Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor its characters. © Masashi Kishimoto

Warning: language, mention of homosexual relationships, lemon, etc.

Chapter 14

Jiraya and Orochimaru were quite a couple. When the doctor was grumpy and a bit venous towards his husband, Jiraya, a kind-hearted author, simply laughed it off and teased him back, earning another glare from the man. It was obvious they loved each other.

"Jiraya, be careful." Orochimaru hissed for the hundredth time at the man, who was tickling their youngest son on his lap.

"Stop cutting the fun, Orochi." Jiraya answered good-naturedly, smiling at how Kimimaro giggled and squirmed. "Tell your mommy you are having fun, Kimi."

"I'm having fun, Orochi!"

Orochimaru's eyes softened at the loud laughter the boy emitted, dismissing the lecture he was going to give his husband for calling him 'mommy'. He rolled his eyes at the goofiness of the man, but his heart always beat a little faster when Jiraya acted this way.

"Dad? Can I play with the other kids? Kabuto-niisan is playing." Kimimaro asked hopeful, making his father sigh discreetly.

Jiraya feigned a sad expression, pouting at his child. "And who is going to play with me?" he sniffed exaggeratedly. "Isn't it fun to play with your old dad, son?"

"You can play with us, too, dad. Orochi, tell dad to play!" the boy answered smartly.

Orochimaru felt guilty for denying his son such a simple fun, yet, he couldn't, "No, Kimi," he said firmly. "I don't want you to play outside, you can hurt yourself."

The kid looked desolated; he grimaced as he watched from the restaurant's window his brother and the other kids playing in the small playground. Kimimaro looked at his father with pleading eyes, his lower lip trembling. "Please, daddy."

Jiraya tried to comfort him, telling him they could play when they got home, but the boy was too upset to hear, feeling tears falling down his cheeks as he told again and again he wanted to play outside.

Orochimaru picked him from Jiraya and held the boy against his shoulder, letting the kid cry his frustrations out. "I'm sorry, son. I promise I'll find a definite cure." He whispered, feeling his heart clenching at how the boy sobbed.

"Let's go, Orochi. I'll take them home. We had enough of hospitals this week." Jiraya told him softly, running his hand up and down his husband's arm in comfort. Orochimaru nodded, caressing the boy's pure white hair.

The writer walked to Itachi to tell him they needed to go as it was already getting late and Orochimaru needed to go back to the hospital. The raven agreed and picked the two sweaty kids of his, who refused to leave the playground.

"Kabuto is behaving and going with his father obediently." Itachi pointed out, trying to reason with the two, but Karin was one little brat.

"Kabuto-niisan is big, Uncle, but we are not. We have to play!" she declared, gaining support from Sai, who nodded his head.

Itachi sighed and picked the girl up, placing her on his left shoulder. "Now we are leaving, Karin. Sai, c'mon." The boy lifted his arms and waited until Itachi placed him on his right shoulder.

The raven rolled his eyes as the kids tried to crawl down on his back, firming his grip on their waists so they wouldn't fall. It was hard when they were struggling so much, so he decided to change tactics. With a mischievous smirk on his lips, he secured each child by the foot, leaving them swinging upside down.

The children yelled in excitement as they laughed with the swinging of their bodies. It was fun for them and so they protested when they were gently placed back on the floor. "Say goodbye to your new friends, kids. We're going." Itachi told them as he paid for their meal

Karin whined and Sai imitated her with a sigh. "Are we going back to the hospital, Uncle Itachi?" the little redhead asked.

"No, we're going to another place now. And then we're going home."

The girl nodded and ran to Kabuto, surprising him with a hug. The boy looked down at the girl and patted her red hair, unsure of what to do. "Okay, you have to go now." The boy said awkwardly, looking around in attempt to get help from one of his parents. But both were talking to Itachi and didn't see the interaction.

"Thank you for your time and company, Orochimaru-sensei, Jiraya-san." Itachi said respectfully.

