Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Piece by Piece, Back Together	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 8229 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor profit of it. Kishimoto owns it.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Author's note: Again a couple of days later than I had intended, but I had things going on this past week that didn't make it easy for me to write for the better first half of the week. This chapter is nearly 10K long, so er, I hope that makes it up a bit?
Thanks to the following reviewer: smint45
Warnings: Angst; drama; time skips; fluff; brief medical examination and explanation of male Omega biology
I hope you'll like it!
16 Expanding Part 6
He saw the moment Sasuke was taken aback when he entered their apartment and only found him there. The look crossed his face so quickly Naruto would have missed it if he hadn't been looking straight at him since the second he set foot inside.
Immediately Sasuke schooled his face into a small smile and dropped his bag against the wall. "Hey, how was your day?" he asked and walked over to kiss Naruto on his mouth.
He allowed the touch, but purposefully didn't kiss back and instead said, "Fine, like usual. I hope you don't mind, but even though I appreciate your pro-activeness, I sent the babysitter home again. Considering the baby's still in me, it's a bit early to already call in a babysitter, don't you think so?"
The only credit he was willing to give the Alpha, amidst the burning anger, was that he had at least the grace to look caught and didn't try to act as if he didn't know what Naruto was talking about.
"I can explain," Sasuke said quietly.
"Great, because I'm all ears! I'd love to know why you think I need a goddamn babysitter. You think I'm so weak I can't be on my own for a measly few hours?" Naruto hissed and stood up, too jittery to keep sitting.
"You know I don't think of you as weak, Naruto," Sasuke said exasperatedly. "I never thought that and I'll never think that."
"Then what the hell were all those babysitters for? Did you even rope my mum into this?" he asked sharply.
Sasuke shifted, clearly uncomfortable.
"Well?"
"I asked her to stop by our place when she was nearby that one time, yeah," Sasuke admitted and sighed. "She was planning on stopping by either way, so it's not like she went out of her way to do it."
"That doesn't matter, Sasuke! The point is that you dumped all these babysitters on me! What the fuck is up with that? Don't you trust me?" Naruto exploded, throwing his hands out.
"They're not babysitters and you know I trust you, you're one of the few people I trust," Sasuke retorted, gazing at him with an intense look in his eyes.
"You've still not explained why the hell you told them all to keep an eye on me," Naruto snapped and crossed his arms. "I'm still waiting here!"
"Damn it, Naruto, I didn't tell them to keep an eye on you," Sasuke growled, running his hands through his hair agitatedly. "I just – didn't want you to be alone, that's all."
"That's not all." Blue eyes narrowed. "It's not like I'm alone for days on end – it's literally just a couple of hours once a week. Yet you keep telling people to visit me every time."
"I thought you liked company?" Sasuke asked and sounded oddly petulant. "That you liked being around friends?"
"Sure, I like company and I love hanging out with my friends," Naruto agreed before adding poisonously sweet, "if I can choose whether I'm in the mood for company or not. Which definitely wasn't the case during the past weeks. So you want to try something else bar the company excuse?"
Sasuke clenched his jaw and for a couple of seconds it actually looked like he would leave the room. His whole body was tense and he looked away, all kinds of emotions warring across his face. He seemed to be debating something, like he was thinking about several different answers and discarding the ones he didn't deem good enough.
Silence started to reign heavily between them and Naruto started to wonder whether he was going to get an actual answer or not. The insecurity of not knowing both made him more pissed off and resigned at the same time. If Sasuke didn't want to talk, he wouldn't; that he had learnt long ago.
He'd been willing to let the subject drop all the previous times, but he wasn't about to extend that same courtesy now. He wanted an answer and he was going to get one, no matter how long it would take.
Sasuke surprised him by suddenly dropping down on the couch and rubbing his hands briskly over his face. "I'm just – not comfortable with you being on your own here, okay?" he groused out eventually, looking and sounding pissed off.
With who or what, Naruto couldn't say. "It's only a couple of hours, Sasuke," he sighed and sat back down again. "I can perfectly handle being alone for a while. There's nothing for you to worry about."
"You don't know that!"
The unexpected outburst had Naruto rearing back in surprise and he stared speechlessly at the other man. Black eyes were nearly glowing before they abruptly looked away; the Alpha appearing somewhat ashamed of his reaction.
It told Naruto all he needed to know, though. Enough to realise that perhaps he shouldn't have been so quick to discard his parents' concerns.
Blue eyes wandered around the room, looking in the direction of the front door where he knew a camera recorded anyone passing by or entering the apartment. His gaze then flicked towards the kitchen before landing on his mate, who still refused to look at him; his cheeks looking a bit flushed.
Naruto sat there, mulling everything over; the camera surveillance, Sasuke's refusal to leave him alone for even a couple of hours, the way he reacted whenever even the slightest hint of a threat presented itself … and acknowledged that maybe the time had come to finally breach the subject after all. He hadn't really wanted to, because he knew what kind of sensitive points he would hit with it, but he didn't really have much of a choice anymore. This couldn't go on like this. They couldn't go on like this. It wasn't healthy and if left unspoken, he thought it would only grow worse.
"Sasuke, have you ever …" he trailed off, but gathered his courage when Sasuke turned to look at him. "Have you ever, you know, talked to a therapist or a psychologist?"
Sasuke stiffened and his eyes shuttered close. "No, I don't need to talk to one, because I'm not crazy," he retorted clipped.
"I didn't say you're crazy, but – I think talking to someone might help you," Naruto said cautiously. "Just to get everything in perspective and make sort of peace with it, so that - "
"I don't need to put anything in perspective or make peace with anything," Sasuke snapped tersely and his hands balled into fists on his thighs.
