Dwindling Inferno

Tobi watched with surprised intrigue as Sasuke continued his fight with Itachi.

The omega’s monologue had been a bit boring, too predictable and righteous for his own taste in entertainment. Too emotional and ‘omega overcoming adversity’ for his preferences- in fact, the alpha had rolled his eye at Sasuke’s naivety. Didn’t he know that there was no succeeding under the harsh confines of reality that the shinobi world operated gleefully within?

But that first gleam of a fight- that first flash of his sword, that had been something.

His lone eye drank everything happening before him in with a twisted sort of glee that left his stomach hungry for more. Sasuke was on the cusp of understanding Tobi’s plan. Once he achieved true revenge, his mind would hold so much potential for reshaping as the alpha saw fit. Once he revealed that he, himself, was an Uchiha, and the truth of Itachi, the omega’s world would crumble around himself.

He could shape Sasuke’s miserable heart and mind into a weapon to use against Konoha, with only a few words and a nudge in the right direction. After all, what sort of mother would Sasuke be if he left his pup in the very hands that had forced a genocide against his own clan, only nine years prior?

Perfect. His plan was moving along even faster and even more flawlessly than he’d previously presumed it to.

Amaterasu crackled to life all around him with its inky flames dancing along the footpath not too far from his own feet. How amusing it was that Itachi’s signature move destroyed everything in its path, except for the inevitability of Tobi and his goals.

He did not hate Itachi, that much was true. In fact, he respected the tortured alpha quite a bit. It took a certain amount of courage to murder one’s entire clan in the name of a village- and even more so to torment the one held most dear to oneself. Oh, how Itachi had ruined Sasuke.

Tobi had wondered after his first true encounter with the youngest Uchiha what he might have been like if the shinobi world had not taken and ruined him like it did everything that it touched. How those eyes might have flown with love and hope, rather than hatred and distrust.

If Rin had continued living, her eyes might have grown to hold the same sorts of resentment that ran rampant within Sasuke Uchiha’s.

Lightning crackled to life in the sky, and oh- it would have appeared as though Tobi had missed a large part of the fight. The warring siblings were no longer just a few meters away from him. Only rubble and amaterasu were before him now.

The alpha blipped to wherever the chaos of their clash had landed them and was met with the beautiful sight of blood and misery. Truly, if Itachi had known about Deidara and that cursed little bundle of misery before Sasuke had inadvertently sparked their demise, Sasuke wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Not in the weakened state he was in when he’d come to finish off his elder brother.

Chakra surged in the air, and then there was silence. The winner had won, and the loser had lost.

Tobi’s plan remained so ever intact.

But wait- Sasuke’s back was to a barely standing fraction of a wall, with the omega’s body clearly drained of chakra from his final move. Itachi, however, staggered back onto his feet, coughing blood all the while.

Tobi moved in closer, intrigued by the surprising lack of defeat. Perhaps his plan would need altering after all. Instead of an emotional young omega, he would merely need to mold and reshape a devastated alpha mourning the loss of his ex-lover and unborn pup. A more difficult task, but not impossible.

The alpha watched in feverish interest as Itachi Uchiha staggered towards a now chakraless Sasuke. Through the harsh scent of smoke and rain that permeated the air, he could still pick up on the overwhelming pheromones of a distressed omega in danger.

The chokuto shook violently where it was gripped pitifully in Sasuke’s dominant hand as Itachi continued his death march. Trapped and cornered like a bunny rabbit in the den of a wolf, Sasuke closed his eyes in what seemed like a final moment of acceptance before Itachi finished him off.

Only three- two- now one more step, and Itachi would secure his place as the last known Uchiha.

Itachi raised his arm, and not even the pelting rain could wash away the blood that coated the alpha’s hands. Sasuke flinched away, but fell back and only managed to smack his head sharply against the solid slab of concrete that he was leaned up against.

Itachi’s lips began to move, and whatever was said was lost to the howling storm. Sasuke’s eyes opened wide in horrified surprise just as Itachi collapsed to the ground with a solid, harsh thud.

And, so, Tobi decided that he would be going with plan A after all as he watched Sasuke’s face go utterly and completely blank. The alpha stepped forward to go retrieve his new pawn, but a familiar burst of chakra in the air gave him pause.

He knew that jutsu. He knew the way it felt- the way it caused the air to circulate with energy so fluidly that it could be mistaken for a slight breeze. But, it couldn’t be. The Fourth Hokage was long dead by Tobi’s own machinations.

He whirled around, prepared for a thousand different things than the scene he was faced with as reality warped and a ripple in time formed. It opened and closed as efficiently as it had arrived, and in a flash, there was a figure with bright wild hair and disheveled clothes staggering into the rubble.

A forgotten memory, once dear but now burned with bitter hatred around the edges, bloomed behind Tobi’s eyes. A spiky haired blonde man with slight shoulders but a determination winding its way throughout his body as he stood in front of his three students- protecting them, shielding them from the opponents of a war that should have never taken place to begin with.

Tobi’s lone eye narrowed.

So the nine tails jinchuriki had mastered the Flying Thunder God technique. How interesting.

The alpha kissed his plan of stealing the last full blooded Uchiha heir away goodbye in favor of knitting together a new idea.

Separated, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were strong tools to manipulate into the final stages of his plans. Together, however, they might just prove to be more malleable- especially with a pup to make them short sided.

It wasn’t what he’d had in mind initially, but who was Tobi if not an adaptable man of respect?

Before him, Sasuke crumpled to his knees right as the blonde newcomer leapt forward to catch him. Tobi took it all in- Sasuke’s distressed dissent into an obvious panic attack, Naruto scenting just a little too closely to Saskue’s mating glands, even the dark, ominous aura that started to glow atop the young alpha’s skin like a protective shield.

Oh yes. This would be very interesting.

A series of events that he could nudge into unfolding flooded his mind in a river of complete and utter genius. If the jinchuriki was that unstable in his control, it would be easy to manipulate him in the middle of a rut- especially if Tobi showed himself and posed as a threat to his heat-addled omega. He could turn Konoha against him by provoking the tailed beast within him and creating another attack on the village.

Pain would be upset that he would no longer get to wreak havoc on the Leaf Village, but other arrangements could be made. Cornering Naruto and putting Sasuke in a difficult position as well would push them right into Tobi’s hands. He could use their youth and desperation against them and force them into the Akatsuki’s welcoming hands.

Of course, there were a few kinks to work out with that idea, so the masked alpha decided to deliberate further on the matter before deciding on his next steps. Perhaps there were even better routes to take that he had not yet pondered.

For now, he simply remained hidden in the shadows. Oh what fun, what fun. Destiny was just on the horizon, he could feel it in the way the air simmered and thrummed before him.