"Too bad you're leaving Uzushio tonight, Itachi, make sure to show up when you come for a visit." Jiraya said energetically, patting his back with a big grin. "It was great to meet you."

Orochimaru nodded, the little boy sniffing on his shoulder, "You have my contact number if you need something."

"Oh, and if you need a doctor in Konoha, you can look for an old friend of mine, Tsunade Kato." Jiraya told him, ruffling the spiky hair on his eldest son, who had escaped Karin's grip. "She's one of the best in her field." The big man assured, laughing at his husband with a quiet hiss escaped the doctor's lips.

The name Tsunade rang a bell in Itachi's mind, as he was sure he had heard it already, but he shook it off and made a mental note to take the boys to see her when he was back, just to be sure they were fine. And then they parted their ways.

…

The two kids were hyped after eating and playing with their uncle, so it took Itachi more energy than he had to deal with them. And the fact that they didn't agree on anything – which song it should play on the radio, which game they should play on the car or which car color they should point out – well, it didn't really help Itachi.

At the orphanage, it went unexpectedly fast. After telling the slightly slow boy on the reception that the kids would stay with him and he wasn't there to leave them for adoption – as if the process was that simple – he learned about the information related to the boys, or rather, the lack of information.

A few years before, there was a fire in the orphanage, nothing tragic, but enough to burn many documents and certificates of the children that were there. As back then, everything was unique and there wasn't a single copy, a lot of irrecoverable information was lost. Repairs needed to be made in the place because of the fire, thus a few bedrooms were prohibited to be occupied and the only option the responsible had was to ask for other orphanages take a few children in. And that was how Naruto and Sasuke ended up in Konoha with little information about their past.

It was a little frustrating to Itachi as he went all the way there, just to find out nothing, but at least he had the information Orochimaru gave him and he was sure that he could still find something else with the names of the boys' biological parents.

The way back home wasn't as peaceful as he hoped.

"Uncle Itachi!" Karin yelled on her seat, "Tell Sai to stop saying I'm ugly!"

"But you are ugly, Karin! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!" The boy chanted, making faces at her.

"Sai!" Itachi warned, "I told you to stop already." But that didn't work and the boy continued, louder to annoy the oldest raven. "I'll have a serious conversation with you, Sai. Karin, don't listen to him, you are beautiful."

"Yeah!" the redhead agreed, "Sai, you are stupid!"

Itachi sighed, feeling like burying his head on the wheel as he drove home with one child repeating "Ugly!" and the other chanting "Stupid!"

…

Nagato was out working and Konan was nowhere in the house. Itachi sat both children on the couch and crouched in front of them. Karin was crying and Sai was yelling, the two frustrated, tired and away from their parents.

"I want to talk to you, I want to reason with you, I will not hurt any of you," Itachi whispered until he got both kids' attention as they wanted to hear what their uncle was muttering. The raven spoke quietly and calmly, so neither would start yelling again.

"I want you two to apologize to each other. Sai, you can't tell Karin is ugly; and Karin, you can't tell Sai is stupid. That's a really bad thing to say."

"Sorry." Karin muttered angrily, crossing her arms, her cheeks stained with tears.

It wasn't how Itachi intended the apology to be, but he would consider it, "Thank you, Karin. Now give me a hug." He hugged the girl and told her she was good girl. "Now, Sai, we're still waiting. I haven't heard you saying sorry."

The raven boy refused, shaking his head, yelling he would not say sorry. The poor kid was so lost he didn't know what to do, he hadn't seen his father and mother for days and he was away from home with an uncle that took him to a stranger's house. It was very stressful for him, but it still didn't excuse his attitude.

Sai yelled until his face was red, until he was panting and his throat was hurting. His small body shook as angry tears fell down his face. There was no reason, he was tired and sad, frustrated and lonely.