"You think? You installed a camera at the door – and next to the kitchen window. Yeah, I know about that one," he said flatly when Sasuke blanched. "And that you tried to hide that particular one from me is already bad, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you spy on me through other people. What you went through was horrible and I wish it never happened, but you're letting it control your life, our life together, and that's not healthy. Not for you, not for me and definitely not for our baby."
Resting his hands around his stomach, he went on heatedly, "Our baby is going to be born in less than a couple of months and I don't want him to grow up thinking he has to be afraid of everything the whole time! That's not the way to live and I want you to understand that! I get that you're worried, I do, and I know I agreed to the camera at the door, but I didn't agree to one in the damn kitchen and I certainly didn't agree to having someone spying one me for the few hours you aren't here!"
Sasuke looked stricken. "Naruto, they're not spying on you, I would never - "
The Omega cut him off, waving his hand through the air and standing up. "I want you to talk to someone about the trauma you went through and try to give it a place, because this isn't healthy anymore. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then do it for me, do it for your son."
He knew the last one was a low blow, okay? He knew that, but he couldn't think of anything else that might make Sasuke realise he needed to seek out help. They couldn't keep going like this. He understood Alpha were more prone to worrying, growing more protective, when their mate was carrying, but Sasuke was worrying to an unhealthy degree now.
He didn't want to feel like he had to be under surveillance twenty-four seven. That wasn't fair to Sasuke, he acknowledged, but with their friends and family dropping by every week just because Sasuke couldn't stand the thought of Naruto being alone for a couple of hours at most … It definitely was starting to feel like he was put under surveillance.
He didn't blame Sasuke for it. He blamed the bastards who'd broken into his house and had killed his family and made Sasuke feel like he would lose the people he loved for a second time if he didn't do everything in his power to keep them safe.
This wasn't Sasuke's fault. Trauma like that never completely disappeared, no matter how many years went by.
At the same time, however, Sasuke couldn't let that one night rule the rest of his life. That wasn't healthy. That wasn't what his parents or his brother would have wanted for him, Naruto was sure. At this rate Sasuke was going to break down, make himself sick with worry, and he couldn't let that happen.
He also couldn't allow their baby to grow up, thinking he had to be afraid of everything in the world outside.
Something needed to change and that could only happen once Sasuke gave that night a place and forgave himself for not having been able to help. Naruto might not be a licensed psychologist, but you didn't need to be one to realise that Sasuke still carried a lot of guilt from that night. A part of him still believed he should have done something, that if he had at least tried to help, then maybe his family would still be alive today.
Nothing that had happened had been Sasuke's fault. Making him realise that, however, was a whole other matter.
Something needed to give, though. They just couldn't keep going like this.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke shot up, reaching out to grab Naruto's hand before he hesitated and dropped his hand to his side. His gaze briefly flickered towards the door, a bit anxious.
"I'm not leaving the apartment," Naruto said, a bit more abrupt than he would like, but he was feeling so drained all of a sudden and he just needed to lie down and rest. "I'm just tired, all right? I'm going to lie down in our bedroom; we can talk more later on."
He left Sasuke behind in the living room and went straight to their darkened bedroom. It had started softly raining somewhere between Sasuke arriving home and their, yeah, what had it been? A fight, an argument? He didn't know. A row maybe? He and Sasuke had never really had words with each other like this before. They'd argued in the past, sure, but never really to this extent.
Sasuke's protective tendencies had never been this bad in the past either.
He crawled into the bed and settled himself against the mountain of pillows which had been steadily growing over the past month. At eight months pregnant he had a hard time finding a comfortable position to fall asleep in, but he'd discovered that basically burying himself in a mountain of both sturdy and soft pillows did the trick for him.
Itachi was fussing around – well, as much as he still could with how cramped his space had become, and Naruto sighed, stroking his belly soothingly underneath his shirt. "I know your papa means well, but we need to draw the line somewhere," he murmured. "As much as I love your uncles and your grandmother, I don't want to see them like this."
Itachi pressed a tiny foot against his hand in response.
He had apparently fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes next, the sky outside was pitch black and the lamp on his nightstand was clicked on, spreading a gentle soft orange glow around.
Movement in the corner of his eyes attracted his attention and he turned his head, watching Sasuke sink down on the edge of the bed gingerly.
"Hey," Naruto murmured and rubbed over his eyes. "How late is it?"
"Almost a quarter to seven," Sasuke replied.
"Eugh, didn't mean to fall asleep," Naruto grimaced and sat up straighter, running his fingers through his hair to bring some order back into it. "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. You clearly needed it."
"Did you eat already?" Naruto eyed him carefully.
Sasuke's face was completely smoothed over, like they hadn't been having a rather heated argument just a few hours before. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.
The dark haired man shook his head. "No, I waited for you. Didn't see the point in making something for just myself." He shrugged.
"Well, to be honest I'm not really feeling up to doing some cooking now," Naruto admitted and rubbed his right side when Itachi kicked him harshly there. "You mind if we go for take-out tonight?"
"That's fine." Sasuke paused and Naruto waited in silence, wondering whether they were going to talk about their argument now.
It turned out they were. "I should have told you about the camera in the kitchen," Sasuke started haltingly, "and – I shouldn't have asked them to stay with you without talking to you about it first."
"No, you shouldn't have," Naruto agreed quietly and crossed his legs, linking his hands together underneath his belly. "You ready to tell me the real reason behind all this?"
"I … know that the chances of something happening are small," Sasuke said slowly, looking down at his own clasped hands. "But when I'm away from you, all I can think of are all the ways things can go wrong. You could land in an accident on your way home; you could slip and fall inside our apartment and might not be able to call for help; something could happen with our baby and help might not be quick enough; someone could try to break in and - " he broke off and shook his head, looking angry with himself.
