"Itachi-kun, I want some watermelon."

Itachi cast a glance at his wife, whose swollen belly was pressed against his hip. Her head was resting on his chest – he could feel the tickle of her hair (which was now quite long) against his neck.

He had been thoroughly enjoying a nice nap before her request, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Napping with a nine months pregnant woman rarely ended positively.

Itachi had been forewarned, not just by Ino, Shizune, Tsunade, and Kakashi, but also Sakura herself that pregnant women tended to be on the more… unreasonable side. They had each told him tales of women going on rampages, demanding things they couldn't have, and just generally being unruly.

He had some doubts about this from the beginning. He couldn't recall his mother ever having acted that way when she was pregnant with Sasuke. Nonetheless, Itachi had prepared himself for the onslaught he was sure to receive from Sakura, who already had a bit of a penchant for violence.

However, much to his relief, Sakura was relatively normal during her pregnancy. She didn't make outrageous demands, or throw temper tantrums. In fact, for the most part, it seemed her pregnancy made her rather sleepy. She took several naps a day at this point, and she nearly always requested Itachi's presence for these.

And Itachi had absolutely no complaints about that. Nothing made him happier than curling up in his bed for a quick nap with his wife. Such a simple pleasure, it was, but it was that kind of thing Itachi never imagined he would ever be able to do.

But he was experienced enough now to know that each of Sakura's naps ended with a very specific food craving.

Watermelon was not in season. It would be nearly impossible to get his hands on some.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have some coconut? Or a pear?" he ventured.

"No, I want watermelon."

Itachi shifted a little bit so that he was almost sitting up. Sakura did not make this process easy as she continued to rest her full (now ample) weight against him.

"I can go look for some," he said with his most appeasing tone. "But I don't want you to be disappointed if I can't find any."

She cracked an eye open and looked at him. Itachi was suddenly swept up in a crazy surge of affection for her. She looked glowing and beautiful and she was resting on him in such a comforting way. It was hard to believe that she was his wife sometimes. It was hard to imagine a world in which a girl like her would choose to be with someone like him.

And it was harder still to believe that she was pregnant with his child – his son. Any day now the Uchiha clan would have a new heir. He would a father. Sakura would be a mother. Sasuke would be an uncle. It was just too much to wrap his mind around.

He placed his hand on her belly, feeling for any kicking or movement from the tiny baby inside. The baby had been moving for a while now, but Itachi never tired of feeling those blessed movements – ones that confirmed that there was indeed a child in there.

"He's asleep, I think," Sakura said, watching him move his hands across her stomach.

Itachi smiled at her and kissed her, feeling a pleasant bubble of warmth spreading through his chest.

"Alright," Itachi said with a regretful sigh. He carefully extracted himself from underneath Sakura and got to his feet. "There's a council meeting in a few hours so I better get started looking for that watermelon."

"I probably won't even want watermelon in a couple of hours," she admitted. "So maybe you should just stay here with me instead."

Itachi looked at her in surprise, because even though Sakura was far tamer than most pregnant women, she still could be quite demanding with her food cravings. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he kept his mouth shut.

Instead, he simply curled back around her and smiled into her neck. How could his life possibly be any more perfect than it was right now?

"Scratch that," Sakura said and then hissed sharply. "I think I'm going into labor."

Itachi sprang up in a panic. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Are you having contractions?"

He watched her wince as she sat up and then clench her teeth. "It's okay, Itachi-kun," she placated (which Itachi might have been amused by if he hadn't felt so frazzled). "I think it was a contraction, but they're still far apart. We have plenty of time to get to the hospital."

"Okay, hime," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Stay here. I'll go get your bags."

When he returned with her bags she had somehow decided that it was best to go back to sleep. She was still curled up in the bed, her head tucked into her arms. Apparently her contractions were far enough apart that she could nap between them.

"Wake up, hime," he said with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I need you to come deliver my baby."

.

Itachi paced up and down the hospital hallways. On more than one occasion he had been scolded by a nurse or an orderly, but he wasn't in the best frame of mind to give them any attention.

