Get the Parents Together Again
Disclaimer: Kishimoto Masashi-sensei has every right to claim Naruto and the whole cast… and the song Take Me To Your Heart belongs to Michael Learns to Rock… that song became my companion throughout this whole chapter…
"Talking"
"Thinking"
Itachi singing
A Wonderful Gift
At the Konoha cemetery, Naruto place two bouquets of red roses atop his parents' graves; Itachi, the triplets and Sasuke are with him.
"Grandma Kushina, grandpa Minato, the two of you are still watching over us, right? If so, I bet you two have seen how awesome Tsuki was when he played the piano for our Christmas program! He played La Campanella by the way, and his performance was really amazing! And when Niji played the Annie Laurie with her flute, it's truly beautiful! Aren't my siblings amazing?!" says Taiyou excitedly, his blue eyes shining with pride and happiness as he looks at the tombstone that marks both his grandparents' graves.
Itachi smirks at his son's antics; Naruto laughs softly, Sasuke chuckles while Niji giggles. Tsuki sighs softly before looking at his brother "You always, always talk only about Niji and poor little me, never about yourself. Shouldn't you be bragging about your very own performance, Taiyou?" says Tsuki before smirking at his brother.
Taiyou blush at the comment, realizing that he really has a 'Brother and Sister Complex' just like his uncle Zetsu says. He glares at his brother which looks more like a pout to his parents, siblings and uncle, he huffs and crosses his arms against his chest before looking away.
Niji bites her lower lip to fight the on-coming laugh; she then pats his brother and look at their grandparents' tombstone "Grandma, grandpa, to tell the truth, Taiyou was the one whose performance was truly breathtaking. His violin rendition of You Raise Me up was truly astounding. I'm sure the two of you have seen that. After all, when it comes to playing violin, Taiyou's the best! He's way more amazing than Tsuki!" says Niji causing Taiyou to blush.
Tsuki nods his head "I have to agree. Taiyou's skills at violin is something I'll never reach"
"I've also seen Taiyou's performance, uncle Minato and aunt Kushina. Mother and father, along with uncle Madara, and our group of friends went to Hokkaido just to see the triplets' performance. Taiyou's rendition of that song was indeed amazing, a standing ovation was rewarded to Taiyou by everyone in the school's theater once Taiyou was done" Sasuke says as he looks at Taiyou with a proud smile.
It continues that way, with the triplets telling different stories, with the occasional teasing from Sasuke and Tsuki. After thirty minutes, Naruto speaks "Kids, let's take a few minutes of silence and offer prayers for them"
The triplets nod their heads before closing their eyes to pray for their grandparents' souls. A few minutes later, Naruto kneels down and gently caress his parents' tombstone "Mommy, daddy, we'll be taking our leave now. But don't worry, we'll pay a visit again" he says with a soft smile, it didn't take long before sadness and longing takes over his heart as tears fall down his eyes "I miss the two of you… so much…" he cries as he chokes back a sob. And like a domino, Taiyou and Niji holds on to their uncle as they cry, while Tsuki silently shed his tears.
Sasuke comforts his nephew and niece by gently rubbing their backs.
Itachi walk towards Naruto, he then kneels on one knee right beside his crying lover before holding Naruto close to him. When Naruto's cries die down, he slowly gathers up his self before smiling apologetically at Itachi which the raven returns with a warm and understanding one.
Naruto turns to the triplets "Well then, let's go" he says before nodding to Sasuke.
"Let's go now, Tsuki, Taiyou, Niji, we'll visit them again before the three of you goes back to Hokkaido" says Sasuke softly. The triplets nod their heads and say their goodbyes and promise to visit their grandparents' graves again before turning around.
Itachi looks at his lover "Naruto, koi, I'm sorry but, can you and the others go ahead without me? I'll stay here for a moment; I'll catch up with you and the others later. I just need a few minutes"
Naruto smiles and nods "Alright, just make it quick, the weather is cold. We can't have you sick on Christmas day" he says with a smile.
Itachi smiles a little and kiss his lover's forehead "Hn, I won't"
With that, Naruto and the others make their way towards the exit.
Once Naruto, their children and his brother are out of sight, Itachi returns his attention at the graves in front of him.
"I know that it's weird to do this here, especially since the two of you no longer exists in this world, and the two of you can't give me an answer. But still, I want to do it the proper and formal way, as formal as it can be" says Itachi, he then takes a deep breath "Minato-otousama, Kushina-okaasama… I want to ask for your son's hand in marriage" he says before giving the graves in front of him a polite bow.