"Look, I know it's ridiculous, okay? I know that it's not healthy, but," he looked up and looked at Naruto with pained eyes, "I'm scared to lose you. Both you and Itachi. I already lost my family once and barely got through that, I don't think I'll be able to survive a second loss. I can't go through that again."
"Sasuke." Naruto got up on his knees and shuffled closer to his mate, wrapping his arms around him and resting his head against a tense shoulder. "I understand why you did it. I get it, okay? I really do. What you went through – that was bound to leave marks behind. I just wished you would have told me about this instead of going behind my back. You asked my opinion about the camera at the front door, why not ask me about the one in the kitchen? Why not ask me whether I would mind having people come over to stay with me while you're in class? That's what really bugged me, you know, that you went behind my back about this. It honestly made me feel rather shitty," he admitted and sighed.
"I know you didn't really want the one at the front door," Sasuke muttered. "And I felt like I would be pushing it if I asked you whether you would mind one in the kitchen too."
"Why the kitchen, though?"
"Just in case someone tried to get into the apartment through the fire escape," Sasuke admitted chagrined. "I know it's stupid to think like that, you don't have to tell me. But it was all I could think of after that break in on our floor before."
"I wish you had told me instead of leaving me in the dark, but I don't want to keep arguing about it," Naruto mumbled and rubbed his forehead back and forth across the Alpha's shoulder. "Would it make it easier for you if I text you every hour to let you know I'm all right when I'm alone? I don't mind having friends over, but sometimes I just need to be able to unwind on my own, you know? Especially now, when it's not that long anymore before Itachi will be born."
He'd apparently been a right menace during his first six months on earth and he could only pray that his son hadn't inherited that particular trait of him. Taking care of a baby and completing his studies was already going to be a hell on its own without being completely sleep deprived.
"It'd help." Sasuke breathed out slowly before pressing a hand against Naruto's stomach. Itachi shifted inside him, pushing what felt like a tiny fist back against his papa's hand. "I thought about it and … You're right. I'm letting that night rule my life and I shouldn't. So I'm … I'm going to start visiting a psychologist."
Immediately Naruto straightened up and stared at him in shock. "You mean it? I know I said it, but you don't have to do it if you don't feel ready or just don't want to," he said hurriedly. "I don't want to force you into doing stuff you don't want to."
"I know you don't, but I need help." Sasuke rubbed his forehead. "I – that night fucked me up, but I don't want to let it affect our son. I want to be able to leave you on your own for a while without panicking about what might happen to you. I just – want to stop being so afraid the whole time."
"I'll help you look for a good one," Naruto promised and kissed him softly on his lips. "We'll work it out, I promise. I love you."
Sasuke wrapped his arms around him and rested their foreheads together, closing his eyes. "I love you too."
Naruto didn't remark on the tight hold the Alpha had around him. He just hugged him back and considered that this might be a fresh start for them. They would battle Sasuke's demons together. It would take a while before they would disappear, ingrained as they were inside the dark haired man, but Sasuke would win eventually.
He was sure of that.
Sasuke was a lot stronger than he thought he was, after all.
They found a psychologist three days later. They'd gone through an entire list online, checking their credentials and what people thought about them. Eventually Sasuke decided to make an appointment with a guy named Orochimaru, who was around the same age as Tsunade, and who seemed to be considered the top in his field.
Naruto hadn't expected Sasuke to be able to get an appointment immediately, given how in demand this guy appeared to be, but to his surprise Sasuke ended his call with the message that he could go see Orochimaru in four days' time.
He didn't know how the psychologist had found the time in his busy schedule to fit in Sasuke, but he wasn't going to complain about it. When the day of the appointment arrived, he accompanied Sasuke to Orochimaru's private office, but remained in the waiting room. He'd initially suggested he remained in the car, but Sasuke had adamantly refused and insisted he waited inside. Truthfully, the chairs here were a lot more comfortable than the car seat, so he occupied himself with reading the next chapter for his class tomorrow and annotated the important parts while he waited for Sasuke's appointment to be over.
An hour later he heard the door opening again and he looked up, spotting Sasuke in the doorway. He looked paler than usual and maybe it was a trick of the light, but his eyes seemed slightly red rimmed too, as if he'd either had rubbed too hard in them or had been crying for a bit.
Worry for the other man had Naruto rising up quickly – or as quickly as he could with the added weight on his front – and he hurried towards Sasuke, closing his book without marking the page.
"Are you okay? How did it go?" he asked in a low voice, mindful of the young woman still waiting in the room. She looked absorbed by her phone, but that didn't mean he wanted her to overhear them.
Sasuke grabbed his hand and tugged him along outside to the car. "It went fine, I suppose," he mumbled and his fingers tensed around Naruto's. "He never pushed me, let me talk about what I wanted …" He shrugged.
Naruto waited until they were both in the car before he turned to face Sasuke. "Do you think you'll continue your sessions with him?"
The Alpha was silent for a while, his hands resting around the steering wheel as he stared at something in front of him. "I think so. I – he might be able to help me," he finally replied, sounding a bit uncertain.
"All right." Naruto squeezed his thigh reassuringly and for the rest of the ride home, he kept his hand there.
He hoped Orochimaru would be able to help Sasuke deal with his demons from the past. Only time would tell, he supposed.
The end of October found them entering Tsunade's practice after a very rainy drive. Naruto was taken aback by the sight of a brown haired, demure looking woman standing right next to the blonde doctor. Her face was quite familiar and he wondered where he had seen her before.
"Hey brat, how are you feeling?" Tsunade greeted him with a warm smile.
"Like I'm going to topple over any moment. I can't even see my feet properly anymore," he admitted, but shut his mouth before he could add something along the lines of feeling like a bloated whale.
He'd made that error a week before and Sasuke had spent an entire evening reassuring him that he still found him as attractive as ever and that he didn't look like a bloated whale, but beautifully pregnant.