Sakura had been in labor for hours, and even though he knew she was in the best possible care, he couldn't help but be nervous. Sporadically, Tsunade would make an appearance to give him an update, but it had been almost an hour since he had last seen her and he was beginning to fret.

"How is she doing?"

Itachi whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice. In his extreme discomfort he hadn't even sensed them approach. Sasuke and Naruto stood behind him and for a moment he forgot all about his nerves because they were holding hands and he had never seen them do that in public before.

"I have no idea," Itachi said, tactfully rerouting his gaze to Naruto's face. "They won't let me see her. She's been in there for hours."

"Ah, you know how Tsunade-baa-sama is," Naruto said glibly. "I'm not sure she'd be that upset if you just went in there anyway."

Sasuke reached up with his free hand and smacked Naruto on the back of the head. "Don't listen to him, Itachi," he said. "Don't risk it."

Itachi was all too aware of the wrath of Tsunade – he didn't plan on risking it anyway. He gave his brother an understanding look. Sasuke was wearing his ANBU uniform, which still gave Itachi a bit of a shock. It had been several months since Sasuke had joined ANBU now, and Itachi couldn't shake the weird feeling it gave him to see his brother wearing those clothes.

He hadn't been alone in feeling that way. Naruto also felt it strange that Sasuke had decided to join ANBU. After all, Sasuke's loyalty to Konoha had always been shaky at best. It didn't seem congruent that he would want to do the village's dirty work.

But as both Naruto and Itachi discovered, Sasuke was good at the work and he enjoyed it. He was often sent on solo missions, which were much better suited for him than taking missions with Team 7.

Especially since Team 7 was down one very pregnant member.

Behind Itachi the door opened and Shizune popped her head out.

"You can come in now, Itachi-san," she said. Her smile was definitely an encouraging sign and Itachi wasted no time getting himself through that elusive doorway. He didn't turn back to see Naruto and Sasuke, but he could hear Naruto demand to be let in as well, much to Shizune's displeasure.

But Itachi wasn't worried about that.

Sakura was still glowing, even with her hair matted against her forehead with sweat. He could sense that her chakra level was low, which frightened him a bit, but he could see that she was beaming proudly at a little white bundle in her arms. She was fine. The baby was fine.

Hesitantly, he approached the side of her bed, peering down into her arms to see his son's face.

And it was impossible to describe the feeling of elation that floated through him when he saw that face. His eyes were screwed shut, but he was cooing and whimpering. His tiny fingers were curled around Sakura's thumb.

"Can I hold him?" he asked quietly.

"Of course you can," Sakura answered. "He's your son, isn't he?"

"Alright, let's give the new family some privacy," Tsunade said from the end of the bed. Itachi had barely registered her presence in his brain, but he was thankful for her suggestion. Shizune and Tsunade filed out of the room.

Once the door had been shut behind them, Sakura patted the bed beside her.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said. "You've been in here for hours. Are you sure you're alright? Your chakra is low."

Sakura rolled her eyes and shifted over anyway. "I'm fine, you dolt," she said teasingly. "Just sit down so you can hold your son."

This time he did as he was told and joined her on the bed. Carefully, Sakura handed the baby over. Itachi was surprised by how heavy he seemed for something so small. He was reminded so much of when Sasuke had been born – how tiny and fragile he had been.

But now Sasuke was fully-grown and capable of taking care of himself. And soon enough so would the little bundle in his arms.

The baby opened his eyes and Itachi was startled to see that they were a lighter green than Sakura's. His mop of hair was as black as any other Uchiha's – maybe even darker. Itachi's own hair was browner than Sasuke's, but it looked like this little wonder took after his uncle.

"I think his eyes might darken up once he gets older," Sakura said. He could tell by the strain in her voice that she was exhausted. He felt her lean into his shoulder, her sweat soaking through his shirt. "That happens with most babies."

Itachi made a noise of acknowledgement and held his finger out for the baby to grasp the way he had Sakura's.

"Have you thought about what you want to name him?" she asked.

Itachi paused, because he had thought about it. Sakura had been suspiciously silent about naming the boy, even when pressed about the issue. Itachi had wanted to let her pick out the name. He wasn't very good with that type of thing. Sakura had been the one in charge of everything else – the new nursery, buying baby clothes and other things babies needed. Why not the name, too?