Naruto gathered Sasuke up and teleported away- presumably to the Leaf Village. And, unbeknownst to the two teenagers, they’d just provided the alpha with the opportunity of a lifetime.

~~~

The baby wailed right in his ear and banged his fists against Konohamaru’s shoulder like he was the reason why Naruto had disappeared.

“It’s okay, everything’s okay. Naruto’s gonna be back soon and we can beat him up together, how does that sound?” The twelve year old was met with a teary cry aimed right below his eardrum.

What was he supposed to do? What if Naruto wasn’t back for hours? Or days? He couldn’t leave to go get help without revealing the baby’s existence to the village, and the anbu still ran surveillance heavily on Naruto’s apartment building. He’d be detained with the pup before he ever even made it halfway down the street to Iruka Sensei’s apartment.

Iruka sensei didn’t even know, for crying out loud! It was just the pack!

Konohamaru began to rock the baby as comfortingly as he could, but the baby had inherited Naruto’s big head, and Konohamaru had yet to hit another growth spurt, so the angle he was able to hold him was awkward at best.

“Come on, stop crying! Please? I’ll make you some ramen broth- will that calm you down?”.

The baby loved ramen broth. He loved the noodles too- but Naruto said that he couldn’t eat them yet because he didn’t have any teeth. But, he liked to play with the noodles. Just last night, he’d stuck his fist right into Naruto’s cup ramen and yanked out a large portion of the noodles and slobbered all over them in delight. When the alpha had tried to get the baby to release the noodles, he’d launched the glob of soggy noodles right at Naruto’s head.

For a baby, the little guy sure had good aim.

Right as the brunette got to work sifting through the cabinets for Naruto’s secret stash of actual cooking ingredients, the air crackled and whirled with a thick, bright energy. Konohamaru spun around to face the odd chakra signature, but made sure to shield the wailing infant from whatever it could be.

As quickly as Naruto had disappeared, he reappeared with a suddenness that had Konohamaru stunned. The alpha’s back was to him, but he knew the blonde well enough to know when he was panicked from the way his spine curved.

Instantly, the pup stopped crying. It was as if the Earth had stopped its revolution around the sun all in the blink of an eye. Konohamaru almost didn’t believe his eyes. If he weren’t holding his youngest packmate, he probably would have rubbed at his eyes to dispel whatever genjutsu he’d been tricked by.

Naruto’s shoulders rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. No, it was the two pale feet clad in dark grey sandals poking out from the alpha’s hold that had an avalanche of hope collapsing upon Konohamaru like never before.

The baby squirmed, trying to lunge into the open air with desperate grabby hands and away from Konohamaru, but the twelve year old barely registered it. All he could seem to focus on was the scent that began to cling to the air. Because of that bond that Naruto and Sasuke had, their scents had become intertwined long ago- even now, electric rain was hidden just beneath the overwhelming fragrance of fresh oranges. But this- no it was unmistakable.

Lightning and rainstorms bloomed inside the pup’s nose, beckoning him towards the source of that soothing, long awaited scent. But- Konohamaru hesitated.

Something felt off.

“Naruto?” Konohamaru whispered as he renewed his grip on the fidgeting baby.

For such a small little guy, he was surprisingly strong and fast when he wanted to be.

The way Naruto’s shoulders sagged for a split second before the alpha turned to face him was not lost on the boy. Nor was the underlying distress that intermingled with the sunshiney electric scent that clung to the air and made his nose itch.

The baby froze as soon as he was faced with Sasuke Uchiha’s unconscious form, and Konohamaru himself didn’t quite know what to do. Blood and dirt and the dampness that only came with severe rains stained his torn clothes. Inky hair that Konohamaru had always associated with a wild sort of perfection was lifeless and matted against his forehead. Perhaps the worst travesty was how small Sasuke looked.

He’d always been on the skinny side. But still, Konohamaru could recall the warmth of the small amount of fat Sasuke’s body had retained after presenting. He remembered the small squish against his cheek of Sasuke’s side while snuggled in the older’s nest after a long day of training- with the added comfort of firm muscles and a strong heartbeat to lull the boy to sleep.

But, Sasuke had just had a baby, right? Shouldn’t he be kinda chubby like Aunt Kurenai?

The omega had always been a light sleeper, too. There was no way he’d be willingly unconscious for his reunion with his son and-well, whatever the hell Konohamaru was to him and Naruto.

Konohamaru took a step forward with a cautious glance at Naruto. Deliberately, he kept his movement slow to not set off the already overwhelmed alpha. He knew that Naruto would never hurt him, but instincts could be a funny thing sometimes, and with as injured as Sasuke had to be as well as their vulnerable pup

The blonde’s voice was hazy as it cracked. “I don’t- I don’t know what to do.” He confessed, like it was a damning confession that could only ever be uttered right here, with Konohamaru’s sworn, unending secrecy.

To Konohamaru, Naruto had always been bigger. Tougher. More stubborn and more righteous who always somehow came up with a plan- even if it was half baked and insane, he always figured it out. To Konohamaru, he’d been someone to rely on, even when both of them were still just pups.

But, standing there, with his mud stained clothing dripping droplets of rainwater into small puddles against the already creaky wooden floors, he looked his age for the first time in Konohamaru’s perspective. There was still a softness to his jaw that denoted the mere five year age difference between the boys.

What was it that Kakashi sensei had muttered one night after a pack dinner? That seventeen was too young for the weight of the world to fall on his shoulders.

And, right in front of the two pups, there Naruto’s world rested his head against the alpha’s shoulder.

“Should I get Kakashi sensei? Or Sakura?” Konohamaru asked softly. The baby whined and clutched his chubby hand outwards towards his parents desperately. It broke Konohamaru’s heart- he knew the feeling quite well of his parents to be just out of reach.

“No, he won’t-” Naruto swallowed harshly around the ashy words in his mouth, “Sasuke won’t like that.”.

Shock was something every academy student was taught about as early as the time they learned the basics taijutsu or the fundamentals of chakra manipulation. Even a blind person could have seen the shocked state Naruto was caught in.

And, that was why Konohamaru had to take charge.

“You need to put him down. I can make a nest on your bed, you should lay him there. It's got all of our scents mixed there anyways- it’ll help him come out of whatever this is. I’ll watch him and the baby, you need to put on clean clothes and get the first aid kit. Take a minute and get yourself together.” Konohamaru made sure his voice was firm.

He wasn’t the first in his class for no reason. And, if he could repay the debt he owed Sasuke and Naruto for caring for him over the years by getting things together now, then he would. Over and over again if he had to.

The pup kept whining and reaching for his mother, but the twelve year old held firm. Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the boy’s words, before he nodded stiffly in three jerky, robotic motions.

“Yeah…yeah that makes sense.”

Konohamaru held his gaze until the alpha turned and headed down the hallway towards the bedroom. He tried not to hone in on the limp sway of Sasuke’s arm in the air as the blonde walked. Later, when he was curled up protectively around the omega, he would rest his cheek as close to Sasuke’s heart as the physical laws of nature would allow, just to reassure himself.

Now, he had things to do.

The older boy felt more than he heard the small body hiccup wetly against his shoulder. No doubt, the little guy was feeling betrayed by the lack of contact with his mother. He couldn’t help but run his hand down the infant’s back as gently and reassuringly as he could to console him.

He was quick on Naruto’s heels. As soon as the four were in the bedroom, Konohamaru made quick work of the bedding. With one hand holding the pup and using his hip to support what his arm couldn’t carry, he bent down and used his free hand to yank the sheets free. He shifted them around in a semblance of what he remembered from the nests Sasuke used to build.

The baby- who really needed a name- made a small, fitful noise on his hip as he stood up straight once again. His makeshift nest was barely passable, but it would have to do. Lumps of pillows poked out awkwardly, and one of the blankets was scratchy-side up, but Konohamaru was more focused on directing a still shell-shocked Naruto next.

The alpha’s face was still blank- not a good sign. Whatever Naruto was reacting to had to have been bad. Konohamaru hadn’t even seen him this out of it after one of his seizures. Maybe it was more of what Sasuke’s own pain was inflicting on their scent bond.

“It’s okay, you can put him down now.” The boy kept his voice small to play on Naruto’s instincts.

Even though Konohamaru was close to presenting, he was still technically a pup. He needed to play up that vulnerability so that things wouldn’t possibly escalate with Naruto’s injured mate and infant pup in the same room. Konohamaru was pack, yes, but anything could become a threat to a very disturbed young alpha in such circumstances.

Besides, pack betrayals were common in the shinobi world anyway.

The blonde’s eyebrows knit together. “It’s…hard. I can’t.”.

“Yes you can.” Konohamaru breathed out easily, “How else is he going to be able to scent the baby when he wakes up? And you need your arms free so you can take care of us, right?”.

As if Konohamaru’s small manipulation had cast a spell on him, Naruto nodded his head jerkily though he was still unsure, but willing to trust that Sasuke was safer if Naruto could protect him from any potential threats that may come after them. Slowly, so slowly that surely the muscles in the blonde’s arms burned, he lowered the injured omega into the center of the nest.

It was a testament to how bad of a shape Sasuke was in that he didn’t wake up from the transition. Konohamaru could remember many a time that the Uchiha had woken up from the simple sound of a blanket shifting. Now? There was nothing- not even the twitching of his fingertips.

His body must have been in shock, then.

As soon as Sasuke was in the nest, the pup tried to lunge for his mother. He made a surprisingly stern whine once Konohamaru got a firmer grip on the boy, but continued to rebel. The two continued to fidget and fight each other, while Naruto stood there blankly all the while.

“Go get the first aid-Gah!” Konohamaru was interrupted by a tiny foot wedging itself into his cheek, “So we can fix him up.”.

Konohamaru heard the alpha blindly shuffle away- presumably to get the medical supplies- but the boy’s focus was stolen by the poorly coordinated little fists that pummeled his shoulder. He tried to adjust him to angle the small body away from his own body while also keeping his hold secure, but it proved to only make the situation worse.

It was difficult to wrestle the determined baby without hurting him. He was fast with a one track mind that was set on getting to his mother, but Konohamaru just couldn’t risk the baby making any of Sasuke’s wounds worse.

He was so engrossed in his task, in fact, that he didn’t notice the pale eyelids hazily fluttering open not even two feet away from him on the bed. Nor did Konohamaru notice the ever so slight up quirk of cracked lips.

What he did notice, however, was the soft, shocked and maybe even pained whisper that felt so loud that it bounced off of the walls of his ears and ricocheted around in his ear drums for a long time afterward.

“You grew up.”.

~~~

“Fuck! That fucking- Who the hell was that?!” Karin screeched into the raging storm behind him.

Her shrill, enraged voice merged with the howling winds, creating an airborne curse to whoever dared to anger both the omega and the sky.

Juugo’s head whipped around in every direction, as if Sasuke was merely hiding in a game of hide and seek and would appear before them in a matter of seconds.

Suigetsu crouched down and picked the omega’s sword up from where it had clattered to the ground. It had taken him nearly a week to catch back up with the rest of the pack, and only a day after their reunion, Sasuke had been torn away from them. And worse- it was by that asshole of all people.

The alpha’s hand clenched so hard around the hilt of the blade that he could tell that there would be bruising on his palms later. Karin continued screeching curses at the top of her lungs as if that would somehow summon that piece of shit back along with Sasuke.

“Damn it.” He muttered viciously to himself before turning his face to meet the thundering sky and shouting it again with all of the rage he could possibly summon, “Damn it!”.