Naruto appreciated the reassurance, don't get him wrong, but it had also left him a bit embarrassed. He just couldn't help the way he felt. Whenever he looked in the mirror he only seemed to grow bigger – even though realistically he knew he didn't gain that much on a regular basis – and with his back aching and his occasional swollen feet, it was difficult at times to believe that Sasuke still found him attractive.
"Well, you still have more than a month of that, I'm afraid," she said brightly and gestured towards the woman still standing next to her. "Naruto, Sasuke, this is Shizune. She's a gynaecologist who has her practice a few blocks from your apartment."
Shizune. Now he knew where he remembered her from! He'd seen her in Tsunade's practice years before, as the doctor's apprentice back then. He hadn't realised she had started her own practice, but it did make sense. It had been several years since she'd been an apprentice after all.
"Hello, Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san, it's nice to meet you," she smiled and offered them a bow.
Sasuke inclined his head in response while Naruto grinned. "Nice to meet you, Shizune-san."
"You're probably wondering why she's here," Tsunade said and gestured for them to sit down.
"Er, a little bit, yeah," Naruto replied, rubbing his belly. Itachi was rather fussy and he couldn't wait until he was back at his parents' place and he could get Sasuke to calm the baby down. It felt like the little brat was intent on kicking and punching his organs into a mushy pile.
"Considering we're getting closer to your due date, we need to discuss arrangements," Tsunade said and linked her hands together on top of his file. Shizune sat down on a spare chair. "This is your first time giving birth, so we don't know yet how quickly you'll give birth. Some have very quick births that barely last an hour, while others are in labour for several hours."
"Please let me not be in that second group," he muttered underneath his breath.
"With that in mind and taking into account that babies don't always arrive on the expected due date, there is a chance you might not arrive here on time for me to assist you," she continued. "That's why I want to propose something. Instead of you making the drive here, you'll remain in the city and I'll come to you once your labour starts. In the meantime Shizune will be able to take care of you until I arrive, seeing as she's close to where you live. Would that be okay with you?"
"To be honest, it's not like we have much choice, do we?" Naruto said wryly and looked apologetically at Shizune. "No offence to you, sorry."
"I understand," she smiled. "I know that you'd rather have Tsunade-sama there from the start, but I can promise you that you'll be in good hands with me if you choose to accept my help."
Tsunade nodded approvingly. "She's been trained by me, so you know you can trust her skills," she said.
"So when are we supposed to call you then? When his contractions start or when his water breaks?" Sasuke questioned, his eyes darting from one woman to the other.
"You can call Shizune once your contractions start," Tsunade answered. "She'll examine you, check whether the labour process has actually started and it's not just your body practicing, and if so, she'll call me and I'll be with you as soon as I can."
"Well, I guess that's how we'll do it then," Naruto said, wrinkling his nose. He'd rather have Tsunade with him from the start, but he was also realistic enough to acknowledge that his baby might not wait until the actual due date to make his appearance and Tsunade wasn't a fifteen minute drive away.
At least he would be in the hands of someone trained by Tsunade herself, so he knew he could trust Shizune with himself and his son. If she wasn't good at her job, Tsunade would have never suggested her.
"Okay, here's my number and I guess I might see you in a month," Shizune smiled and said her goodbyes after handing over her business card; the door falling shut with a soft 'click' behind her.
"You can trust her, I promise," Tsunade said when Sasuke put the card in his wallet.
"I know, you recommended her," Naruto smiled and changed his position when his back started protesting.
"All right, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to the actual reason of your appointment," she said briskly and brought her computer screen back to life. "Today I'm going to examine you to make sure your body has started preparing itself for the birth."
"Yay," the blond retorted listlessly, not looking forward at all to that particular examination. The thought of it alone felt way too invasive, even more than his normal check-ups, and he couldn't wait for that part to be over with.
"Have you felt any discomfort lately, anything out of the ordinary?" she questioned, typing something.
He rolled his shoulders. "Since a week or so, I sometimes get cramps down there." He gestured awkwardly between his legs and reddened. "They're not really that painful, but just annoying. They don't last long either."
She nodded. "Yes, that does sound like your body has started preparing itself. That's a good sign; it means everything is working as it should. Just to be sure, though, I'm going to examine you now. It won't take long, but it might be uncomfortable." She pointed at the screen in the left corner of the room. "You can change there. You can keep your sweater on, but you need to remove your jeans and your underwear. Then you can go lie down on the examination table and put your feet up in the stirrups."
"All right." Naruto stood up and pointed a finger at Sasuke, who raised an eyebrow. "You, no looking or peeking! This is already going to be embarrassing enough without you looking at me."
Sasuke started to argue, "There's nothing embarrassing about your body doing what it should, Naruto. I'm not going to - "
"No looking or peeking!" Naruto demanded, narrowing his eyes.
Rolling his eyes, Sasuke relented and raised his hands. "Fine, I'll stay here and I won't look."
"I'll know if you do," Naruto warned him and then went to change behind the screen, ignoring Tsunade's amused smirk.
The metal of the stirrups felt cold against his skin and he shivered, grimacing at the ceiling. He felt beyond uncomfortable now, lying half naked on the table, and it took everything in him not to close his legs and hide himself.
Tsunade was pulling on white gloves when she walked over towards him. She paused next to a cabinet and put a dollop of some clear gel on her fingertips, rubbing them together.
"Okay, this is what I'm going to do," she said softly when she halted next to the examination table. "At this stage in your pregnancy, your body should be developing your birthing canal which is right between your – "
"I know where it is, you don't have to say that aloud!" Naruto hurried, waving his hands wildly through the air.
At Tsunade's desk, Sasuke snorted and Naruto scowled, even though the Alpha couldn't see it because he was obediently looking away.