"I promise to treat him and our children kindly, I will never hurt them physically and emotionally. I promise to always treat them right, take good care of them and love them with all my heart. So please, let me marry your son" he says before straightening up, then his eyes widen in surprise when a pair of white dove lands atop the tombstone that marks the deceased couple's graves. The white dove on the left has some yellow colourings on its head while the other one has red ones. Itachi blinks at the strangeness of everything, he stares at the two doves who stare back at him. He knows for sure that birds should be somewhere warm during the winter. He then chuckles softly, causing the two doves to tilt their heads in what seems like confusion "It seems that my deceased in-laws are playing tricks on me, that or it's just my imagination"
Deciding that it won't do him any harm, Itachi composes himself before saying with more confidence than ever "Please, give me your son's hand in marriage, father, mother" and then bowing politely again.
The two doves watch Itachi, before the two birds look at each other. Itachi straightens up again just in time to see the two birds flopping their wings a little excitedly and making sounds of what Itachi could say sounds of agreement. Itachi chuckles and slowly reaches out his hands to softly pet the two doves, the doves makes a cooing sound until Itachi removes his hands.
Itachi smile "Thank you" he says "I'll take my leave then" he adds before bowing one last time in front the graves. He turns his back and walks away, when he's a few feet away, he looks back to see the doves no longer there. Itachi smile and look up at the clear blue sky before continuing his trek towards the cemetery's exit where his own family and brother are waiting for him.
- I x N -
At the Namikaze mansion in Konoha, Naruto is currently busy at the kitchen; Itachi uses this as a chance to talk to their children. He gathers them at the study room that the triplets just recently declare belongs to the three of them.
Once inside, the triplets look at their daddy with confusion. "What is it, daddy?" Taiyou asks.
Itachi orders them to sit down; he looks outside the room to make sure that Naruto is nowhere in sight before closing the door and locking it. He walks towards his children and crouch down in front of them.
"Tsuki, Taiyou, Niji… I want to ask the three of you for you permission"
The triplets look at each other before looking back at Itachi "Permission for what?" they asks in unison.
"Permission to marry your mommy, I want to marry Naruto" Itachi answers "Also, it's not only Naruto's last name that I want to change, I also want the three of you to be an Uchiha, legally, not just by blood" he adds.
It takes a few minutes for the triplets to register their daddy's words, causing Itachi to become more nervous with each passing minutes as he waits for the triplets' answers.
The triplets looks at each other before they look back at their daddy, they stare at Itachi blankly before tears fall down their eyes like waterfalls. Itachi's eyes widen, his nervousness multiplies to ten as his children starts to cry, he looks at the door, panicking that Naruto might see their children crying even though he knows for sure that his lover is busy cooking their meals and the door is lock.
He looks back at his crying children, unsure how to make them stop crying. Questions like 'What would Naruto say if he finds out that our children are crying?'; 'What would I say to Naruto when he finds out?'; 'Why are they crying anyway?'; 'Don't they like the idea of me marrying their mommy and them changing their last name to Uchiha?' and 'Oh my gosh! What am I going to do?!' are running through his head.
Itachi is currently fighting an inner battle, deciding between taking back his words and let his children to still digest the fact that he wants to marry their mom and change their last name, and also to fully accept them as their father or convince him that it's for their own good. He's surprise when he suddenly finds himself looking up at the room's ceiling, Taiyou and Niji on his chest while Tsuki is sitting beside him as the latter holds his hand tightly.
"Yes, daddy!" the triplets say in unison before blabbering about random things like they can't believe it, they are happy, it's like a dream and whatnot. Ignoring the throbbing pain of his head, Itachi smile, he gently tugs Tsuki's hand so he too is lying on the floor with Tsuki's head on his arms before enveloping his children in a warm embrace.
"There, there, no need to cry" he says softly.
- I x N -
Christmas Eve
Inside the spacious living room of the Namikaze mansion, everyone is chatting happily as they eagerly waits for the clock to strikes midnight announcing that it's Christmas. For the first time after ten painful years, they are looking forward to have fun on Christmas again, now that Naruto is finally with them and that with him comes the triplets that all of them adores.
Tsunade is already drunk, Shizune is doing her best to make sure that her boss and mentor won't cause troubles all the while keeping Tsunade away from the liquor rack, Jiraiya is chatting with Fugaku and Mikoto about business and other things all the while keeping an eye on Tsunade.