But truthfully he was grateful that she had given this opportunity to him because he absolutely did have a name in mind.

"Shisui."

"Shisui Uchiha," she murmured, testing the name on her tongue. "My son, Shisui Uchiha."

The baby cooed again and reached out to grasp Itachi's outstretched finger. His grip was strong for someone so small.

"It's perfect," Sakura said, pressing herself closer into Itachi's side so she could peer at the baby's face. "He's perfect."

Itachi agreed wholeheartedly.

.

The following weeks proved to be much more of a nightmare than Itachi had anticipated. The arrival of baby Shisui was met with celebration all across Konoha. Many of the clans brought them gifts for the baby, showing up at the Uchiha compound daily to drop off their baked goods, toys, and other things babies sometimes need.

There was constant talk all over the village of how little baby Shisui would grow up to be the most fearsome Uchiha yet. Itachi found this idea to be concerning. It was inevitable that he would become a shinobi. Itachi was well aware that his condition for the council seat was purely so Konoha would be able to have the Sharingan in its arsenal still.

But it wasn't something he liked to think about. He himself would not have chosen to be a shinobi if there had been an option. Of course there hadn't been and he was a fine shinobi. Shisui would be, too. But Itachi longed to give him that choice – to let him decide his own fate.

Itachi tried not to let these thoughts linger, because at this point there wasn't much he could do about it.

And he was far too preoccupied with the constant crying, diaper changes, and waking up in the middle of the night. Baby Shisui required constant attention and it was running both Sakura and Itachi ragged.

Itachi actually missed taking missions – even they were more relaxing than this.

But on one quiet afternoon while Sakura had retreated into the bedroom for a quick nap, Itachi found himself alone with his son who was in a rare mood. Baby Shisui was smiling and cooing, watching his father with fascination. Itachi didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as he loved that little boy.

Now that Shisui had been home for a couple of weeks, Itachi was beginning to notice the resemblances he shared with his parents. He had his mother's eyes, of course – bright and green, even shaped like hers.

But he was unmistakably an Uchiha. Itachi didn't spend a significant amount of time looking at his own face, but he could see how much the baby resembled him just by how much he resembled Sasuke. In fact, he looked remarkably similar to how Sasuke had looked when he was a baby.

He didn't know exactly why, but that thought brought a huge smile to his face. He extended a rattle for Shisui to hold. Shisui gripped it tightly in his tiny fist.

"Knock knock."

Itachi turned to the front door and saw Naruto pushing his face through the partially opened door.

"Can we come in?" he asked.

After Sakura and Itachi had been married, Sakura insisted that Sasuke move out of the main house. Itachi would have been content to let him stay there with them, but Sakura was adamantly against it. Sasuke, much to Itachi's relief, didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seemed rather pleased to move into a new house.

He had taken the house just across the street from them so they could still be close. It made the Uchiha compound feel alive again – and Itachi hoped that within a decade that it would begin to grow more and more.

Not long after Sasuke moved Naruto moved in with him. They had hidden this fact from Itachi – or at least purposefully avoided telling him. Itachi was well aware when Naruto started sleeping there. He could always sense the kyuubi's massive chakra. But for some reason they felt that he would not be okay with it. Itachi didn't mind at all, though. He was happy for his brother.

"Yeah, come on in, Naruto."

"I've got Sachi and Yamato with me," he said hesitantly. "They want to see the baby."

Naruto entered the house, followed closely by Yamato and Sasuke, who carried Sachi on his back.

"He's so tiny!" Yamato exclaimed, running up to look at the baby.

Itachi pulled Shisui close to his chest so that Yamato could look over his shoulder into his face. Shisui squirmed and smiled, still clinging onto Itachi's fingers.

"Can I hold him?" Yamato asked.

"Yes, but you have to be very careful with him," Itachi warned. "And make sure you support his head."

Itachi passed Shisui to Yamato, taking care to keep his head supported. Yamato grinned and started making cooing noises of his own down at the little baby, causing Itachi to grin too.

