A/N: I got a little request from yara9292…:) so here is an extra chapter about Fugaku and Sasuke. Enjoy!

The tiredness is just too overwhelming… Who would have known that there would be SO much work at the police station. For him to need forty eight hours to finally come back from work… It hasn't happened for years now. The times when he couldn't manage his time properly, like a civilized man he is, were long gone. Or they should have been at least.

He kicks off his shoes and, with a deep sigh and falling eyelids, he heads to the kitchen. He hasn't eaten for a while. He didn't have time for it. Not with all those noisy and rash cousins, uncles and nephews of his. Not at the police station and certainly not on a sudden clan meeting. What a mess…

He opens the fridge, takes the first thing he sees and starts to eat it slowly. He doesn't care what it is, really. It's a little sweet, but sour on the other hand… Or whatever. He's too exhausted to think.

But he is conscious enough to register quiet steps on the corridor. After a couple of seconds he spares a look over his shoulder and sees nobody else but a seven years old boy, who's eyeing him distractedly. The child stops abruptly in a mid-step, when he gets to understand who he's seeing right now.

"Tou-san" he mumbles quietly. They share a long look while staying put and motionless, letting themselves observe each other for a long moment.

"Sasuke" Fugaku acknowledges finally.

"Okaeri…"

"Why aren't you sleeping right now? It's the middle of the night" he catches himself on saying these words too sharply, when he notices Sasuke biting his lower lip. He regrets it instantly.

"I'm thirsty" the child whispers, looking down on his feet. Exactly, that's what Fugaku always do: he intimidates this innocent child with his every word, even in such a ridiculous situation. Sasuke is thirsty. He just wants to drink some water and still Fugaku manages to startle him.

He should apologize to him. But he doesn't, because he never does.

"Come" he is careful this time, wishing to avoid any other little outburst. He opens a closet, takes out a glass and pours some water into it. Then he waits for the boy to come near him (what he does very slowly) and hands him the tool. "Here, drink".

"Arigato" Sasuke mumbles avoiding his eyes and focuses himself on the glass. Meanwhile Fugaku tries to figure out what to do next. Because… he isn't willing to send the boy to bed with an impression that he did something wrong. It's not his fault that the Uchiha clansmen are idiots, who regularly put their leader on the edge with their ridiculous ideas. Fugaku is angry with THEM. Not with Sasuke, even if he walks in the corridor at night. Why was he even bothered by it in the first place…?

Sasuke moves, goes around him and stands on his toes to put the empty glass in the sink.

"You want some more?" Fugaku asks quietly. That makes the boy stop on his tracks and eye him carefully.

"Yes, please" he says finally and lets him refill the glass.

"It's enough to ask, if you want something" Fugaku states as gently as he can and hopes it would be enough. He gets a quiet hum from the boy in return. This time he doesn't say anything to him, when the glass is put in the sink.

"Oyasumi, tou-san" he hears from behind.

"Mhm" he offers back, sparing a single glance at the boy. He watches him leaving the kitchen in some sort of meditation.

No, no… He certainly did something wrong here. Sasuke was supposed to look at him and smile slightly while wishing him a good night. He was supposed to rub against his side, looking for some warmth from his father, who never gives him enough of it. Not just… get out and go back to his room.

In fact, Sasuke has been acting a little bit strange lately. Fugaku remembers how, a couple of months ago, the boy was cheerful and smiling all day long. He acted… like a child should act, noisy, sometimes clumsy, ignoring the strict rules Fugaku established to teach his sons proper behavior. And now something is off. Sasuke speaks loudly very rarely, he never runs inside the house, he stopped pouting when something didn't seem fine to him… Well, not that Fugaku would complain about him getting polite, but…

All right, so he WOULD complain about it.

He misses the time, when Sasuke would run to him the moment he hears his father comes back home. Fugaku would always tell him off, when he suddenly jumped from behind the corner and, almost falling down, ran to him and catched him by his hand, ignoring his displeasure, talking about his new achievements until the very moment Fugaku managed to silence him with his stern look. Sasuke would then apologize and greet him properly and later they would both go to the kitchen, where Mikoto would wait for him with a cup of tea. He would drink it slowly, finally enjoying the boy's babble and his wife's amused smiles.

It hasn't happened for months. He feels uneasy, when he realizes how much time has passed since the last time Sasuke threw himself on him to hug him spontaneously. Not only that, but it's been a while since the last time they talked at all. It isn't a secret he doesn't give Sasuke enough attention, much less that he was giving a seven years old Itachi. On the other hand, he is well aware that he himself killed a child inside his eldest son and he wants, from all his heart, to avoid it in Sasuke's case. But it seems Sasuke loses his childish habits anyway, even if he shouldn't just yet… why?

He processes all these nasty thoughts, drinking water from Sasuke's glass. He puts it back to the sink and taps the wooden closets with his fingers. How is it possible that he was too busy to give Sasuke one little thought? What was he doing? Well, a lot, obviously…

He shakes his head tiredly and dismisses the topic. It's half past three in the morning and all his body wants is his warm, comfortable side of bed, just next to his beloved wife. So he goes straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower and put the pajamas on.

It's just when he is again on the corridor that he hears a loud sound of raindrops from outside the house. Mumbling something under his breath, he enters Itachi's empty room and closes an open window. His gaze passes through he neat surrounding, when he leaves and heads this time to the next room. He slips in carefully only to see Sasuke, who tries to close a window placed far too high for him. He smirks a little and, without any word, comes to help him. The boy tenses at first, when he suddenly appears behind him with no warning.

"Arigato, tou-san" he murmurs, wiping his wet hands in his pants.

"You're welcome".

His hand finds its way to Sasuke's hair and ruffles it affectionately. He didn't think long about it, he realizes, and he lets this little moment of spontaneity last for a little bit longer. Just then Sasuke finally relaxes and leans against him, leaning against his side like he hasn't been for all those past months. A small smile appears on Fugaku's lips, when he sees this sweet child hugging him with no restraints.

His child.

And when he cuddles him to sleep a couple of minutes later, he can't help but wonder if something like this would ever happen again. Because some nasty voice in his head keeps nagging him that the next morning everything will be back to its new unpleasant routine. So he watches Sasuke falling asleep and caresses his head until his breath finally evens for good this time.

Just before he leaves Sasuke's room, he puts Roarie next to his head. The green dinosaur would guard his boy for him. He is sure about it.