Chapter Text
Sasuke and Naruto soon lived in uncomfortable silence as they tried to move past the ‘incident’ at the school. Sasuke still made meals for himself and Naruto, but it was bare essentials and not grand dinners as the first one had been. Naruto was still appreciative of the fact that someone was making him food and he didn’t have to go to the gas station late at night and grab as much instant ramen as he could.
It was October now and many people were getting ready for the Annual Kyuubi Festival in which people celebrate the day the Kyuubi attacked and was defeated and to honor those who had died.
Naruto hated that day because —
“I heard Ai has finally reached her growth goals from the doctor,” Sasuke said suddenly. “It means we can bring her home,” he added.
Naruto smiled, “that’s great! I wish he would have told me last time I visited,” Naruto said but the doctors were just like everyone else who hated him. He saw it in their eyes as he signed in and cared for his child. Now there was a new look — pity. They pitied his child for being the child of the most hated boy in the village. If the Third Hokage hadn’t intervened multiple times, he was sure the doctors would have taken his child away after he was brought in.
Sasuke noticed the grim expression on Naruto’s face and knew better than to comment on it.
“So when can she come home?” Naruto asked with a small smile.
“October 10th.”
Naruto froze to himself. That was —
“I was thinking since the festival will be starting, we can grab her early and spend the day together. The three of us I mean,” Sasuke said, looking a little eagerly at the other.
Sasuke hadn’t said Naruto and him were “married” but now their class knew they were related in some way. Naruto never answered how and neither did Sasuke. They didn’t spend a lot of time together and Naruto went back to wearing plain tee shirts under his jacket.
But Sasuke wanted to make some memories with his new family. After their death of his, he just wanted something to hold onto.
Naruto shook his head, “no. She’s still too young and all of that noise might upset her. We should just bring her back home and get her settled.”
Sasuke nodded, “that’s a good idea. We can order some takeout and just settle in with our daughter.”
Naruto was put a little more at ease but the fact that October 10th was five days away put him on edge. It was one of the worse days of the year for him.
…
…
…
Nights always seemed so short to Naruto. He stared at the moon outside and a feeling of dread washed over him.
Another day had passed. Now it was four more…
While he was excited for his baby to come home, he was scared of what the day would turn into. Last year, it wasn’t great and he didn’t want it to be repeated, especially with his baby in his arms.
Naruto moved a hand to his head and a small dented scar made him remember what happened last year. The fists…the brick…the blood…
A tear rolled down his face. He shook his head. No! He would not let that happen! Not again! Never again!
…
…
…
In the days leading up to October 10th, Naruto began packing in the protein and his taijutsu more than before. Sasuke noticed when Naruto shoved the meat portions quickly and asked for seconds. It was a little concerning, but with how small Naruto was, he probably was just developing a larger appetite.
Sasuke also had been training with Naruto in the taijutsu, but Naruto wasn’t great at hand-to-hand combat and it seemed almost hopeless. Even now as the sun was setting, Sasuke watched as Naruto punched the wooden pole with annoyance. “Naruto! Come on! It’s late and tomorrow we have to be ready to pick up Ai from the hospital,” Sasuke said.
“I’ll be fine! I need to be stronger!” Naruto shouted at him.
Sasuke felt his eye twitch. “How about you try to be smarter rather than stronger for once in your life!” He stormed over and caught Naruto’s wrist. “What’s wrong? Why are you acting like a…” Sasuke paused.
Naruto’s eyes narrowed. “‘Acting like a’ what Sasuke? Tell me! I can handle it!”
“Why are you acting like a jackass?!” Sasuke asked with anger. Sasuke let him go and glared, “you’re solemn and you keep pushing yourself to an unhealthy level. Normally I wouldn’t care because I do that but…” Sasuke paused and took a breath. “We have a kid to think about.”
“I am thinking about our child! Her safety is important and tomorrow will be the worse day for us to bring her home!”
“Why?! Why is it so bad to bring her home?!” Sasuke asked.
“BECAUSE SHE’LL GET HURT IF SHE’S WITH ME!” Naruto cried.
Sasuke took a moment and watched as Naruto deflated and collapsed on his bottom, defeatedly. “I don’t know why, but the villagers…every year it’s the same…some of the men get drunk and they beat me senseless,” Naruto admitted, gripping onto his spiky locks and pulling them in anxiety. “I don’t want Ai hurt because I’m her parent.”