Not even three feet away lay Itachi Uchiha’s body. It was soaked in blood and rain, dirtied by the muddy mixture of the ground beneath him. Something flipped in his stomach. Those glazed over eyes- it resembled a version of Sasuke’s eyes far too similarly to be of any comfort to Suigetsu.

He didn’t know all of what had gone down between the two brothers despite the obvious, but Suigetsu had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn’t have wanted the guy’s body to just rot amid the rubble. It was a pity.

“Where. Is. He.” Juugo’s voice shook with an uncontrollable edge, just teetering on a cliff that overlooked a sea of violent, murderous rage.

“Suigetsu! Snap out of it! Sasuke’s gone- that man took him-” The ground vibrated ever so slightly from the omega’s stomping feet. Or possibly from the violent crash of thunder that sounded high above their heads.

The alpha pursed his lips together, trying to figure out what had just happened, but Karin dug her hand into the back of his soaked shirt and yanked him up with all of her innate Uzumaki strength. She hollered in his ear all the while. Her voice was loud as indecipherable words tumbled out of her too-red lips, and it grated on his nerves.

“Would you shut the fuck up for once?!” He thundered and threw her grip off of him.

His outburst startled even Juugo, who up until the beta had frozen in shock, had been pacing every which way with a menacing sneer. Karin, for once, was speechless.

As quickly as his outburst had flared to life, it ebbed away with the grace of a dying mule.

Suigetsu’s eyelids mashed themselves closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. They were all stressed and panicked. It wouldn’t do any good to lash out at each other. Not like this.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” The alpha muttered, not meeting his pack member’s gazes.

Karin sighed sharply as Juugo’s large presence settled itself beside him. She crossed her arms and frowned to try and hide the violent shiver that racked her body. The temperature had probably dropped another ten degrees since Sasuke had been taken, and the rolling thunder didn’t lead the alpha to believe that the rain would let up any time soon.

“Whatever.” Karin huffed.

That was as good as an accepted apology that Suigetsu was going to get, so he let it be.

“That man.” Juugo half-growled, still not fully in control. “He had marks on his cheeks.”.

Yeah, he did. Along with dumb blonde hair and aggravatingly convenient jutsu. Naruto fucking Uzumaki couldn’t leave well enough alone. It was bad enough that Sasuke had run from him three years ago, now he had to go and kidnap their pack omega at his lowest point? And Otter-where was Otter? Who was caring for him, if Naruto had come for Sasuke?

The alpha cast a long look at his two remaining packmates. “His name is Naruto Uzumaki.”.

If Karin recognized the name, she didn’t let on. A distant relation through a clan name only, then.

“He’s Otter’s father.” Suigetsu added after a beat.

He let the revelation wash over the two. Karin stood frozen and unblinking as the rain pelted at her glasses. Juugo roared and raged and lunged away from where they were gathered to blow off some steam. Whatever violence he stirred up was shielded by the storm surrounding them.

Suigetsu, though? He did his best not to slip on the muddy rubble as he stumbled forward to where Sasuke’s sword lay abandoned on the grimy ground. The omega had dropped it just beyond Itachi’s body, and Suigetsu had to swallow that nauseous feeling down again once he accidentally looked the body in its eyes.

How many times had they gotten to Sasuke just in the nick of time? How many life altering battles had the omega gone through, only to come out victorious in the end, surrounded by his pack? And this- this final test of strength before Sasuke could finally rest, and they hadn’t gotten to him in time.

They’d let him down. And now he and Otter were likely suffering under the gleeful eyes of Konoha’s higher ranked shinobi as they waited around this graveyard of fate, aimless and lost.

Suigetsu bent down to pick up the sword with the silent promise to clean it and return it to its rightful owner.

“Karin!” He shouted against the wind.

She snapped out of her stupor all at once, quick to attention like the soldier they all knew she could be.

“Let's find some shelter. We’ll get Juugo in the morning- he needs to let it all out first.”.

“And then?” She shouted back across the distance as the rain continued to pelt them.

“We set out for Konoha! We’re going to get him back!” Suigetsu determined.

Come hell or high water, rain or shine, they were going to save Sasuke. In their own personal ways, they owed him their lives. That debt needed to be repaid.

And Naruto Uzumaki would pay the price.

~~~

Sasuke’s head hurt. Everything hurt. His heart hurt. His eyes hurt. Hell, even the damned spot where his curse mark used to be etched into his skin ached, as if his skin knew he was missing the invisible, inky shackles.

But the weight of his son’s fragile body, warm and cozy as he lay atop Sasuke’s freshly bandaged chest, was its own magical form of painkillers.

He’d woken up from a nightmare filled with white snakes, ravens with swirling sharingans, and blood splattered on his mother’s favorite dress, to find himself tucked into an eerily familiar bed with a lankier version of Konohamaru snoring in his ear. How his pup was sleeping through it, Sasuke didn’t have the mental capacity to figure it out.

The omega scented the air groggily, not quite awake enough to begin to question just what the hell had happened after his fight with Itachi that had landed him here. Fresh, summery oranges mixed with the sweet scent of milk filled his nostrils in such a way that his body felt at peace, despite the obvious chakra exhaustion he was experiencing.

Or, maybe he’d had a stroke and was just experiencing the symptoms of said stroke.

Either way, it didn’t matter because his baby was right there with his fist jammed in his mouth and a river of drool dampening his mother’s bandages. With every frail rise and fall of Sasuke’s own chest, Otter’s body matched the motion and the pup made soft little sounds as he inhaled and exhaled wetly around the hand that was holstered inside of his mouth.

Everything was broken, shattered all to glass and burned to the ground, but out of the destruction that had followed Sasuke through his entire life, a small, green sprout of hope had grown from the ashes. That sproutling was currently drooling all over the injured teen, but Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to care.

Flashes of what had led him here ravaged his tired, aching mind. A new jutsu that Naruto had mastered, black flames consuming everything in its path, long black hair sprawled lifelessly against cracked pavement- all of it played on a loop.

Naruto had come for him. He’d come for him and he’d held him like he loved him, despite the only things Sasuke had ever brought the alpha was betrayal and a baby. He hadn’t let the omega wake up in a jail cell- even going as far as letting Otter and Konohamaru cuddle up to him like he wasn’t a wanted criminal.

The omega clenched his eyes shut.

Sasuke was tired. He was confused and tired and he’d just killed his brother and been reunited with his infant son and estranged soulmate and whatever the hell Konohamaru was to him at this point.

Maybe that was why, when the old bedroom door creaked open softly and a subtle glow of light from the hallway poured into the room, Sasuke blearily let his aching eyes open and took in the warm halo of light that illuminated bright blonde hair.

Naruto’s figure crept through the threshold on exaggerated tippy toes with a few folded blankets stacked precariously in his hands. He didn’t seem to notice that Sasuke was awake, nor how ridiculous he looked as he hopped over random baby toys that were splayed along the floor with shinobi levels of skill instead of simply stepping over them.

Naruto nearly fell over a discarded rattle, but caught himself at the last second. He froze with his head turned in the direction of the bed, and Sasuke wished with all of his heart that he had the energy to smile. Bright blue met endless black, and the world felt as though it had finally begun to turn on its axis again for the first time in three and a half years.

“Naruto.” He mouthed the name like the cursed prayer it was, though no sound encapsulated it. It didn’t matter that the sacred movement stung at his cracked lips.

And as quickly as he’d caught himself from falling, he was crouched at the bedside, face mere inches from Sasuke’s. Naruto’s eyes darted all across his face, searching for answers or remnants of a promise broken long ago, Sasuke couldn’t tell. But his hand was so soft and warm as it carded itself through his tangled locks.

“Sasuke.” The alpha breathed his name like the lifeline it should never have been.

The two syllables danced in the air in such a delicate way that Sasuke knew it couldn’t possibly have been a conscious choice.

As if wanting to join the two-worded conversation, Otter made a small, breathy sound in his sleep and stole all of Sasuke’s attention away from the alpha. Such utter love and exhaustion seeped into his aching bones. The omega couldn’t help it. This little thing- this ethereal creature created of nothing but love and determination- had found comfort and peace curled up atop of Sasuke’s chest. It didn’t make any sense, not by any means.

Sasuke Uchiha was a creature of pain and despair, who wrought nothing but destruction in all the ways that gave meaning to the word. How such innocence could clutch its tiny fist into the thin layer of clothing he wore like he belonged there was beyond him.

The weight of two tanned arms crossing themselves on the edge of the bed soothed a part of the omega, but as much as it alarmed him. He didn’t deserve it- the gentleness.

The blonde didn’t seem to agree, however. Instead, he simply rested his chin on his arms and gazed at the mother and pup. He didn’t blink- probably too scared to blink and have this all be just another figment of his imagination.

It took a few minutes for Sasuke’s voice to find him. It was coarse in his throat as it dragged its way up the damaged ladder of his vocal chords. “He wasn’t difficult, was he?” He whispered into the quiet air.

As quiet as it could be with Konohamaru’s snores creating a repetitive cadence of normalcy.

The blonde hummed lowly-fondly- as he reached the back of a knuckle out to pet the fat of their pup’s whisker marked cheek. His eyes were gooey with love as he shifted his attention to focus on their slumbering son. “Of course he was- he’s ours, isn’t he?”.

The minute chuckle that escaped his stuttering lungs had pain shooting up and down his midsection and sides. He’d likely broken and bruised quite a few bones and organs in his battle.

Flashes of writing a mournful letter of hope and love with tears causing the ink to blur on the page raced to the forefront of his mind. An understanding fell into place as though it had never left to begin with as he heard his own words thrown back at him from the alpha’s honest lips.

Theirs.

“Ours.” He agreed.