Iruka is doing his best to ignore and avoid Kakashi's advances; Yamato is laughing with Zabuza, Kiba, Chouji, Nagato, Hidan, Zetsu and Kakuzu who snickers at the joke that Kisame makes whilst Sasori and Gaara comments on how stupid Kisame is, Neji and Shikamaru rolls their eyes at their friends' antics, Sai just smile creepily at them while Shino just stares at them.
Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, Temari, Ino and Konan are talking about fashion and showbiz amongst each other, while Naruto is having a fun chat with Haku and Deidara when he notices something; six people are missing. He looks around and sure enough, Itachi, the triplets, Sasuke and Madara are nowhere.
"Naruto, is there something wrong?" Haku asks.
Naruto looks at his older brother figure and smile sheepishly as he scratch the back of his head "Sorry, Haku-nii, no need to worry, nothing's wrong. I'm just looking for Itachi, the kids, Sasuke and Madara-san… they're not here" he says.
Haku, who knows everything that triplets always plans on doing inwardly beams madly, "Maybe they're just doing something…" he says.
Naruto could only sigh. His phone suddenly vibrates in his pocket; he takes it out to see a message from his lover telling him to go to the ballroom with everyone else. Naruto blinks confusedly as he stares at his phone screen.
"What is it?" Haku asks rather innocently.
"Itachi sent me a message, saying that all of us should go to the ballroom. Geez, he could have go here and say it personally" says Naruto with a soft chuckle.
"Hm… I wonder why…" Haku mumbles.
"I wonder that, too" Naruto agrees as he shakes his head, not noticing the small smirk on Haku's lips.
- I x N -
Naruto opens the door of the ballroom only to stare speechless at the occupants of said room. Madara is sitting comfortably behind a set of drums, Sasuke with an acoustic guitar – a microphone place in front of it, Tsuki sitting on the piano bench, Taiyou is holding a cello as he sits beside the white grand piano of Minato, Niji is standing right beside Taiyou with a flute in hand, and Itachi… his dearest lover is standing in the middle with a microphone on the mic stand in front of him. A set of sound system is place not far from where the group is. Microphones are also place in front of Tsuki and Sasuke for backup vocals.
Naruto just stands by the door, unsure what to think of everything.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura asks in a mixture of concern and confusion.
Haku laughs a little before pushing Naruto inside "Come on, don't spoil the fun by standing there and doing nothing" he says.
Naruto blinks and looks at Haku "You knew something!" he says accusingly, Haku grins in return causing Naruto to pout before blushing madly when he realizes that he's now standing a few feet away from Itachi.
Haku walks towards Tsuki and picks up the violin that he places beside the piano bench before he positions his self behind Tsuki, Haku then smiles knowingly at Naruto who shoots him an accusing pout.
The others gasp in surprise upon entering the ballroom "Maybe Itachi-san is going to propose" says Ino to Sakura in a low voice, though, Naruto hears it causing his heart to beat frantically in his chest.
"We're going to witness a wedding proposal?" Deidara voices out excitedly causing Naruto to blush harder.
"That may not be it" Naruto thinks, he's not sure himself if Itachi is going to propose, but he don't really mind. He's willing to wait. 'Though, there's no need to wait longer' Naruto's traitorous mind thinks causing him to inwardly panic.
Kiba whistles follows by Kisame and Jiraiya. Naruto turns to glare at them which turn out to be a pout, he looks around to find everyone smiling, smirking, giggling or teasing him.
"Naruto…" Itachi calls, getting Naruto's full attention back on him "This is for you"
And as if on cue, Madara starts with the drums as Sasuke, Tsuki, Taiyou, Niji and Haku follows.
Itachi looks straight at Naruto's eyes as he does the ad lib.
Hmm hmm
Yeah
Hmm hmm
Itachi smiles at his lover before singing.
Hiding from the rain and snow
Trying to forget but I won't let go
Looking at a crowded street
Listening to my own heartbeat
Naruto stares at Itachi as he listens to his lover's deep baritone singing softly and smoothly. He could feel his heart thumping louder in his chest.
So many people, all around the world
Tell me where do I find, someone like you boy
Take me to your heart
Take me to your soul
Give me your hand before I'm old
Naruto feel something wet on his cheeks, he reaches up with his hand to touch his face only to realize that tears are falling down his eyes, his blue eyes never leaving his lover's red ones.