"I'll place you on time-out, Sai, because you didn't apologize to Karin and because you continue saying bad things about people." Itachi said, taking the boy to the bottom of the stairs, where he sat him and told the boy to stay. Naturally, the boy tried to leave, get his uncle's attention, but Itachi was patient as he placed the boy back on the place without uttering a word. After 5 minutes, he talked to him as asked if he wanted to apologize, but gained a negative answer and so he left the boy for longer.

It took Sai about 30 minutes to calm down and say he was sorry. When he did, Itachi sighed in relief and hugged the boy tightly, thanking him. "I'm proud of you for saying sorry, Sai." The boy sniffed and hugged Itachi back, falling asleep on his shoulder with the rocking of his body.

Karin had her moments too, but she was easier to deal with, quickly apologizing and smartly getting away from time-out if needed. She talked a lot and happily showed Itachi all of her dolls, making a mess of her bedroom as the raven worked on a contract with a big company – the reason he went to this supposedly business trip.

"Karin, look at the mess you made!" Konan said as soon as she entered her daughter's bedroom.

"It was my fault, Konan." Itachi intervened. "I asked her to show me her toys, I will put everything back in place, don't worry." He reassured her, winking at the little girl who witnessed his small lie.

"Do as you please, Itachi." The woman answered coldly, "And if you're going to do it, you might as well make her bag, Nagato said you are taking her to your house for a while."

"Yes, if you agree." Itachi was sure Nagato hadn't really decided on a definite answer, but he really didn't need to argue with the woman at the moment. Konan shrugged her shoulders and left, barely paying attention to her daughter.

…

It was evening when Nagato arrived home, exhausted and sickly pale. Itachi had everything ready to go, a taxi waiting at the door and both children's bag ready. Shisui had pushed Sai to him since day one, so naturally the boy had all his belongings ready to last at least a few weeks.

Itachi just needed Nagato to sign the paper his wife had already signed, permitting Itachi to travel with Karin as her responsible. It was hard decision for the redhead man, even if he knew he would work his bones out the following week and would let the girl with her mother.

"Dei will be happy to see her and she'll meet her cousins, Nagato. I promise you I won't let anything happen to her. You have my word." Itachi reassured him time and time again, in attempt to tranquilize him.

"Thank you, Itachi." The man sighed and took the paper, signing his agreement. "Give me a week and I'll solve everything I need to. Thank you. Tell Dei and Sasori-niisan I really miss them." Itachi nodded as Nagato smiled tiredly.

The redhead woke up his little girl to say goodbye, promising her she would be back soon and that she would stay with Uncle Itachi for a little bit longer. She cried saying she didn't want to go, that she wanted to stay with him and her mom.

"I'm sorry princess, it's just for a few days." Nagato promised her, placing her back on the floor. "I want you to behave with Uncle Itachi, alright?" The girl sniffled but nodded. "Good, when I come back, we'll go shopping, ok, just me and you. Daddy will buy you a new doll, alright?"

Karin nodded obediently, happy she would get a doll, but sad her dad was leaving again.

…

The initial excitement about flying died soon with the little ones as the night grew. The flight was calm as the kids slept, giving Itachi enough time to work on the final details of his work. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep on the uncomfortable chair of the airplane, his final thoughts were about his husband and their children, and how Dei should be mad at him for not calling the night before. But the surprise would be worth it.

…

Karin looked uncomfortable as she walked through the airport holding Itachi's hand. It was absolutely hard for Itachi to take two kids plus all their bags in a crowd place with many strangers that could kidnap them.

He took a cart as soon as he could, then placed Sai on top of the bags and told him to hold tight, at least the boy was having fun with something. He took Karin's hand and used the other to push the cart slowly as he had both kids in his vision.

He took a taxi home, paying the high price of not waiting one second to go back to his house or wait in line for cheaper alternatives. It didn't matter for him since the two little brats he had taken in were safe and he was going home.