~~~

Kiba leaned against the rough bark of the tree trunk at his back and sighed deeply. Akamaru was frolicking around nearby, yipping at grasshoppers and sniffing at flowers here and there.

Shikamaru lit a cigarette above him. The Inuzuka crinkled his nose, but said nothing. Shino was quiet, too. Well, more so than he usually was- even the gentle hum of insects that usually followed the reserved alpha was silent.

Choji sat on the ground across from Kiba with a pensive look on his face. A chip bag lay next to the omega, forgotten in the weeds tickling at Choji’s crossed shins.

“You didn’t have to start yelling.” Shikamaru exhaled as Kiba’s eyes watched his dog’s antics from a distance.

“Yeah, well you weren’t much better. Was that a friend asking questions or a prosecutor conducting an interrogation?” Kiba snarked back.

Shikamaru took another long drag of his cigarette, grating on Kiba’s already frayed nerves. “Well excuse me for asking the tough questions. ‘Least I didn’t sit there with my foot in my mouth like Neji.”

Neji hadn’t come to meet with them today. Hiashi Hyuuga was making him stick to an even more rigorous training schedule than he had with Hinata. That old bastard. Kiba was glad that Hinata was no longer under that man’s thumb.

“Maybe everyone should have done what Neji did and stayed quiet. Naruto was obviously going to explain everything to us on his own. You guys didn’t need to freak out like you did.” Choji huffed.

“Yeah, well, sorry we couldn’t all be omegas fawning over a drooling pup, Choji.” Shikamaru fired back.

The look on Choji’s face went from cloudy to down right stormy. “Better than a bunch of alphas in the middle of one giant dick measuring contest! I was the only one trying to de-escalate the situation! You all attacked Naruto like it was his fault and didn’t even bother trying to control your scents! You tormented that pup with your irritation!”

“Choji, you know we can’t talk sense to you when you get all emotional like this.” Kiba muttered. He ran a hand through his hair, stressed out of his mind.

The way the baby had smelled- it was a perfect mix of Naruto and Sasuke. Kiba had shut out any and all reminders of that guy three, nearly four years ago. When he took Akamaru on walks, they avoided the route that would inevitably lead to the old Uchiha compound. When he took Akamaru to the vet, Kiba made sure that the scar from that rescue mission was still hidden well beneath his companion’s brilliant white fur.

When Kiba woke up the morning after a rough mission, he pretended to not feel the ghost of panic he’d felt as he’d been bleeding out and on the verge of death in those woods, with Akamaru’s frail body not even a foot away, unmoving and bloodied, matted fur making it impossible to tell whether he’d live or die.

He knew it wasn’t the pup’s fault. He knew that. But, all the same, seeing that little Uchiha fan sewn onto the back of a dark purple onesie did very little to settle his nerves.

What if he hadn’t survived the mission? What if Neji hadn’t? Or Choji?

Hinata would still be a slave to her clan, with only Shino and Ino to turn to as her support system. As much as he loved Shino like a brother, and respected Ino as a friend, they weren’t capable of providing the shy girl with the confidence necessary to live her life as her own.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses with dismay. “What Kiba meant to say was that he fears you may be lashing out for the wrong reasons, Choji. No harm came to Sasuke’s son, infants are known to cry for a number of miniscule reasons. Why? Because they are sensitive to their environments in ways that we are not. However, your focus may be skewed to the pup, when it should be on the situation with Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke could come back and pose a threat to the village, now that Naruto has their child in his care.”.

Choji went to stand in such a flurry of irritated movement that the plastic of his chip bag crinkled loudly in the air. His long, spiky hair swayed into his face, but even with the brown curtain of hair, nothing could hide the frustrated flush along his tattooed cheeks.

“Why would Sasuke try and threaten a village that his baby is living in?! If he didn’t care about his son at all, he would have dumped him in some backwater village where no one would ever find out who he really was. Or, you know, just gotten an abortion, since with all the crazy medical crap Orochimaru probably had in his lair, that would probably be an easy option. Do you guys even hear yourselves? Oh wait, of course you don’t! You’re too busy licking your wounds and nursing your wounded pride over a failed mission that happened three and a half years ago! Sasuke did a bad thing, yeah, but maybe he had to! You ever think of that?!” The omega fired back before turning on his heels and storming off.

The alphas watched him go with matching looks of shock adorning their faces.

Rock Lee, who’d been so still and quiet that Kiba had even forgotten he was there, cleared his throat as Choji’s form grew smaller and smaller in the distance. “I may prefer the company of alphas, but even I know that you three were out of line.”.

Kiba felt a little guilty, but he could always apologize later.

“Yeah, you’re probably right, Lee.” Shikamaru muttered as he pulled his cigarette from between his lips.

The Inuzuka crinkled his nose again as the smoke filtered through the open air, but didn’t say anything about it. He was used to his senses being overwhelmed at this point.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not still too soft on Sasuke. Hell, Ino and Hinata are too. They’re letting their personal attachments to the guy affect their judgement. Same as Naruto and Sakura.” The genius continued after he exhaled through his nose. It sent a steady drove of smoke through his nostrils, making the otherwise calm man resemble a fiery dragon from one of Sai’s drawings for a split second.

Kiba saw Rock Lee cross his arms in a sharp flurry of bright green movement from the corner of his eye. “Perhaps that is not necessarily a bad thing. We do not know the circumstances around why Sasuke joined Orochimaru. We also do not know the circumstances surrounding the pup that he shares with Naruto now. Perhaps there are pieces to the puzzle that we are missing.”.

“I’m not gonna go soft on a guy that almost got half of us killed just because he threw a tantrum about not being given the rank of chunin!” Kiba spit out venomously.

Akamaru raised his head from where he’d been lazily dozing in the weeds for the past few minutes to give him a questioning bark, but the alpha paid him no mind as he continued. “The guy was an asshole long before he left, and towards the end, his brain got basically melted by Itachi. You’re acting like Sasuke probably isn’t insane at this point.”.

It was Shino of all people that tried to calm him down. “I know that this may be a traumatic topic to you and Shikamaru, but perhaps there is truth to what Lee has proposed-”

“Oh come on, Shino! Not you too! You weren’t there- you didn’t go through what the rest of us did!” Kiba groaned and threw his head back in frustration.

“And perhaps that is a good thing.” Rock Lee cut in.

“And ‘perhaps’ it’s all just fucking bullshit! What did Naruto think we’d do when he just springs an accidental pup on us? With Sasuke, no less? Did he think we’d all fight over who got to change its diapers and sign up to babysit? Tough fucking luck on that.”

Shikamaru snorted. “Yeah, no way in hell would I offer to change the diaper of a kid who’s related to Naruto. Can you imagine the smell? I’d rather kiss an Akatsuki member.”.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses from where they’d begun to slide down the bridge of his nose. “If I found out I had a long lost pup at our age that I suddenly had to parent alone, I would want the support of my friends at the very least.”.

And yeah, okay. Maybe they were being assholes to Naruto. He was their friend and was just trying to get it together. But it still wasn’t fair for him to spring this on them.

“Hey, there’s something that’s been buggin’ me.” Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets at the same time Kiba sniffed in disgust. Damn cigarette smoke.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Kiba humored the guy.

“There’s no way that Sai and Sakura didn’t know about this before us. Naruto can’t keep a secret longer than five minutes and they’re pack, aren’t they? Kakashi I can understand- the guy’s still got anbu written all over him, even now as a jonin. Sai’s weird, I’ll give him that. But Sakura? Why wouldn’t Sakura let the cat outta the bag?”.

Rock Lee’s stiffening of his shoulders didn’t go unnoticed. Oh, Shikamaru had hit a sore spot.

“As a fellow shinobi of the Leaf, you should know that we must all keep secrets that we do not wish to- even from our loved ones. Or, was it different with that Suna alpha? We haven’t seen her around in a while, did you perhaps want to finally let the cat out of the bag on that topic by any chance?” Rock Lee glowered with his large, intimidating eyes.

Even Shino shifted uncomfortably.

Shikamaru scoffed darkly and let his cigarette fall to the ground. He squashed it with particular force with the tip of his shoe, making a soft grinding noise against the weeds. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The alpha narrowed his eyes in return.

Rock Lee unfolded his arms to gesture in Shikamaru’s direction with an open palm, “And you do?”.

The genius opened his mouth to retort, but the older interrupted him before he could speak. “The only one here that wasn’t involved with that mission was Shino. I was there as well. The rest of you were fighting at your best- physically and mentally, yet I was drunk and still mostly crippled, yet, I do not harbor nearly the amount of resentment that the rest of you do. Orochimaru murdered our hokage, destroyed half of our village, and manipulated one of our best genin into following him, and yet, I do not hear of your collective hatred for him nearly as much as I do Sasuke. You are my friends, yes, and I trust you all with my life. But I do not like the people you become when Sasuke is brought up. It feels as though you become blinded.”.