She rolled her eyes but mercifully continued, "At this point, it should already be half formed, so what I'm going to do now, is check just how much it has formed already. In order to do that I'll have to insert two fingers inside your birthing canal. I'm not going to lie: this is probably going to feel uncomfortable, but I need you to bear with me and try to relax as much as possible, okay?"
He nodded, pressing his lips tightly together.
"Do you need me with you?" Sasuke suggested calmly.
"No, stay there!" Naruto snapped, already feeling embarrassed enough without his mate standing next to him for this particular examination.
He knew it was nothing to be embarrassed of, just his body doing what it should be doing, but that didn't make any of this less awkward.
"All right, just relax. I'll be careful," she promised and rolled a chair between his legs.
When she bent down, he fixated his eyes on the ceiling and tried not to tense up when he felt a slippery finger touching him in a place that hadn't been there a month before. Two fingers slowly felt around and he squeezed his eyes shut and breathed out harshly when those two digits pressed inside of him. He felt too tight there and he barely resisted the urge to pull away from those invasive fingers.
Just a bit longer, he told himself, barely breathing as she carefully felt around, just a bit longer and then this is done.
It didn't really hurt, but she was right in that it felt hugely uncomfortable and his breath escaped him in a loud whoosh when she finally pulled her fingers back and removed her gloves.
"All right, I know this wasn't your favourite thing to do, but you got through it," she smiled and disposed of the gloves in the bin. "Your birthing canal is forming like it should as well, so that's great news too. Should the cramps grow more painful all of a sudden, though, or you start feeling too unwell, let me know, okay? At this point, though, you have nothing to worry about."
"Thanks, that's reassuring," he said faintly. "Can I get dressed now?" He hated how whiny he sounded right now, but he just wanted to get dressed again and stop feeling so naked.
"Go on," she said amused and went back to her desk to put the information in his file.
She waited until he was dressed again and sitting in the chair before she mentioned almost offhandedly, "As your doctor, I have an obligation to tell you that with your birthing canal forming now, you have to be careful when you have sex."
At their blank faces, she elaborated, sounding almost gleeful, "Meaning that your partner here has to be careful where he sticks his dick, because if you think my fingers were uncomfortable now, being penetrated there while it's still forming is not going to be a walk in the park, let me tell you that."
"OH MY GOD, BAA-CHAN!"
"Sasuke, please do me a favour and come tell your son that he needs to calm down," Naruto grumbled annoyed. "He thinks he's going to be a future boxer."
"Just as active as his daddy," Mum teased him, dropping a bag of sour and cream crisps on dad's lap before plopping down next to him and burrowing underneath his arm.
"Yeah well, I can deal with less activity now," Naruto muttered and waved impatiently at Sasuke, who hovered in the doorway of the living room. "Come, I need your magical voice and touch, because your son doesn't want to calm down."
The corners around his eyes tightened and his smile was thin lipped, when Sasuke replied, "Sorry, Naruto, but I still have some work to do." And he disappeared upstairs.
That was odd. Blue eyes narrowed while his ears tracked his mate's journey towards his old bedroom. He knew Sasuke didn't have any work left to do – at least not anything that was very pressing at the moment. He'd been working his arse off these past couple of weeks so that he could take it easier once Naruto entered his last month. So what gives?
Normally Naruto only had to make a sound and Sasuke would be at his side, asking what he could do for him. Now he couldn't even tell his son to pipe down on the kicking?
He smelt bullshit.
Leaving his parents to watch the news, he made his way upstairs, determined to figure out why Sasuke was suddenly refusing a chance to talk to his son. This wasn't even the first time, he acknowledged as he ascended the stairs slowly. The last couple of times they'd been at his parents' place, Sasuke had been oddly reluctant to touch him as well.
The previous times he'd written it off as Sasuke being distracted by his university work, but he knew that couldn't be the case now. The alpha had barely taken any of his books with him. He hadn't looked that perturbed after his appointment with Orochimaru earlier this week, so that couldn't be it either.
"All right, mind telling me why you're suddenly refusing to calm down your son?" he demanded, closing the door behind him and crossing his arms.
Sasuke twitched, as if he'd been startled and turned around in the swivel chair. "I just have some work still left to do," he said soothingly. "I promise I'll help him calm down later tonight."
"Nope, not good enough. He's making a ruckus now, not tonight," Naruto snapped. He was still a bit high strung after his appointment earlier today and Itachi's strong kicks coupled with his aching back weren't doing wonders for his mood.
He stalked over towards the desk and caught a glimpse of the essay Sasuke was working on. "That essay isn't due for another three weeks and I know you've finished most of that last week. So mind telling me the real reason? Because you're not the one whose guts are currently being pulverised," he growled, glowering at him.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sasuke muttered something too low for Naruto's ears to pick up.
"What was that?"
"I said that I don't want to make your dad uncomfortable," the Alpha repeated through gritted teeth, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here now.
Naruto blinked, thrown off guard. "Why would you calming down Itachi be uncomfortable for – oh."
Like a lightbulb, the memory suddenly resurfaced in his mind. It had been a couple of weeks after Sasuke had first felt their baby kick and they'd been visiting Naruto's parents. Sasuke's hands hadn't strayed far from his belly during that visit and Minato had jokingly remarked that Sasuke's hands appeared to have been glued to his son and whether he needed some help removing his hands for a bit?
"Oh that. Dad was just joking," he said and rolled his eyes. "A stupid joke, I'll admit, but I promise he didn't mean anything else by that. So feel free to start working your magic any second now."
"You're sure he was just joking?" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "He didn't look like it."
"You think my dad never touched my mum during her pregnancy? My grandma used to joke that she had to chisel away his hands if she wanted to feel me kick!" Naruto snorted and shook his head. "Trust me, my parents aren't bothered by it at all. If anything, they probably think it's cute. You don't want to know how many pictures there are of my parents when my mum was pregnant and my dad kept finding excuses to touch her."