“They…beat you? And you can’t defend yourself?” Sasuke asked as he walked closer and sat next to Naruto. He nodded quietly. “They’re villagers, not shinobi. Plus it’s not like anyone steps in and stops them. I try to avoid them, but they know where I live and they do a lot of damage around my apartment. They’ve broken windows, busted my door down…all in the effort to beat me.”
“But why?! You’re just a kid!” Sasuke asked angrily on Naruto’s behalf.
“Because they think I’m the fox that destroyed the village. I’m not but they never believe me.”
Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “That’s just wrong. We have to stop this!” Sasuke stood up.
“How? I can’t exactly avoid them! I’ve tried! They manage to find me. It’s like a game for them!” Naruto argued.
“Well before it was just you. Now, you have me,” Sasuke said. “And we won’t make them just avoid you, we’ll make them stop from now on.”
Naruto looked at Sasuke and asked, “but how?”
Sasuke smirked.
Naruto gulped.
Shikamaru and Choji waited by the edge of the festival, looking a little impatient when they were soon approached by Naruto. “Hey, guys! Sorry I’m late!” He said with a smile. “Thanks again for inviting me out!”
“It’s not a problem! This festival always has the tastiest snacks!” Choji said as Naruto walked in between the two boys, almost leading the charge inside.
Shikamaru looked bored, “this place is always so noisy and a drag to slog through.”
“Oh! Check those out!” Naruto pointed to some meat being cooked. Naruto pulled out his wallet and said, “let’s get some skewers!”
“Heck yeah Naruto! I’ll take five!”
The person looked at the three kids and while they knew help Naruto was, denying service would cause a scene. So they reluctantly made the food and their money for the night and Naruto went running around with the two boys.
In terms of the festivities, it was rather fun, but a few times Naruto experienced some hated looks and even some discrimination. Some people called him a demon and a murderer, but what was worse was when someone threw their bottle at Naruto’s head. He took the hit and he turned to see a group of men with evil looks in their eyes.
“Hey! What’s the big deal?” Shikamaru asked.
“You kids oughta know better than to hang around that wretched boy!” One man said.
“Is he even a boy? I heard he had a bastard child not too long ago!”
Naruto grit his teeth. “Who the hell told you that?!”
“People talk and you think hiding a baby will keep her safe? You tried hiding many times before!” The largest man spoke. “Who did you spread your legs to you filthy whore?”
Naruto glared hard and began running away, with the crowd of men chasing after him. Naruto slid through the cracks of people and began going into alleyways. He rushed but was soon stopped as he ran into a dead end.
Naruto turned and was cornered by five men. One of them threw another bottle at him, which he dodged, and when a brick was thrown, Naruto caught it and threw it back, striking the man who threw it in his face — knocking him out.
One down, four to go.
Naruto smirked and got into a fighting pose with his eyes glowing red. “Well, you wanted me. Come get it!”
Another one of the men ran over with a full charge but Naruto was able to grab the man’s arms and hold him to the ground, a loud crack soon echoed along with the scream of the man. The blonde sensed another man attacking and with a quick jump, he was able to dodge, but a few hand signs were made a large fireball was made, akin to a flamethrower, hitting the man and making him out for the count.
Three down, two more.
Naruto turned and stared at the cowardly man, his eyes still red — but not from the demon fox.
“Since when did the demon brat have that?!” One man asked the leader of their little get-together.
Naruto cracked his knuckles, approaching them slowly. That same man began running out of the alleyway but stopped all of the sudden. “What! I can’t move!” He said. What notice noticed was that the shadows in the alleyway were perfect for shadow-jutsu users such as Nara Shikamaru.
The kid was standing on top of the building with his hands in a hand sign for the shadow possession jutsu. He also grabbed hold of the leader to prevent him from running away.
And just as the drunk men realized what happened, a large fist collided with their bodies. Choji came in knocking the men unconscious with his body expansion jutsu.
The three boys soon tied the men up. The leader of the men opened his eyes and saw the three boys standing before him. “Why…why would you two stand with that damn brat? He’s the demon that tried to destroy the village!” He slurred.
Naruto walked over and knelt before the man, his eyes still red but the man was scared. Those weren’t demonic eyes…
They were the sharingan.