And yeah, maybe Rock Lee had a point. Maybe they all had kinda hated the guy well before then except for Shino or the omegas. But that still didn’t erase the fact that Sasuke had likely done unspeakable things under Orochimaru’s watchful eye. That didn’t erase the trauma that they’d faced as genin that never needed to occur. It didn’t erase the years of pain that they’d watched Naruto go through.

“The only person blinded by Sasuke is Naruto. I mean-” Shikamaru sighed, and Kiba thought not for the first time that he looked older than he was, “-a baby? Seriously? Sasuke went to train with Orochimaru to get strong enough to take down his brother, and he just what, all of a sudden decided it was the perfect time to open his legs and revive the clan? You and Choji are right, there are definitely things we’re missing, but why are some of you so certain the evidence we don’t have is redeeming in any way? Look at the facts! One plus one does not equal ten for crying out loud!” Shikamaru ranted.

Kiba found himself speaking once more to back Shikamaru up. “Yeah, who knows if that kid isn’t some weird test tube pup created to like…spy on the village or something.”.

“Or distract Naruto from Sasuke’s real goals. Naruto can’t go off chasing him down if he’s too busy with sleep schedules and potty training.” Shikamaru added. By the look on his face, he was already going through a hundred different possibilities, and from the frown lines that grew deeper and deeper, Kiba could only guess how bleak they were.

“Even if that is true- which there is no evidence to currently back this theory- We still cannot reverse what is done. Naruto has a child now and needs our support. As people who watched their classmate be alienated by the village for something outside of his control, it would be redundant and cruel to allow history to repeat itself.” Rock Lee countered.

Shino hummed right as a few birds began to chirp freely nearby. Akamaru’s ear twitched, but it seemed that only he and his pet were the only ones who noticed the annoying frequency.

“I must agree with Rock Lee. Ostracization is what led Sasuke down his path. We can like or dislike him as much as we would like, however that is a separate matter. Naruto, as misguided by his own heart as he may or not be, needs help. It is our duty as his friends to assist him in these troubling times. He would do the same for any of us.” Shino lectured neutrally.

Kiba scoffed and crossed his arms. Sasuke’s shitshow of a life just kept coming back to bite them in the ass. When would he finally decide to just disappear and go live in isolation, far, far away from the village and Naruto?

~~~

“Iruka, I’m telling you! We have to go!” Kakashi whined and stomped his foot to accentuate his demands.

The other omega merely shook his head in disagreement and took the clothes that Kakashi had just put in his suitcase right back out.

“Kakashi, if you can’t even tell me why we need to suddenly abandon the village and immigrate to another village, why would I agree?” The younger man tried to reason.

Kakashi threw his head back and cursed whatever heavens there were. Tsunade had forbidden the pack from telling outsiders. But, also, Naruto was an idiot and probably had no idea what he was doing, and Kakashi was child free for a reason, so Iruka would be the next best bet on helping Naruto.

Well, purposefully celibate after the death of his one true love was more like it, because at one point, Kakashi hadn’t minded the idea of a pup or two, but the term ‘child-free’ would do for now, he supposed.

“Oh no- I know that face. That’s your ‘Kill me now, I actually have to be an adult and care for my pack’ face. What’s going on?”.

Kakashi sat down on his bed with little grace and such a velocity on his descent that when his butt met the mattress, the suitcase flew up about a centimeter in the air. The grey haired omega threw his head in his hands.

“You don’t understand. There’s not one, not two, but three of them now! Three!” He raved like a mad man attempting to do basic math while high off of the glue that genins used for their first year projects at the academy.

Iruka hummed, “Are you getting cold feet about the pack? I know Sakura, Sai and Naruto are probably a handful, but I don’t think you need to leave the village and change your identity over some teenage shenanigans. Think about Konohamaru!”.

Kakashi smacked his palm against his forehead. If he activated chidori, he could be done with all of this hell. He wouldn’t have to think about the fact that Naruto and Sasuke had reproduced such a creature. He wouldn’t have to think about how as soon as Naruto had allowed the pup to be properly held by Kakashi, the little thing had immediately shit himself in Kakashi’s lap.

He wouldn’t have to think about the fact that there was now a child with more potential than either Naruto or Sasuke, or that there was now an Uchiha with blue eyes. Or that he’d seen Naruto be more responsible during that unfortunate introduction than he’d ever been in his entire life.

He’d seen Naruto change a diaper! Suna had clearly frozen over, otherwise Kakashi would need to be admitted to a psych ward for an evaluation because he was seeing things. Yes. Clearly. That was the only logical option.

Kakashi shivered in horror. All he wanted was a simple life. One filled with his ninja hounds and his Icha Icha books. He didn’t need the entire political system of the shinobi world turned on its head all because everyone had forgotten to explain to Naruto what a condom was.

Kakashi shivered violently, suddenly feeling very sick. The deep, deep pity he felt for whoever had given Naruto the rut talk overcame him in such a crashing wave that he almost felt breathless. Unless it was Jiraiya. Then it made sense.

“Are you going to quit daydreaming and tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to get Anko here to twist your arm?” Iruka crossed his arms and leaned over to glare at Kakashi with a look that just screamed ‘disappointed teacher’.

Kakashi groaned. He should have just left without trying to warn Iruka. This was what he got for trying to be a good person.

~~~

Despite the terrible ache in his mind and wrist, Sasuke refused to let go of his pup and from the looks of it, his boy shared similar thoughts.

From the moment the omega could not force himself to sleep for a moment longer, Naruto had helped him situate himself into a mildly propped up sitting position. Konohamaru’s kind attempt at a nest was jarringly similar to how Sasuke himself used to craft them, though the instinct and initial patterns were lost to him now. Still, the omega couldn’t deny how comfortable it was to be enclosed by the blanketed safety of a nest again outside of a heat. Especially while in such a poor state as he was with his pup nearly fused to his person.

Otter made a small noise that sounded like a mildly annoyed huff. Sasuke looked down and checked him for any signs of discomfort for a moment, but apparently, that wasn’t to his smart pup’s liking. To show his mother that clearly he wasn’t snuggling him to the baby’s liking, the headstrong infant lolled his head forward carelessly and knocked it against Sasuke’s scent gland.

He winced at the pain Otter had incidentally inflicted on the sensitive area. Gratitude for the other two currently being dead to the world arose like a soft balm to his soul, relieved that no one could witness his weakness.

Frailty was not something to be associated with Sasuke Uchiha, and yet, here he was, as weak and pathetic as a new genin, outwardly showing discomfort over a small thing such as this. After everything that had happened in the last year, the omega felt as though he was back at square one.

It was worth it, though, in the end. His pup would grow up safe from any looming threats. Finally, his small family could become whole again and know peace. Sasuke had done what he’d set out to do, even if it had nearly destroyed him. He’d done it all for this small, stubborn creature.

Gently, despite the ache in the way he had to crane his neck to get the right angle, he nosed at the top of his son’s head to reassure the demanding little thing. From the moment he’d been born, Otter had been exceptionally particular on the way he liked to be held depending on his mood. Anything short of perfection was absolutely not acceptable.

In a strange way, the pup was exactly like both of his parents. He had the uninhibited expectations for regulated perfection, but also the deeply rooted need for physical comfort and reassurance.

Amid the short, wild strands of black hair, Sasuke placed several kisses on the boy’s head, scenting him all the while.

“Buh.” Otter mumbled sweetly, clearly pleased with his mother’s attention.

Clumsily, the baby did his best to scent Sasuke in return, but he only managed to get a few harsh but well meaning smacks to the scent gland with his forehead.

He’d missed this. Well, maybe not being smacked on his glands specifically, but everything else. Being separated from his baby had done things to him that nothing else had. What once had been dreams plagued by the massacre, had become hellish scenes of his son reaching out for him to no avail, while tears streamed down chubby, innocent cheeks from red eyes. Sasuke had felt the stressed bond of a mother without his child

The omega spared a glance to where Naruto had fallen asleep, simply to watch him breathe for a long moment. During the time he’d been unconscious again, Konohamaru had twisted himself into a knot of blankets. The boy’s mouth was wide open in slumber with his face partially buried in the pillow next to the one Sasuke was propped up on. It was obvious that he’d banished Naruto to the foot of the bed in the way his foot was still jammed into the alpha’s rib cage.

And there Naruto was, snoring away and drooling all over the corner of the mattress that his face was pressed into. Instincts had likely gotten the better of him, because his body was placed between either of the potential entry points and Sasuke and the two pups.

While he lulled the baby into a somewhat drowsy state once more with his scent, Sasuke’s eyes never left Naruto. So many questions remained unanswered. Why had he waited so long to try and help him get away from Orochimaru? How had he known that Sasuke had defeated Itachi? And what had become of his pack?