"If you're sure," Sasuke said slowly.
"I'm sure." Naruto crawled on top of his bed and patted the mattress. "Now come on, get to work because I'd like to go one hour without having to rush to the toilet because your son thinks it's fun to push against my bladder."
Sasuke huffed in amusement, but obediently came over to join him on the bed. "You're so demanding," he sighed, but stole a kiss nonetheless.
"Please, like talking to your son is such a hardship for you," the blond retorted scathingly and grabbed Sasuke's hands, shoving them straight underneath his sweater.
Palming the rounded belly, Sasuke smiled. "No hardship for me at all, I can promise you that."
"Good, now come on, before he decides to go for my spleen next or so."
"No extension will be given, no matter the reason. Everyone has three hours to complete the exam and not a minute more."
Naruto gritted his teeth and his fingers tightened around his pencil when Mizuki's gaze seemed to linger on him extra long before he looked away. The man had delighted in subtly informing him with every test taken and every essay handed in that he shouldn't expect to be given extra time all because he'd decided to get knocked up.
Today was his final exam for this course and he couldn't wait to be done with it. Next semester he'd finally be free of that condescending arsehole. All he had to do was pass this exam, so he could prove to all those doubting dipshits that he was capable of getting good grades even when carrying a baby.
He bit down on his cheek when his stomach cramped violently and breathed out slowly to combat the sharp pain. He'd been having these cramps since he'd got up this morning. Irregular as they were, they still hurt like a bitch; he still had at least one week to go before his baby was due, though, so he didn't think these cramps were anything to really worry about.
They were goddamn annoying, yes, were quite a bit painful, true, but for now he would just concentrate on his exam and finish it as quickly as he could so he could get home and use a heating pad to combat the cramps. Hopefully it wouldn't keep snowing so that he could get home without any trouble. He liked the mood that seemed to cling to the month of December, with people gearing up for Christmas and the likes, but he could do without the slippery roads.
"All right, you may begin."
The rustle of papers being turned over was loud in the aula and for a while nothing else but the scratching of pencils on paper and the occasional gusty sigh could be heard. Mizuki and his assistant were slowly patrolling through the rows, making sure nobody was trying to cheat.
Naruto realised something was wrong when he was half an hour into the exam. The cramps were getting more frequent now; some of them painful enough that he was forced to stifle his gasps against his fist. A particular bad one ten minutes later had his eyes watering and he had to gulp in air, feeling like his breath had been slammed straight out of him.
Trying to control his breathing, he lowered his left hand to his stomach – and was shocked at how hard it felt. Shit, no way he could be …
No, it couldn't be, right? It was only the twelfth; he still had one week left before he was due. But then again, Tsunade had warned him that due dates were just an estimate and that babies didn't necessarily wait until that predicted date to come out …
Fuck. No wait, he couldn't start panicking now. He didn't know for sure yet. They could just be random cramps. He would just need to time them and if they were regular, well, then he was probably in deep shit. But they could still be random, so.
As he continued to the next page of his exam, he glanced at the clock occasionally to keep track of the time. Three very painful cramps and another thirty minutes later and he was sure of it: he was having contractions.
His baby was coming out today, no doubt about it.
His sight blurry with unshed tears, he flicked his eyes at Mizuki, who was currently prowling around at the other side of the aula. He needed to get out of here before the time between his contractions would grow shorter, but there was no way Mizuki was going to let him go before his exam was completed. That wasn't even an unfounded worry, he knew the man wouldn't let him go. The guy had been more than clear when he had informed Naruto that any late essays or incomplete tests or exams would give him a fail for his class, no matter the reason.
Even if he would allow him to go, he'd most likely fail him even though giving birth should count as a pretty acceptable excuse to not be able to finish an exam.
Fuck this. He just had to finish his exam as quickly as possible and he would worry about a possible failed mark later on. As long as all the questions were answered, that bastard couldn't hold him here.
Grateful for the fact that the exam was mainly made up out of multiple choice questions with only the occasional one asking a short explanation, instead of asking answers in the form of two pages essays, Naruto made quick work of the remaining three pages. He did his best to breathe through the contractions, but some spots on the papers still got damp with tears he couldn't completely hold back.
By the time he selected the last answer, beyond caring by now whether it was the correct one, his hand was trembling and he had to wait until the next contraction passed before he could stand up. His legs felt like they had turned into jelly, but he forced himself to walk to the front of the aula where they were supposed to hand over their exams. He was actually the first one to finish and Mizuki's eyes narrowed when he halted in front of the desk.
"You're finished already?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yes, here. May I leave now?" Naruto inquired, offering his exam and locking his knees together so that he wouldn't accidently buckle through them. Sweat was coating the back of his neck and his back, his sweater sticking to him, and he desperately wanted to get out of here and find Sasuke so that they could drive to Shizune.
"You're sure you filled in every question?" Mizuki went on sceptically, not making any move to accept the papers.
"Yes, I'm sure," Naruto replied through gritted teeth and impatiently waved his papers.
"I do not like that tone, Uzumaki-san," Mizuki said coldly.
"Look, will you just accept my exam? I need to leave now!" Naruto couldn't help but snap.
"And what, pray tell, is so important that you have to leave now?"
"Because I'm having my baby now and I need to get to my doctor," Naruto retorted sharply and curled his hand around the edge of the desk when another contraction had his belly cramping violently. "J-just please, take my papers. I need to go now!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw someone slipping out of the aula, but he didn't pay much attention to them.
"And I'm just supposed to believe that you're having your kid now? Who says this isn't an excuse because you didn't study enough?" Mizuki regarded him haughtily and his upper lip curled up in a derisive sneer.
