking.

"Let me in." Sasuke said. "That's all you've ever had to do, baby. Just let me in. I'll fix it all." He promised. And Naruto didn't know what to do or say. He needed air. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't look into the gorgeous black eyes for a second longer without absolutely snapping under the pressure.

"I...I can't." He said pitifully. Because he truly couldn't. He couldn't do anything more than turn his head from those eyes and that hand on his face. When he felt Sasuke finally let go of him and step away he also felt his heart shatter and implode in a painful spasm all at the same time. They stood in silence for several long minutes, neither speaking or looking at the other.

"I think I should go." Sasuke finally said.

"Sasuke, please. I'm sorry. You don't need to leave." Naruto reached out to place a hand on Sasuke's arm, but was shocked, and only somewhat surprisingly hurt, to find it gently pushed away.

"No. I think I really do." He said. Naruto said nothing, but watched as Sasuke grabbed his ever present messenger bag from the floor by the door and made a quick exit, locking the door behind him.

The blonde grabbed his hair and shook his head in disgust at himself. How could he be so stupid? Why was this so hard? And when had he not realized just how far Sasuke had gotten back into his heart? Or more importantly, when had he forgotten just how little chance his heart had at closing out a Sasuke who's main weapon in this battle was his charm? He hadn't stood a chance, and he hadn't really even noticed. And he had just let that man walk out his door.

What had he done? He had just ruined everything! It was right there. All he had to do was take it! All he had to do was let himself fall, and trust Sasuke to catch him, but he hadn't. His fear and pride was taking everything from him. Again! What was he supposed to do now? He had it all in the palm of his hand, and instead he had put that stupid wall up, and let Sasuke walk out his front door. Hadn't they been getting along? Hadn't everything been just as good and wonderful as before, minus the actual romantic label? Sasuke was right. They'd been doing so well! He thought it was the right thing to do. He thought that keeping that space between them was what was keeping them healthy. Why did that slamming door change so many things? He had well and truly blown it. Sasuke was never going to put his pride out there to be stomped on again! He'd left. Just took his bag and walked without so much as a goodbye. He never did that. Sasuke had never walked away. Not even when Naruto had hated him. And he didn't even have to guts to chase after him. In what world did he not have the guts to do anything? Apparently, this one. Fuck! When had he become this pathetic, complacent, cowering thing? He was so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

Naruto sank to the kitchen floor, and let the tears fall.