What would happen now?

~~~

Wet, spiky strands of hair poked at his eyeballs as he did his best to towel dry his hair at a lightning speed. Naruto had been so focused on nursing Sasuke back to health and taking care of their son that he had barely taken care of himself in the last twenty-four hours.

Sasuke could sit up on his own by now, at least, so he’d taken the chance to take a shower while the omega spent some time alone with their pup. The baby had woken up in a foul mood today. Any time someone other than Sasuke tried to hold him, he wailed and glared like his life depended on it, only to smirk smugly once his mother snatched him back.

The favoritism was no surprise, but it was baffling nonetheless. What was he? Chopped liver? Naruto wanted early morning cuddles too! It wasn’t fair! Although he did understand- the blonde had always gotten irrationally demanding when it came to having Sasuke’s attention as well. Kakashi and Sakura still teased him about it.

Before Konohamaru had left for school, he’d managed to get a slobbery attempt at a kiss on his cheek from the little guy, but Naruto? He’d made silly faces, he’d played peek-a-boo, he’d tried scenting him and tickling his fat little tummy, but nothing! He just shoved his face into the crook of Sasuke’s shoulder and sucked on his thumb each and every time!

The alpha crept out of the bathroom, carelessly tossing the wet towel he’d been using to dry his hair into the laundry hamper in the corner. A pang in his chest told him that he should go check on how his omega and pup were doing before he got dressed for the day, so with a towel around his waist and clumps of damp hair sticking up in every which way, he opened the door and peeked into the living room.

He didn’t think he’d ever get over how mesmerizing it was to see his little family together under one roof. That first second of the day, when Sasuke had just woken up after a fitful nap induced by his chakra exhausted state, and those dark, endless eyes had fluttered open at the same exact moment that their son had awoken himself with a large, airy yawn and nuzzled his rosy cheek against Sasuke’s chest- it had been the most heavenly sight that Naruto, a mere mortal in a room full of Uchihas, would ever have the gift of witnessing with his own two eyes.

A close second, however, was the scene that had unfolded sometime while he’d been in the shower. Sasuke was exactly where the alpha had left him- curled into the left corner of the couch with his feet tucked underneath him with the junction between the arm of the couch and the back of the couch used to support his back. The white t-shirt that Naruto had grown out of around two years ago still hung awkwardly off one of the pale boy’s shoulders and already sported a small damp patch near the neckline from their pup’s drooling habits.

A blanket- the one Naruto remembered Sasuke leaving at his apartment one of the last times he’d nested there before he left the village- was draped across the omega’s lap. And, nestled in his lap, was their chubby, energetic son, giggling away as his mother tickled his stomach. It wasn’t like how other people would probably picture a baby being tickled. Instead, in true Sasuke fashion, the omega had the slightest smile on his face as his free hand that wasn’t keeping the pup balanced in his lap gracefully danced along the baby’s exposed tummy.

Light, airy giggles of delight that couldn’t stop Naruto from sporting his own lopsided grin cascaded through the air. Sasuke, contrastingly, didn’t make a single sound, but that didn’t mean the omega wasn’t matching the mood as best he could in his own way, either.

“I can hear you thinking.” Sasuke’s voice startled him enough that he almost dropped his towel.

“How are you feeling?” Naruto hummed instead of rising to the heatless challenge as he tried to recover from the embarrassing jolt of surprise.

Time may have passed, but Sasuke’s minute facial expressions were still as obvious as ever to the blonde. All it took was a small, barely noticeable head tilt for Naruto to know that Sasuke wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.

“Alive.” Sasuke muttered curtly.

Naruto couldn’t tell how he should interpret the other’s tone because his bangs had shifted and fallen into his face to shield his eyes. A move that had likely been done on purpose. Barely out of bed and already the omega’s guard was up.

What was going through his head? Memories of the battle with Itachi? Perhaps he was still hurting from the chakra exhaustion.

“Is there anything you need?” Naruto asked instead of addressing what he really wanted to.

There would be a time to talk about everything. The day after getting Sasuke back just wasn’t that time.

Sasuke let his scent speak for him as he unleashed it tenfold. The alpha let his eyes fall closed as he reveled in the all encompassing aura of the omega. Thunderous electricity washed over him in the coziest, neediest way. It was singlehandedly the most honest display of Sasuke’s true emotions using his scent that Naruto had seen since either of them had presented.

Naruto nearly headbutted the wall in his mad dash to the bedroom to put some clothes on. Once he returned, with his shirt on backwards, he found that Sasuke had made space on the couch for him.

It was a testament to how poorly the omega was still feeling that he didn’t even try to pretend that he didn’t want to be wrapped in Naruto’s embrace as the alpha pulled his small family unit into his arms. It didn’t matter that the arm of the couch dug awkwardly into his back from the angle.

No, all that mattered was the way Sasuke hesitantly nosed at Naruto’s scent bond, roughly a centimeter away from his scent glands. In turn, Naruto pumped his own scent into the air so that it would mingle comfortably with Sasuke’s.

Their pup yawned, probably forced into a light doze from the warmth and safety that his parent’s scents provided his own set of instincts, and if Naruto could’ve paid someone to capture this moment on film, he would have.

Nothing was figured out. They still had a laundry list of issues and communication errors to work past, all along with the added stress of raising and providing for their pup, but they’d get through it. This proved it.

“Sasuke?” Naruto whispered out of respect for their slumbering pup that resided on top of Sasuke’s chest like it was land he’d purchased and owned.

The omega’s nose twitched against his scent bond in a clear sign of him grabbing his attention.

“Are you gonna leave again?” Naruto hated the way his voice sounded with the question, but he couldn’t take it back either.

Sasuke shifted around to where the back of his head rested against the front of Naruto’s shoulder. The alpha missed the sensation of Sasuke scenting him.

“No.” The omega whispered back.

And, in spite of everything, Naruto believed him.

~~~

The gates of Konoha had never looked as pristine as they did when Tsunade’s haggard and exhausted body came to stand in front of them. Her chest heaved as her lungs tried to get their fill of oxygen and her knees groaned from the days worth of non stop movement she’d done. That could all be dealt with later, however.

Right now, she had important news that couldn’t be delayed any longer.

Distant whoops and hollers of children playing in the meadows of the outskirts of the village contrasted poorly with the knowledge of Sasuke Uchiha’s recent plight. To be so young and to experience such a personal loss…it was a type of pain that Tsunade herself had been fortunate to not have to endure, all other losses aside.

Certain passersby waved to her in greeting, and it was only out of reflex that she smiled and returned the gesture.

The lives of shinobi were grim. There was more loss and bloodshed than there was hope and growth. But for Naruto to be so young, and to have already lost two potential families through none of his own doing was a devastating blow.

Tsunade thought of the way that mischievous moron had managed to worm his way into the hearts of most people who’d gotten to know him. From her own hotheaded self to Yamato’s blunt and introverted personality, there wasn’t a soul who’d withstood Naruto’s infectious personality. The knowledge that Naruto would be irreversibly changed by the news weighed on her heart.

That was what this world did. It took those with hope and innocence and joy and it chewed it up and spat them out. If they didn’t suffer on the job, then they suffered in their personal lives. How many people had she seen, bright with ambition and talent, only to fizzle out like an open flame during a thunderstorm the longer the years stretched on?

Hadn’t she left this life behind for that very reason? Would Naruto try to leave, after this? He wasn’t one to ever back down or admit defeat, but this was something that even a god couldn’t win against. How many times had Jiraiya or Minato or Kakashi fought impossible battles, both of the physical and mental planes, and won out through sheer stubbornness alone?

It had cost Minato his life. It had cost Kakashi his entire world. And Jiraiya, his mate. Trying to go against the grain had cost Naruto and Sasuke their child.

Surely, the loss had driven Sasuke to even more extremes. She would have to break the news that not only was his pup gone before he’d ever gotten to meet it, but that his mate was likely lost to them as well.

Tsunade had been in such a trance that she hadn’t even noticed that she’d arrived at the door to Naruto’s apartment until her fist was frozen mid-air, ready to knock on the door but petrified to do so.

She stood there with wide eyes and a racing heart. Dread curled around her veins, just as the light breeze curled around the tendrils of her hair, making the pale strands flow candidly in the air around her.

As the hokage, everyone told her that she had immense powers at her disposal. She could alter the very way the village worked on a whim if she wished, if only the council of elders were not there to block her legislation. But, standing in front of that cracked and dented door in what was commonly known as Konoha’s most terrible apartment building, the omega felt trapped in uselessness.

What good was having the power to conduct change, if she could not use it the way she wanted?

She’d thought she was doing the right thing, back then, in giving Sasuke a choice to flee or stay. To be forced to do horrible things under Orochimaru’s hungry eyes, or to have horrible things done to him by the watchful eyes of the inner workings of Konoha’s government- it was an impossible choice for a thirteen year old to make. But, he’d made it.

But now, as time seemed to keep her frozen where she stood, Tsunade couldn’t help but wish that Sasuke had decided to stay in the village. Maybe then, with her expert skills in medical jutsu nearby, she could have had the chance to save the pup.

The door opened before she had the chance to make her hand move on its own. It creaked and groaned in a terrible way- and really, she needed to put more pressure on the landlords of Konoha to keep better maintenance of their properties.

A head of blonde hair poked out of the cracked open space right as she snatched her hand away from the moving object.

“Granny! I thought I smelled you out here!” Naruto beamed at her.