Sachi took full advantage of Itachi's now free lap and inserted herself in it to watch what was happening. She was a bit too old now for that kind of behavior, but Itachi allowed it this time. He imagined she might start to feel a bit of jealousy with the new baby around.

"How are you adjusting to parenthood, Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi glanced up at his brother and noticed with wry amusement that his eyes were locked onto the baby.

"It's a lot more exhausting than I would have imagined," Itachi answered. "He needs constant attention and he's awake all night."

"You know we're both right across the street if you ever need any help," Sasuke said. Itachi didn't know why that surprised him so much. Of course Sasuke would offer to help take care of his nephew. But it was hard to imagine Sasuke taking care of a tiny baby.

"Would you like to hold him?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke blanched. "No," he said. "Not right now. It's Yamato's turn."

"He's asleep," Yamato said with a dejected tone.

Itachi peered over into the bundle and saw that Shisui was indeed asleep.

"Okay, my turn then," Naruto said. He took the bundle carefully from Yamato's arms and smiled down at the sleeping face. "He looks just like you, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted in response, but Itachi didn't miss the flicker of something (pride, maybe?) that flashed across his face.

"Here, Sasuke, why don't you hold him?" Naruto said, extending the bundle toward Sasuke. "You haven't held him yet, have you?"

It was true that Sasuke had yet to hold the baby. Back after Shisui had been born, the only person who had not held him was Sasuke. The only person who left the hospital before the baby had fallen asleep had been Sasuke. Did Sasuke not like Shisui? Wasn't this what he wanted – for Itachi to restore the clan?

"Ouch, Yamato, stop it!" Sachi squealed from Itachi's lap. Yamato was pulling at her hair and making faces at her.

"Hush," Itachi said, grabbing Yamato's hand and pushing it away from them. "You're going to wake the baby."

"He pulled my hair!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys, let's go outside and play," he said, pushing baby Shisui into Sasuke's less than receptive arms. "You're going to wake up the baby with all that noise."

Itachi was grateful when Naruto took Sachi by the hand and led both her and Yamato outside. He was less than amused, though, to see Sasuke's stricken expression while he gazed down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Sasuke," Itachi began. The room felt much too empty now with just the two of them and little Shisui. "Do you not like him? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"

"Of course I like him," Sasuke said defensively. "I've just never held a baby before."

"The only baby I'd ever held before was you," Itachi said. "And that was a long time ago. It's a little frightening, to be honest. He's so fragile and delicate. And I have to make sure that he grows up to be a good man."

"He's the future of the Uchiha," Sasuke agreed reverently.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke looked up at him, tearing his eyes away from the baby. Itachi was startled by the intensity of his gaze and he almost flinched.

"What I wanted?"

"Yes," Itachi said with a hint of bemusement. "You wanted me to marry and have children, didn't you?"

"Itachi, you didn't marry Sakura and knock her up just because you thought that's what I wanted, did you?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi blinked, not sure exactly how to respond to that. Of course he loved Sakura and his desire to be with her specifically had nothing to do with Sasuke. But if Sakura had never been in the picture, he would probably have done exactly what Sasuke suggested.

"I love Sakura. She's the best thing that ever happened to me," Itachi said. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. It's pure coincidence, or maybe luck, that that is the case. But if circumstances had been different, then yes, I would have married whomever I had to."

"To restore the clan…" Sasuke said uncertainly.

"For you," Itachi clarified. "To give you a new family after the one I took away from you."

Sasuke pressed his lips together in a thin line and looked down into his arms again. Maybe he had laid it on a little thick, but Itachi hoped that Sasuke understood how important he was to him. All of his actions, were motivated by a desire to make Sasuke happy. After all the pain he had caused his brother, the least he could do was spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it.

And he knew he could never really do that. But this was a good start. Sasuke was an uncle now. And he had Naruto. He could begin to put his life back together now.

"He does look a lot like me," Sasuke said. Itachi heard the baby make a small, squeaky grunt. "It's a bit jarring that his eyes are green, though. Do you think he'll still be to awaken the Sharingan?"