"Uncle Itachi? Where are we going?" Sai asked as Karin watched the streets quietly form the window.

"We're going to my house, Sai. We'll see uncle Dei and your cousins."

"Is my daddy at your home, Uncle?" the boy titled his head in hope, finally talking about his father for the first time since Shisui left him with Itachi.

"Your daddy is working really hard to bring good things for you, Sai." Itachi told the child, "And your dad too, Karin." The girl hummed and nodded, still looking down.

"Why?" Sai made another question, "Why daddy has to work, uncle?"

"That's because he wants to buy you nice stuff. Because he loves you very much, Sai." And because his cousin was a workaholic with ideals too big to be healthy, not that Sai needed to know.

The little raven sighed and looked out through the window. "Uncle Itachi, I wanted you to be my daddy." He whispered, staring dully at the moving landscape.

"I know you are sad with your dad, Sai, but I promise you your daddy loves you very much and he would be very sad if you didn't want to be his son anymore. You don't want to make your dad sad, right?" Itachi said softly, feeling truly upset for his cousin.

Shisui went through a lot in life with his father and his brothers, but family was always important to him and Itachi was sure his cousin would get a hold of himself and become a better man, as he had done many times in the past. After all, it had always been Shisui who took care of Itachi when they were kids, so it was only natural that Itachi felt the need to repay him.

…

Itachi paid the taxi driver and thanked him as he helped with his baggage. It was early in the morning but the boys were probably already up and Itachi couldn't help but smile at the notion. He was so close. He was back. He was home.

The raven turned his key and opened the front door of his home, a big grin splitting his face in two with the scene in front of him. Karin yelled and hided her eyes behind her hands and Sai tilted his head curious, but Itachi didn't see that, he only had eyes to his baby boy.

"DADDY!" Naruto yelled and ran to him, meeting him midway as Itachi spun him around, hugging him tightly.

"I missed you so much, son" he held him tightly to himself, trying to make the tightening in his chest disappear with his baby boy's presence. He held the boy in front of him, laughing at the little one. "Now, why are you naked, Naru?"

The boy smiled mischievously, not one bit ashamed of his bare little body. Itachi laughed again, kissing his cheeks, hugging him tightly against him.

"Daddy? Mommy cannot know I'm here." Naruto whispered, then his eyes met the two other children in the living room, making him tilt his head in curiosity. "Hello!" he said and waved at them, forgetting he was butt-naked.

"Naruto?!" Deidara's voice echoed through the house, a little panicked looking for his sunshine. "Naruto, where are you?"

Naruto giggled and whispered to Itachi to be silent, a finger in front of his mouth.

"Naruto, why are your clothes in the middle of the corridor, un?!" Deidara yelled, and his steps could be heard getting louder as walked to the stairs, picking the line of clothes leading to the living room. "Naruto, come here now! What do you think you are do-" the phrase died on his lips as his blue eyes found dark ones.

Deidara couldn't believe his eyes, there, in the middle of the living room, stood Itachi with a very naked Naruto in his arms, hiding behind his small hands. The raven smiled at his husband affectionately, walking to him slowly, amused at his agape mouth.

"I'm home." Itachi said, softening his eyes when Deidara's arms encircled his neck.

"Welcome home, Tachi." The blond whispered, pecking his cheek softly, "I missed you, un."

"I missed you too." He whispered back, pecking his husband's lips once, then twice.

A little voice interrupted their moment, "Uncle Itachi?" Karin said, peeking through her fingers, "Can I open my eyes now?" she asked, her face as red as her hair.

"Oh my god, is that…?"

Itachi nodded to Deidara's question, "That's Karin, and this is Shisui's boy, Sai. They will stay with us for the week." His dark eyes promised to give explanations later.

The raven watched as the blond walked to the girl, "Oh my god, Karin, you are so big and so cute!" he crouched in front her as she lowered her hands and smiled shyly, "I'm your uncle Deidara," he said and looked at the boy, smiling at him, "Hello Sai, you are so beautiful. Look at you."