Show me what love is
Haven't got a clue
Show me that wonders can be true
Tsuki, Sasuke and Madara look at each other before smirking. Niji is inwardly giggling as Taiyou controls himself to stop from giggling loudly while Haku just smiles.
They say nothing last forever
We're only here today
Love is now or never
Bring me far away
Sasuke and Tsuki sing softly with Itachi at the background.
Take me to your heart
Take me to your soul
Give me your hand and hold me
Show me what love is
Be my guiding star
It's easy, take me to your heart
Everyone listens at the instrumental part, the girls – including Tsunade whose drunkenness suddenly disappears – feel move as Madara momentarily stops hitting the drums to give way to the sound of Taiyou's cello, Niji's flute, Haku's violin, the piano that Tsuki plays as said instruments harmonizes well with the soft sound of Sasuke's acoustic guitar before Madara resumes on playing the drums. It all starts with Mikoto crying until the rest of the girls follow after her; it is all clear to them that Itachi is going to propose. They could feel happiness overflowing all of them, happiness for Itachi and Naruto since they can finally achieve the happiness they always dream of.
Standing on a mountain high
Looking at the moon through a clear blue sky
I should go and see some friends
Itachi takes out the mic from the stand and walk towards Naruto.
But they don't really comprehend
Itachi reaches out his left hand for Naruto, once Naruto is close to him; he wraps his arm around Naruto and starts a slow dance with his lover as he continues to sing.
I don't need too much talking
Without saying anything
All I need is someone
Who makes me wanna sing
Naruto smile as he sway slowly with Itachi ignoring the tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks, his hands on Itachi's shoulder; mouthing the lyrics of the song as he stares at his lover's eyes.
Take me to your heart
Take me to your soul
Give me your hand before I'm old
Show me what love is
Haven't got a clue
Show me that wonders can be true
They say nothing last forever
We're only here today
Love is now or never
Bring me far away
Tsunade and the others could only smile warmly. For all the pain that Itachi and Naruto have been through, this Christmas is truly a special moment for the two of them, something that they'll never forget. It's also something the triplets will surely cherish, a beautiful story to tell during Christmas Eve to their own children and grandchildren someday.
Take me to your heart
Take me to your soul
Give me your hand and hold me
Show me what love is
Be my guiding star
It's easy, take me to your heart
Take me to your heart
Take me to your soul
Give me your hand and hold me
Show me what love is
Be guiding star
It's easy, take me to your heart
Once Itachi is done singing, the triplets along with Sasuke, Madara and Haku continue playing the instruments they're playing. Itachi kiss Naruto's forehead before letting go of said blonde. He takes out a blue box from the back pocket of his jeans before kneeling down in front of Naruto.
Naruto sobs when he sees the box as tears of happiness keeps on falling down his blue eyes. The triplets also let their own tears fall down as they watch their daddy propose to their mommy, Niji even stops playing her flute for a moment as she cries in happiness before she resumes on her task.
Yamato walk towards the pair and take the microphone from Itachi, holding it in front of the latter.
Itachi opens the box to reveal a beautiful platinum ring with intricate designs, he grabs Naruto's right hand as he holds the ring with his free hand "Naruto, up until now, I still believe that our meeting was and will always be a pre-destined one. Our parents being friends, they separated ways because of some awful circumstances. Then Sasuke brought you to the Uchiha mansion, introducing you as his one and only best friend, us falling in love and being together, the whole Karin scenario happened and we separated. And after ten long years' worth of separation, I met our children, found you once more, and again, Karin interfered, but now… now she'll no longer interfere, she'll no longer hinder us to be with each other for the rest of our lives. What I'm saying is, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, will you change your last name for me? Will you become an Uchiha along with our children and spend our remaining lives together watching as our children grow? Will you grow old with me?"
Naruto covers his mouth with his free hand as he continues to cry.
Itachi smile lovingly at Naruto "Will you marry me, Naruto?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Naruto asks in between sobs before "Of course I'm going to marry you! Yes, Itachi!" Naruto cries before hugging his lover. Itachi holds his crying blonde tightly in his arms as he settles himself on the floor, Naruto sitting on his lap and crying on his shoulder.
The triplets stops playing the instruments they're holding as they cry too; Haku gently place the violin on its stand beside the grand piano and rub Tsuki's back who instantly turns to him and hug him.
Sasuke and Madara stand up and walk towards Taiyou and Niji with a small smile; Sasuke picks up Taiyou while Madara picks up Niji.