"He should be."

Both Sasuke and Itachi turned to look at Sakura, who had risen from her slumber and was leaning against the doorframe. Itachi couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She looked exhausted still, and was wearing some quite unflattering pajamas. But she was beautiful nonetheless.

"He has the right receptors in his eyes," she continued. "So I don't think it will make a difference that they are green."

Itachi stood to greet his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you doing out of bed?" he asked. "You should be sleeping."

She smiled warmly at him and took Shisui from Sasuke's arms. Sasuke looked immensely relieved to no longer be holding the fragile baby.

"I need to feed him," she explained. "Or use the breast pump."

Sasuke made a face of disgust. "I'll take my leave, then."

"No, no," she insisted. "You stay here and catch up with Itachi. I'll go into the other room."

Itachi watched her leave with his son, his gaze lingering in the doorway long after she had gone. A comfortable silence fell over the room. Outside, Itachi could hear Sachi giggling.

He suddenly felt very tired and he let his weight sag against the chair behind him.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi looked at him and saw the concern on his face. "I'm fine," he answered. "Just tired. Overwhelmed."

Sasuke took the seat next to him. "Overwhelmed, huh?" he asked. "When we were younger you always seemed invincible. Nothing ever got to you. And now look at you – wiped out by a three week old baby."

"I wonder if it was like this for Father and Mother."

"Father always seemed so stern and serious," Sasuke said. "It's hard to imagine him holding a baby."

"You should have seen him holding you," Itachi said with a smile. "He adored you so much. It was one of the few times I saw him smile."

Sasuke smiled – small but definitely happy.

"Well," Sasuke said. "You certainly smile a lot more than I remember."

Itachi let out a small noise of frustration. It was true that he had not smiled very much in his youth for reasons that were quite obvious now. But if anyone would have seen Itachi smiling, it would have been Sasuke. Itachi's happiest memories were all of Sasuke.

And now Sakura, too. And soon enough, little Shisui.

But maybe he should have been happier back then. Yes, his situation had been dire and unavoidable. But that didn't mean he couldn't have enjoyed more of those fleeting moments with Sasuke.

"Are you happy, Itachi?"

"Of course," he replied without missing a beat.

"What is it that you want?" Sasuke probed. "You've always focused on me and my happiness. But what about yours?"

"I'm happy, Sasuke," Itachi said with a hint of exasperation. "Why do you think I'm not?"

"Because almost every serious conversation we have is you explaining that you just want me to be happy," Sasuke said with exasperation of his own. "And I am happy. I understand all the pain and suffering you went through for my sake. But now it's your turn to be happy. And I want to make sure that happens."

Itachi smiled and felt a twinge of skepticism. Sasuke certainly hadn't been concerned about what Itachi wanted when he demanded that he marry Sakura and have children immediately.

"Your meddling helped push me into Sakura's arms," Itachi said. "That's the place I feel the happiest, so I suppose I have you to thank for that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

Sakura chose that moment to reenter the room, sans baby this time. She had a blanket wrapped around her, and in spite of the dark circles under her eyes, she was smiling brightly.

"Shisui is asleep again," she said, glancing between Sasuke and Itachi.

"Don't you want to go back to bed then?" Itachi asked. She had stayed up nearly all night with the baby crying. She had to be sleepy.

"I just want to sit with you," she said, crawling into Itachi's lap in much the same way Sachi had. Itachi lifted his arms to accommodate her and rubbed gentle circles into her back.

Sasuke stood up, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'll give you two some privacy."

"She's already asleep," Itachi said.

Sure enough, Sakura had already dozed off and was snoring in the most unflattering manner. Sasuke rolled his eyes and left anyway, leaving Itachi grinning.

Itachi had no idea how to create an identity for himself or how to be happy independently from Sasuke. Sasuke had been the root of his entire world. And now he had a beautiful and loving wife, a strong, healthy son, and a place back in Konoha where he was respected and valued.

If Sasuke hadn't pushed him in this direction… If he hadn't met Sakura in Toyeiki… Well, his life might be completely different than this.

But he couldn't imagine a more perfect life than this one. And he was truly happy.