The old woman tried and failed to return his grin. The corners of her mouth twisted in an attempt anyway, though it likely looked pained and out of place on her pretty face.

“N-Naruto, I-” She stammered to try and prepare him, but the words got stuck in her throat as he jabbered on.

How could she find the words to tell him? Were there any that even existed that could possibly convey what she needed to him?

“You’re back! Is Pervy Sage with you? Here- come in! I’ve got something to show you-” The young alpha continued on in a jumble as he reached out and tugged the woman into his apartment.

“Listen, Naruto, I think you should sit down. There’s no easy way to tell you this, but-” Tsunade tried again, but to no avail.

The teenager pulled her through the doorway and closed the apartment door behind him with his foot. And then she was being yanked in the direction of the living room with Naruto wildly waving his hand around as he rambled on about something that she hadn’t quite caught in her attempt to not stumble as she followed.

Once Naruto came to a stop and allowed Tsunade to righten herself, she froze in utter shock.

There, sitting in a small playpen, was a miniature version of Naruto and Sasuke. Dark, wild hair and crystal blue eyes were all the damning evidence she needed. The small thing blinked at her and sucked noisily on his bright orange pacifier all the while.

He dropped the corner of the ear of a stuffed orange fox he’d been tugging on in jerky, unskilled movements to point at her as if she were interrupting his very sophisticated play time. Clearly, that was Sasuke’s child.

“I know! It’s Granny Tsunade! Or, well, Great-Granny Tsunade to you. Do you wanna say hi?”.

Naruto’s utter cheer and complete coordination as he picked the small pup up shook her to her very core.

She was dead. A boulder or something had to have crushed her body on her way back to the village and killed her. That was the only logical explanation for what she was witnessing-

“Give me my child, idiot.” Gripped a very familiar deadpan voice from the hallway.

Tsunade’s eye twitched as her eyes bulged out of her head.

There was no way-

“Aw, come on! Look, he wants to say ‘hi’, isn’t that right?” Naruto addressed the baby.

The baby glared in such a way that if it weren’t for his eye color and the whisker marks on his cheeks, he might have been a carbon copy of Sasuke. “Buh!” The little creature huffed and turned away from his alpha parent to reach out with grabby hands in Sasuke’s direction.

“NARUTO WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” She screeched before promptly losing any and all credibility she had and fainted on the spot.

As she drifted off to a hellish dreamworld filled with tiny onesies with Uchiha fans on them and Naruto singing out of tune lullabies, she blearily heard Naruto stage whisper presumably to Sasuke, “I should probably stop introducing him to people like that, huh?”.

“Obviously, loser.” Replied the very reason Tsunade had fainted in the first place.

~~~

Danzo’s cane thudded nicely along the creaky floor of the rundown, simple shop. It sounded triumphantly throughout the humble room, announcing his entrance in the way squires and right hand men would if he were hokage.

He should have been the hokage. Hiruzen, that kind hearted fool, had gotten himself killed by his own student’s hand- and better yet, had failed to seal away the sanin’s use of his hands, making his death pointless. Of course, like the alpha’s most favorite animal, the vulture, Danzo had found a use out of the loss of Sarutobi. He’d run his operations with absolute power until that bitch Tsunade had shown up. And even then- he’d found a way to keep the powers he’d taken for himself so that when the time came, and the village grew tired of her weak leadership, he could make the transition to hokage flawlessly.

Pft, that wretched Tsunade. A lowly omega with breasts bigger than her realm of intelligence. Did she really think that leaving her dull and skittish assistant in her place as she went galavanting off with Jiraiya would go unnoticed? And that lie- Danzo’s spies in Suna had confirmed exactly what he’d known himself to be true. She was not there on a special diplomatic excursion to strengthen the ties between Konoha and the Sand Village.

Instead, his informants had directed him here, to a small weapons shop in the most notorious village of wanted criminals and other nefarious individuals. They’d informed him of a peculiar sighting- of a young blonde woman dressed in green robes, and a man with a scroll on his back that was nearly as large as himself waltzing into this very shop.

Considering who owned the shop, it was not a coincidence by any means.

Danzo was well aware of the nine tails jinchuriki’s fascination with Sasuke Uchiha, as well as the exhausting efforts to capture the boy and return him to the jinchuriki’s clutches. That wretched boy, branded with the demon’s markings on his face, dared to think of his infatuation with the Uchiha boy as love. Disgusting is what it was.

Sasuke Uchiha was meant for greater purposes than to be degraded to some monster’s plaything. No, Danzo would use him to the fullest extent that his genetics demanded of him. His older brother, Itachi, had been a genius and a great tool for Danzo’s cause, but he’d been too willful. He’d needed to be taken care of in other ways.

Manipulating him into his own self-isolation had been too easy. Sasuke Uchiha had proven himself too stupid to follow such manipulations himself. He’d gotten himself knocked up by a nameless individual, and hadn’t even had the decency to get rid of it.

The old alpha grimaced and smacked his cane down against the floorboards with more force than was required.

It was a complete and utter shame that the last of one of the most powerful bloodlines had proven to be nothing but a shameless whore. Danzo would just have to correct it.

And, that started now.

“Oh, I’m coming, I’m coming!” Snapped a familiar voice from beyond the store’s front.

No doubt she’d heard the bells attached to the door twinkling.

White hair that had once been a deep red poked out of a doorway to the left. If he had to guess, he’d presume it to be a storage room of some kind. He watched as the omega muttered to herself and locked the door tightly behind herself.

In the years since he’d last seen her, she’d grown grey with age. From what he could determine from the slopes of her shoulders and the slight hesitation in her posture, she likely still felt the consequences of the last mission she’d ever completed for him.

Good. Danzo sincerely wished that she felt the reminders of their past as physically as he did. She was the only agent he allowed to escape, but it was not without a fight.

If she was surprised to see him, she didn’t let on. “Danzo.” She greeted with disgust.

The alpha smiled, “Now, is that any way to treat an old friend?”.

She crossed her arms but kept her distance behind the counter. “An ‘old friend’ isn’t what I’d call it.” She quipped.

Always a spirited one, that woman. For a time, he’d thought her defective and unruly when he’d begun her training, but, eventually, he’d been effective in squashing her less…desirable traits. Apparently, her allowed freedom had undone his fine work.

That just wouldn’t do.

“Don’t insult the hand that fed you.” He hummed.

She was a smart woman- one of his finest operatives that had ever graced the halls of the foundation. There was no way she hadn’t picked up on the subtle threat, and yet, she merely rolled her eyes, as though Danzo had become some old man to be trifled with, and not the man who had rewritten her life to his own desires.

Even though he’d allowed the bird to fly the nest, its flight would always circle the invisible cage of his own creation. It was high time he clipped her wings.

She scoffed darkly, a sound that was not becoming of the omega he’d crafted from the ashes all those years ago. “I should have starved.”.

“Namura- that is the name you chose, isn’t it? You’ve been dutiful in these years away, so I will grant your insubordination some leniency. Do not continue to test my patience.”. He scolded gruffly.

The weaponry in the glass case behind her glinted sharply under the natural light that poured through the windows. Each one a different size, a different style. Yet, all of the ones that he could see, she’d mastered the way of.

“Why are you here, Danzo? Did my last report not make it to its proper destination?” She tried for nonchalance.

But, unfortunately, Danzo had mastered a weapon too, years ago- Namura herself. He knew every tell, every absence of a tell. Inside and out, he knew everything about her. A fool might have called it a terrible side effect of love, once, but Danzo knew it to be something much darker, more sinister. Warming his bed after successful missions had only been a part of his lengthy and complete training regiment fit only for his strongest omegan subordinate. If anything lingered there, in her eyes, it was nothing more than a fool’s wish.

“It did, in a timely manner as always. However, I fear you may have left out very crucial information.”. He openly glared at her now.

Her fingers twitched by her side, far too close to the weaponry case for her own good. She’d grown sloppy, he realized with distaste coating his tongue and his heart, in the twenty years she’d been gone. It would be her undoing.

“Why would I start leaving things out now, Danzo? That doesn’t even make sense-” She tried to argue, but to no avail. He cut her off before she could make even more of a mockery out of him.

“With Orochimaru dead and the Akatsuki operating in the open now, I find myself wondering what your use is to me out here. What information could possibly be so valuable now that I would need you to continue with these reports? Would you not rather return to the Leaf Village? To your home?”.

With a carefully blank face that did not match the venomous hunger he felt ravaging his insides, he paused before hammering the final nail in her coffin. “Unless, there is another reason?”.

Her fingertips twitched again, but that was no matter. There wouldn’t be much of a fight when it came down to it- he had far too many tricks up his sleeves for that.

“What reason could I possibly have for deceiving you after all this time? Have I not proven my loyalty, time and time again? I have given you my past and my future, my mind and my-” She swallowed harshly, “-body. What more is there to give?”.

And that was the thing with birds. They were nothing without their wings. Only fragile things with hollow bones.

“Earlier this week, a blonde woman and an old man entered your shop.” Danzo sighed instead of acknowledging her foolishness. Omegas and their feelings, why he ever decided to bother he would never understand. “Tell me. What does the name Sasuke Uchiha mean to you?”.

It devolved quickly from there. Namura sprung back with the youthful energy that only an elderly Uzumaki would possess and broke the glass behind her. She seized a tsurugi sword without sparing a glance behind herself and dove to the side in an attempt to flee.

However, the alpha had thought ahead and had ordered his root agents to surround the building from the moment he’d entered the door. There would be no escapes, no matter the woman’s own prowess.

No, Danzo would win. He always did.