"Finally" the triplets think "Our dreams come true"
Mikoto places her head on her husband's shoulder and wipes her tears away as she smile softly at the scene, Fugaku puts his arm around his wife's waist and place his head atop his wife's head. "I'm sure Minato and Kushina are happy" says Fugaku softly.
"I know, they definitely are" Mikoto replies.
Iruka wipes his tears away as he grins, happy for his adoptive son. Kakashi chuckles before saying "We're next" to Iruka which earns him a painful jab on the chest courtesy of Iruka himself.
Naruto stops crying and looks at Itachi before smiling brightly; Itachi returns the smile with a loving one. The two of them stands up and Naruto laughs a little when their friends clap their hands. Naruto and Itachi turns to look at the triplets to see them still crying in the arms of their uncles and grandfather, they can't help but smile warmly; they can feel overflowing happiness flowing through their children's hearts that the three can't contain causing them to cry.
Itachi looks at the clock and realizes that it's already Christmas, the very first Christmas where he receive a wonderful gift; his lover's heartfelt 'Yes' for his wedding proposal. He smile at Naruto before kissing his lips softly "Merry Christmas, Naruto, I love you"
Naruto place a chaste kiss on Itachi's lips "Merry Christmas, Itachi, I love you too" he says with a smile.
Jiraiya, Kakashi, Zabuza, Kisame, Hidan and Kiba whistles causing Naruto to blush.
"Now go ahead and make babies!" Tsunade shouts before falling asleep in her drunken stupor, Jiraiya catches her before she could hit the ground.
Naruto looks scandalize as he stares in shock at Tsunade before blushing harder "Baa-chan!" he exclaims in embarrassment.
The others could only laugh. Sasuke, Madara and Haku's eyes widens though and they look at the triplets to see them still busy crying to hear Tsunade's words, they inwardly sigh in relief.
- I x N -
Christmas morning, the triplets along with Sasuke are currently on the living room, Naruto is busy at the kitchen while Itachi is talking to Madara about their company.
"Say…" Sasuke starts, gaining the triplets' attention "Now that all of your wishes came true… are there still things that you three wish to happen?" he asks.
The triplets looks at each other before looking back at their uncle, they stare at Sasuke for a minute, thinking.
Tsuki smile and shakes his head "There are none, uncle" he starts "We are content now, now that mommy and daddy are together… now that we're with daddy" Taiyou continues "Our family is now complete, there's no need for us to ask for more" Niji adds with a smile.
The triplets then beams at Sasuke "We already received a wonderful gift, something that we will treasure forever" says the triplets in unison.
Sasuke could only smile in return.
.
.
.
RS: and that is a wrap… and yes, this is the final chapter… I'm not supposed to add a song here, but I witnessed a wedding just two weeks ago, and instead of bass and electric guitar they used the sound of cello, flute and two violins to harmonize with the acoustic guitar and drums, and of course, piano will always be present. I was amazed at the sound, at the orchestra feel during the instrumental part so I decided to put that idea here, struggling about what song to choose until I realized that I have a folder filled with the songs of Michael Learns to Rock, reason why I finished this chapter later than I expected… I'm still going to update this fic though, but only to replace each chapter with an edited and hopefully less grammatical error one… I decided to finish this fic first before I start editing every chapters that obviously needed some fixing because I believe that it would be rude to put the entire fic on hiatus just because I need to fix everything leaving all of you readers waiting anxiously for the next chapter, though, chapter 23 will be the very first one that I'm going to fix, thank you TigerzzTail for pointing that out… I believe there should be some tension and change some words that would fit perfectly since it's not that on the extremely hardcore side, so yeah, since this fic is complete, then I'll start the editing chapter by chapter… also, I've been thinking about whether to make a sequel, at least five chapters or so about their lives after this one and more to the humor side OR a spin-off(?) where certain chapters from this fic will be able to see in a different light like chapter 8 where Fugaku remembered Madara plotting about making Naruto an Uchiha and Itachi's spouse just like what Blue-eyed Fox suggested and other stuffs… OR should I do both? I don't really know… help me?
Anyway… to all of you dear readers, thank you… THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading my very first ItaNaru fic, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the reviews, THANK YOU SO MUCH for adding it on your favorites and story alert, THANK YOU SO MUCH for adding me on your favorite author list and author alert… THANK YOU SO MUCH for telling me about my grammatical errors because that really helps… THANK YOU SO MUCH for being patient with me… THANK YOU SO MUCH! until next time… and I hope all of you like this chapter… so… reviews : ) and again, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU SO MUCH… love you all!