"Hi uncle Dei, I'm five years old already!" Karin told him showing a whole hand to him.

"Oh I see, you are very big, Rin-chan." He said, sitting on the floor simply to converse with the children, "And you, Sai? How old are you, un?"

"Five." He said shyly, a sigh leaving his lips.

"That's very nice, un. You two are so big already, I can't believe it." Deidara mused, remembering when Nagato told him he would be a father and he never felt so jealous in his life.

"Mom?! I can't find Naruto!" Sasuke yelled from upstairs.

"He's here with me, dear!" The blond yelled back, motioning for Itachi to climb the stairs and greet their eldest son. "Come here, Naruto, let's put some pants on you."

Karin screamed again at the boy's nudity, closing her eyes tightly. Deidara chuckled amused and quickly put the pants on the boy, "What were you going to do sunshine, un?"

"I was going to shower, mommy." He explained with a big grin on his lips.

Sai walked to the little blond with a frown on his features, he tilted his head and reached his hand to the boy's pants, sliding it down. "You have a weenie! You are a boy!" He exclaimed, surprised with the fact.

Naruto looked mortified at the sudden action. He looked at his mother for comfort and when Deidara saw his baby boy crying, he knew the following days wouldn't be easy with all five children. However, he could count on Itachi to help him and that made him smile nonetheless as he comforted the child in his arms.

…

Itachi climbed the stairs silently, wanting to surprise his eldest son. Sasuke was waiting on the last step of the stairs, sitting with his head on his hands. He knew better than to try to go upstairs on his own, his mom told him he couldn't and he obeyed.

"Sasuke?" The eldest raven called softly, watching amazed how his big boy slowly lifted his head with glinting eyes, a surprised sigh leaving his lips. "Hey son." Itachi smiled at him, crouching on front of him.

"Dad!" Sasuke said and jumped on his father's arms, feeling safe when the big arms encircled him kindly, "You came back, dad." The little raven whispered in amazement.

"Of course I did, son. I promised and I will always come back home, to you, to your mother and to your brother." Itachi breathed in the scent of his son's hair, kissing the top of his head. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, dad! Lots of things happened when you were gone." Sasuke told him, grinning at his father.

Itachi's dark eyes widened, "Sasuke! Your tooth! You lost your first milky tooth!" He looked at the small hole on the boy's mouth, where his tooth was supposed to be. "When did it happen?"

Sasuke grinned proudly, "It fell now, dad! I'm a more big boy now!" he showed the small tooth in his hand, a little of blood on it as it was normal.

"You are growing up too fast, big boy." Itachi ruffled his head with a smile. "Now, why don't we go downstairs and you show your mother your tooth. Your cousins are here and where's Gaara and your uncle Sasori?"

"I have more cousins?" Sasuke asked and Itachi nodded, "Gaa-chan is sleeping and uncle Sasori is working." The boy urged his father to take him where Deidara and his cousins were, so he could show off how much he was a grown up. "How was your work, dad?"

Itachi smiled and took his hand to go downstairs, "It was nice, son, but I like playing with you and Naru more. I bought presents to you; do you want to see it?"

"Yes! What did you buy?" Sasuke asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise, son." Itachi told him,

He knew the boy would love the 300 crayons he had bought him. He bought the Backyardigans' collection for Naruto, a new tea set for Deidara, a Bob the builder construction toys for Gaara, a doll for Karin and a game of ink stamping of Sai. He hoped the new toys would make the whole week a little easier.

AN: I could write everything that happened to me since the last update, but I'm sure you don't want to listen.

I rewrote the whole story, added a new image to it and I'm naturally continuing it. I also wrote another story with Itachi and Deidara as a couple; it's called A House we call Home and I'd be really happy if you could give it a chance, the themes are very similar to Family.

Review!