~~~

The first thing he noticed when he entered the apartment was the enticing smell of nikujaga.

“Is that you?” Sakura’s sweet voice carried from the kitchen.

She must have only had training with Lady Shizune today. Her usual shifts at the hospitals when she wasn’t on a mission went well into the evening.

“I am home!” The alpha tried to summon his usual cheer, but his meeting with his friends earlier in the morning had drained him.

He knew it was likely nothing, but Shikamaru had unwittingly sowed a seed of doubt within Rock Lee’s mind that he just couldn’t shake. It didn’t belong there- he knew that logically. But if it sat there for long enough, deep on the soils of his innermost thoughts, eventually it would grow a home there and grow into a rotten, withered thing.

A pan clanked against what sounded like the stove from the kitchen, right before Sakura’s sweet voice greeted him back. “I’m almost done with dinner! How was your hang out with the guys?” She called.

The trek to the kitchen area was so deeply ingrained in his feet that he didn’t even notice that he’d already made it to the entryway. It had him blinking for a small moment of clarity. Once he opened his eyes, the scene he was met with appeared as though it had been directly ripped from one of the children’s books his mother had read to him as a small pup.

Deep oranges and pinks and purples cast themselves in splendid hues of light across the wall above the counters from the windows on the adjacent wall on the other end side of the apartment near the dining area. The natural light of the quickly setting sun amplified the soft tones of Sakura’s hair, making the locks of pink appear rosier than they typically presented in neutral lighting.

Two bowls were already splayed out neatly on the countertop waiting to be filled. And, there she was, the biggest catch in all of Konoha, stirring away at the pot on the stove with her hair tied up and her empty hand on her hip.

It was incredibly rare that she got lucky enough to have free time, and to know she’d spent it on cooking a meal for them both was almost heartwarming enough to cast Shikamaru’s comments out of his mind.

“It smells wonderful, Sakura! Is there anything you would like my assistance with?” He smiled, though she could not see.

At that, she did turn around to face him. The alpha still had the bandage on her cheek from a minor injury she’d received on her last mission, but otherwise seemed well. Better than she had been lately, at least. Maybe that was why the foreboding sense of anxious guilt welled inside of the pit of his stomach. Here he went, ruining a nice evening with his girlfriend whom he loved very much because of a few meaningless insecurities.

“Oh no, you always cook- I’ve got it this time! You just relax, don’t think I haven’t noticed how tired you are lately either, mister! As your girlfriend and unofficial doctor, I demand you take a load off. Self care is just as important as-” She began to delve into her usual lecture.

The inky haired alpha waved his hand in the air carelessly as he finished her usual phrase, “-as training!”.

Sakura blinked at him and then chuckled to herself a beat later. “Okay, okay, I know I say it a lot- but still! Let me do something nice for you since you’re always taking care of me, alright?”.

And, despite the nauseous twisting in his gut, Rock Lee found himself unable to counter her sweet request. So, instead of badgering her, he went to shower and change into his evening attire so that she could have the bathroom all to herself when she wanted to get ready for bed later in the evening.

Turning the shower on was routine. As was squirting the shampoo into the palm of his calloused hand and scrubbing his hands through his hair. Much like ridding his skin of the dirt and oils that built up over the course of a day was equally mundane.

Everything was routine. And yet, his thoughts were not.

The longer he stood under the downpour of the shower head, the longer his mind swirled.

Trust was a bridge that every shinobi couple had to cross at some point. They knew that going into it, and they mostly made it out alright as well. But there were always those who didn’t, too. Those typically were cases where while both parties may have been shinobi, they were of different classes and ranks. Thus, not truly being on equal footing when it came to the mental toll that their lines of work took upon them.

For now, he and Sakura were on the same level. But what happened when they weren’t? It was no secret that Sakura was quickly becoming an important name in the field of medical jutsu. On top of that, she was the student of both a legendary sanin, and the star pupil of the fourth hokage. She would go so far in the world of the shinobi that she would likely redefine the very boundaries surrounding it as well.

And what about him? He had no talents for jutsu, and despite his own immense skills to make up for it, even those had certain limitations. There would be no guarantees that he would live through another operation like he’d undergone after the first chunin exams. There were certain precautions that he had to take.

He would likely have to cap his career as a high level jonin. Maybe even becoming a jonin instructor with a squad of pupils of his own. But Sakura? She would soar farther and farther with each passing year.

The alpha could not be sure that he would be able to follow her- or to keep up. What would happen if Sakura got tired of his dead weight? It was bad enough that she still had not informed her family of their relationship.

For the last few years, he’d sheltered her with so much love and understanding that it was easy to forget that their families were civilians. Their cultures surrounding dynamics were vastly more conservative than any shinobi clans, save for the Hyuuga, and same dynamic relationships were often met with mistrust or disgust. He understood her reasoning, he did. He’d given her time to get used to things and come to terms with perceptions of their relationships.

But they lived together now. They’d shared dozens of ruts together. They’d had each other’s backs in life and death situations thrice as many times. He knew the way she preferred their laundry folded and she knew the specific way he liked the soap on the counter in their bathroom displayed by the sink.

His parents knew by now- hell, they adored Sakura once they’d gotten to know her. Her parents were still in the dark, and despite his best efforts, the feeling of being a shameful secret had simmered to a boil.

He’d been kept out of her familial life, but she’d also gone and formed a pack without consulting him, either. Chosen packs in the shinobi culture were far more important and meaningful than packs someone might have been born into, and Sakura hadn’t consulted him before diving into one.

It felt as though he was becoming an accessory to her life, and Shikamaru had pulled at just the right string to unravel the tapestry of wholesome happiness that the alpha had let himself believe they’d crafted for some time now. The kicker was that it wasn’t even her fault solely, he’d let her continue to keep him on the sidelines.

Sakura hadn’t told him about Naruto’s child or his love affair with Sasuke, and he could understand that. He held no ill will or resentment- there were some things that just weren’t able to be shared from anyone besides the owner of said truths. But it was every other lack of honesty and communication that he struggled with.

A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Rock Lee turned his attention to the locked door as he turned the water off simultaneously.

“Lee? The food’s done.” His girlfriend’s words drifted through the dark wood and filled the bathroom with the sweet sound of her voice.

“I’m almost done!” He reassured as he stepped out of the shower.

Running the towel through his hair and then over the droplets of water that still resided along his body felt nice after another long day. He wiped the fog off of the bathroom mirror and then proceeded to yank on his attire for the evening. Sakura’s footsteps retreated from the other side of the door, and the alpha sighed and placed his forehead on the counter for a short breath.

What if there was nothing amiss, and it was just all in his head?

That thought plagued him all the way until about half way through their meal. Sakura, despite her lack of cooking experience, had made a wonderfully prepared nikujaga. The potatoes were stewed in such a way that they were soft and hearty, but with little to no mushiness.

He’d said as much when they’d first dug into the food, and she’d blushed a bashful pink.

It was as Sakura had finished taking a sip of her tea that Rock Lee finally got the courage to try and bring up his concerns to her.

“I found out something interesting about Naruto.” Rock Lee started.

Sakura glanced at him, intrigued. “Oh? Is he doing something new with his training? You know he’s always trying to get stronger!” She chuckled fondly.

“I-” Lee cut himself off, “He-” He sighed before giving it one last go, “He introduced us to his pup.”.

Sakura choked on the air in her lungs while her green eyes widened in surprise. “I-He told you?! Lady Tsunade forbid us from- Oh, I’m gonna kill him when I see him next! That was a direct order!” she huffed.

So, that was one mystery solved. Shikamaru’s paranoia hadn’t factored in Naruto’s close relationship with the hokage.

The burst of passion dissipated from her body as quickly as it had come. She sagged against the back of her chair in exhaustion. “So, what do you think?”.

Lee dug his nail into a scuff mark on the dining table. It’d probably been put there when one of them had used the table to sharpen their ninja tools before a mission. “I believe that Naruto needs his friends and that it is important to maintain a neutral, but clear mind on the situation surrounding it.” The alpha replied professionally.

She nodded her head in agreement, and looked like she wanted to say something, but Rock Lee was suddenly blurting out, “But that was not what I wished to talk to you about. Sakura, I feel as though you are keeping me from important parts of your life.”.

“Lee, if this is about the thing with Naruto, we were under orders-”

“No, it is not about that. I understand that there are certain things we will never understand or know about one another because of our lives as shinobi. I love you Sakura. But, lately it feels as though you do not know how to love me- or, out in the open at least. It’s been two years, but I have yet to formally meet your parents. You joined a pack and did not consult me. I am scared, Sakura. I am scared of our future for the first time in our relationship, and I do not know what to do.”

The soup he’d consumed churned aggressively in his stomach. With bated breath, he waited for her reply.