"Why the hell would I use that as an excuse?!" Naruto hissed, not caring any longer whether he was polite or not. He needed to leave now and he needed Mizuki to stop being such a fucking arsehole already!
One eyebrow raised, Mizuki sneered, "What do you expect me to think of someone who got himself pregnant at your age?"
"What I do in my private life is none of your business! I finished my exam, so here!" He slammed it down on the desk.
"I need to check whether you filled in everything," Mizuki said nonchalantly and started to slowly flip the pages.
Naruto was ready to scream, the other students be damned, when he suddenly felt something wet sliding down his legs and when he looked down, he saw a small puddle forming underneath him. "Oh fuck," he said faintly, and clutched his stomach.
"Language, Uzumaki-san. What do you - " Mizuki cut himself off and his eyes widened when his gaze fell down on the floor and spotted the small puddle as well. "What the hell is that?"
"His water broke, what else does it look like?" a red haired girl with glasses snapped at him and she rushed over to Naruto.
"Come on, let's get you out of here. Do you need me to warn someone?" she asked worriedly and shepherded him away from the dumbfounded professor, leading him out of the aula.
"Er, my mate, Sasuke, I need to tell him," Naruto fumbled with his pockets and then realised his bag was still inside. "Shit, I forgot my bag in the aula. My phone's in there."
"Don't worry about that; I'll get it for you. The orange one, right?" she flashed him a smile when he nodded in surprise. "All right, I'll be back in a sec. Wait here." She gently pushed him on a bench and then hurried back into the aula, where the other students were clearly making a ruckus.
At the same moment she came back out of the room, two people rushed towards him and Naruto could cry in relief when one of them turned out to be Sasuke. The other guy was a lanky one with white hair and purple eyes, who slowed down when he spotted the Omega sitting on the bench.
"Oh good, you managed to get away from that prick," he grinned, linking his hands behind his head.
"Are you okay? How long have you been having contractions?" Sasuke asked worriedly, skidding to a stop in front of the bench.
"I've been having cramps since this morning, but I didn't realise they were contractions until the middle of my exam," Naruto answered and couldn't help but whimper when another contraction waved over him.
"Naruto, you should have told me about the cramps," Sasuke said sharply, but let the Omega grab his hand and squeeze it tightly.
"I know, okay! But I just thought they were cramps, I'm sorry!" Tears dripped down his cheeks but he didn't know whether they were from the sharp pain or because he'd disappointed his Alpha and his stupid Omega was feeling too sensitive right now to deal with that.
"It's not your fault," Sasuke sighed, stretching out his fingers when the blond released his death grip.
"His water broke a few minutes ago, so you might want to get a move on," the girl said helpfully, handing over Naruto's bag to Sasuke.
"Jugo should be here with your car now," the white haired guy added and right on time, there was the sound of tires screeching as a car stopped abruptly in front of the building. "Oh look, there he is. Next time you're having a kid, I'm willing to drive that sweet ride of yours to the front."
"You're an idiot, Suigetsu," the girl huffed, slapping his head.
"Says the one retaking this course for the third time," he shot back and danced out of her reach when she took another enraged swipe at him.
"Okay, come on, we're going to the car," Sasuke said and helped Naruto get up. "Thanks for helping him," he said to the girl and she looked surprised before she smiled and blushed prettily.
"No problem, congratulations on your baby! I'm sure he or she will be very cute!" she beamed.
Despite Naruto's protest, Sasuke swiftly picked him up and carried him out of the building where a tall, broad shouldered guy with orange hair was waiting next to Sasuke's car. At the sight of them, he opened the door of the passenger's side.
"I threw your bag in the boot," he told Sasuke; his voice low and soothing. "Don't worry about the professor, I'll explain it to him."
"Thanks, Jugo." Sasuke offered him a quick nod and after carefully placing Naruto in the seat, the taller guy gave the car keys back to Sasuke.
He offered Naruto a reassuring smile and a wave and stepped back when Sasuke hurried to the other side of the car and slammed the door behind him shut. The tires squealed when Sasuke sped away and using his Bluetooth, he called Shizune's number.
"Good afternoon, Shizune speaking."
"Shizune-san, I'm Uchiha Sasuke and my mate, Naruto, is in labour. His water broke a few minutes ago," he explained tersely, rounding another corner.
"Bring him to my practice. You know the address?" At Sasuke's confirmation, she continued, "I'll call Tsunade-sama, don't worry about that. Just get here as quickly as you can, but be careful."
"How are you holding up?" Sasuke asked worriedly when the call ended and Naruto groaned in pain.
"Like I'm being carved open by a knife," he hissed and leant forward, breathing harshly. "I'm sorry about the seat; that's probably going to stain."
"Don't worry about that; it's just a seat. It can get cleaned. We'll be there soon," Sasuke promised. "Here, hold my hand."
Naruto immediately latched on to it, using it as his anchor when another contraction wrecked his body a little while later. He focused on keeping his breathing as regularly as possible, but he couldn't stop some tears from escaping when the pain seemed to grow even worse – a feat he hadn't thought possible. He was almost afraid to find out just how much worse the pain would get and he couldn't wait for all of this to be over. He didn't know when he could start pushing, but he hoped it wouldn't be too long anymore, because he wasn't sure whether he would be able to handle this kind of agonising pain for several hours.
Sasuke definitely broke a couple of traffic laws, but they arrived in one piece and without causing an accident. Shizune was already waiting outside for them with a wheelchair and she ushered Naruto into it.
"How much time is there between each contraction so far?" she asked briskly, pushing him through a long corridor with blue walls.
"Seven minutes," Sasuke answered clipped, following closely behind.
By now Naruto wasn't even surprised anymore that Sasuke had even kept track of that. That was just what Sasuke did: he paid attention to everything his mate did.
"Change into these and lie down. I'll check how much dilation you have," Shizune said and handed over a hospital dress, before going over to a cabinet.
Sasuke had to help him out of his clothes because his hands seemed to have lost their coordination and once he'd changed into the paper dress, he had to wait for another contraction to pass before he could climb up on the bed with Sasuke's help.
"You have six centimetres dilation," Shizune announced a moment later, nodding to herself. She had attached some wires to his stomach and whatever she read on the screen attached to the wires, seemed to please her. "You're making good progress."
"Will Tsunade be here on time?" Naruto asked, a tad breathless.
"She should be," she reassured him. "I called her as soon as you warned me you were on your way, so she should be here in less than half an hour. For now just try to relax and breathe through the pain, okay? I'll be back in a bit."
"Try to relax, she says," Naruto hissed, sitting up and rubbing over his stomach. "Like that's so easy!"
"Think of our baby, okay?" Sasuke murmured and sat down next to him, nuzzling his temple. "Just a bit longer and then we'll be able to hold him in our arms."
"Yeah, I guess," Naruto muttered and swallowed.
Just a bit longer and then they would finally hold their son in their arms.
"Are my parents on their way yet?" Naruto asked and groaned when another contraction swept through him. He squeezed Sasuke's hand tightly when he started pushing again, feeling like his skin was on fire and like he would rip in two any second now.
"Yes, they are. I got the text a minute ago," Sasuke said soothingly, rubbing his back. "They'll be here in an hour."
"All right, take a deep breath, Naruto, you're almost there," Tsunade instructed. "Just keep breathing and push!"
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing, you old hag!" Naruto yelled but started pushing again with all his strength. "FUCK, THIS FUCKING HURTS LIKE HELL! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO HAVE SUPER SPERM?! DID YOU HAVE TO KNOCK ME UP FROM THE FIRST TRY, YOU BASTARD!"
"I'm sorry," Sasuke said, apologising for the nth time this past hour. "You're doing amazing, just a bit longer."
"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID HALF AN HOUR AGO!"
"I see his head!" Tsunade suddenly announced and both their heads whipped around to her. "Just a few more big pushes and he'll be here. Only a couple of big pushes more, you can do this, Naruto!"
"God, never again," Naruto moaned, but obediently started pushing again, his whole body screaming in protest even as he felt his baby dropping lower and lower.
"That's what they all say," she said in a sing-song voice. "Wait until you have this little tyke in your arms. You'll forget all about the pain and you'll be begging Mister Handsome here for another kid soon."
"Like. Hell. I. Will!" He took another deep breath and bore down, probably grinding Sasuke's bones together with how tight his grip had become on his hand.
The Alpha didn't complain, though, just kept pressing kisses against his sweaty temple, kept rubbing his back, and murmuring soothing encouragement until –
With one final scream, Naruto pushed with all the remaining strength he had left and felt his baby sliding out of him. A couple of seconds later the room was filled with a sound he had never thought he would love hearing: his baby's first cry.
"Look at that, a healthy baby boy!" Tsunade beamed, holding up the squirming, wailing baby whose face was scrunched up and quite red. He was still messy with all kinds of fluids plastered against his small, chubby body, but Naruto fell in love the second his eyes fell on him. Because even dirty and wailing and with a scrunched up face, his baby was the most beautiful baby he'd ever seen.
That was his baby son right there.
"Does papa want to cut the umbilical cord?" Tsunade smiled and Sasuke almost stumbled when he hurried off the bed, his dark eyes wide and his hand trembling when she directed him where to cut.
She briefly handed him over to Shizune so she could clean him and give him a check-up, while Tsunade coaxed him through delivering the afterbirth as well. Afterwards she brought their baby to them, already wrapped up in a soft, blue blanket.
"Here's your beautiful baby boy. You did a great job, daddy," she said softly and placed him on Naruto's chest.
Naruto's vision immediately grew blurry when he looked down and took in how his baby looked like. "He's here," he whispered in awe, carefully brushing his son's cheek. "He's finally here. Look at him. Look at what we made together."
An arm slipped around his shoulders and when he glanced up, Sasuke was looking down with the most tender smile the blond had ever witnessed. "He's perfect," he murmured and kissed Naruto; a surprisingly deep, but tender kiss. "You did an amazing job."
"We did, didn't we?" Naruto agreed, beaming, and looked down again, cradling the precious bundle closer to his chest.
Itachi definitely had his papa's dark hair, the small tuft peeking out from underneath the blanket. When he opened his eyes and blinked slowly, they were greeted by a pair of dark blue eyes.
"He's absolutely perfect," Sasuke said and sounded a bit choked.
Naruto looked up and started when he saw tears sliding down pale cheeks. Carefully he stretched out his hand and cupped Sasuke's jaw. "Hey, don't cry. You're going to make me cry and I already did enough of that today," he smiled watery.
"Can't help it," Sasuke said gruffly, resting his hand over Naruto's and squeezing it softly. "I'm just so happy right now. You're giving me a family, Naruto. You're giving me a family again." He grabbed Naruto's chin and tilted his head up to give him another deep kiss, overwhelming the Omega with the amount of love he could feel in it. "I love you so much, you have no idea how much I love you," he swore, his eyes glittering brightly when he pulled back slightly.
Naruto smiled, blinking away tears. "I think I might have an idea how much you love me if it's as much as I love you," he said, sniffling.
The agonising pain already nothing but a faint memory in the back of his mind, he bent down and kissed Itachi's forehead softly. "Welcome to our family, Itachi."
All those months of aches, swollen feet and feeling like a whale had definitely been worth it to have this precious baby, his son, in his arms.
He was finally here.
AN2: And after six parts we can finally wrap up "Expanding"! Next chapter will be called "Adjusting" :)
Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me. I hope to see you all back in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
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Piece by Piece, Back Together