The transformation jutsu dropped, revealing Sasuke. “You lot have hurt someone we care about for a long time. Well, now it ends,” the Uchiha said. “You will never harm Naruto ever again.”
“Why are you protecting that monster?” The man asked.
Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, “that’s my wife you’re talking about.”
“Wi-wife?!” The man stuttered and Sasuke proceeded to kick him in the jaw, dislocating it.
Just as he did that, two adults approached firm the entrance. Shikamaru and Choji looked pleased to see them. “Hi Dad!” Choji said and the older Akimichi used expansion jutsu to grab a few of the men. Shikamaru’s father, Shikaku, approached the boys. “You three did a good job rounding these men. I’m very impressed.”
“Don’t get too sappy Dad,” Shikamaru said. “We just wanted to give Naruto a good birthday.”
Sasuke’s eyes slightly widen. It was Naruto’s birthday?!
“You three will make fine Shinobi for the village. Now let Choza and I get these men booked for the night. You all should go home. Shikamaru, I’ll see you later tonight,” Shikaku finished as he began dragging the last two men out and they escorted them to the jail.
Shikamaru sighed, “that was a drag but at least Naruto won’t be bothered tonight.”
“It was kinda cool to be heroes like that!” Choji commented.
Sasuke turned to the two boys, “thank you both for your help.”
“Sasuke is thanking us?!” Choji asked in shock. Shikamaru began to snicker a bit but this was a rare moment after all. “We did it for Naruto. Speaking of, where is he?”
Sasuke smirked, “he’s safe at home with our daughter. It’s what he wanted most of all tonight.”
“Yeah, when you recruited us for this mission, I was hesitant to do it since, to be honest, I don’t like you Sasuke,” Shikamaru said. “But because Naruto is our friend, we knew we needed to help.”
Sasuke couldn’t care less if Shikamaru liked him. That wasn’t a priority on his list. He was thankful for his help though. “I’ll be sure to tell Naruto what you both did. I know he’ll be thankful as well,” he said and began walking off.
“Hey Sasuke, where are you going?”
“I’m going home to my wife and daughter,” Sasuke said.
Shikamaru looked annoyed, “is he really calling Naruto his wife from now on? That’s going to get annoying quickly.”
Choji laughed, “I think it’s kinda cute. Sasuke’s been a lot happier since they moved in together. They may not be married but I think they look good together. I don’t know, like they were made for each other.”
“Whatever. Come on. Let’s get going before our dads yell at us,” Shikamaru said and began walking off. Choji followed and said, “we should pick up some chips at the gas station since the stalls are closed!”
Naruto sat in the living room with Ai sleeping in his arms. He had made it home safely and without being noticed, but that was because he had to take disguise himself as Sasuke to make it through this way. Usually, his transformations never lasted long enough for him to make it home safely, but tonight luck seemed to be on his side and he was able to rush home safely.
It’s been a few hours and Naruto was waiting up for Sasuke. He was worried about him. He mentioned making a plan to make sure no one would ever bother him again but Sasuke was just one person. How could he manage to do that?
Just as Naruto was lost in his own thoughts, he heard the doorknob click. Naruto turned sharply on the couch and was relieved when he heard Sasuke’s voice. “I’m home.”
Naruto stood up slowly, carefully as he was still holding Ai in his arms. “Welcome home!” Naruto said happily. He stopped when he saw Sasuke taking his sandals off and had a box with him.
“How was everything? Are you okay?” Naruto asked.
“Careful Naruto, you almost sounded concerned for me,” Sasuke teased as he picked up the box again.
“Of course I was worried! Why wouldn’t I be?!” Naruto said. “So uh…did you uh…what exactly did you do?” The blonde asked with some embarrassment on his face.
Sasuke smirked, “I made sure my spouse was safe from now on,” he said. “We’re family and if anyone is going to be messing with you, then they are messing with the Uchihas” Sasuke said and showed him a box. “Also you should have let me know today was your birthday. I could have made you a cake rather than store-bought,” Sasuke said and went past him and to the kitchen.
Naruto widen as he watched Sasuke go to the kitchen and reveal a small white frosting cake with some strawberries on top. “It was the last cake the bakery had before they closed up shop,” he said and pulled it out of the box. Naruto hurried over and wrapped his free arm around Sasuke, hugging him. “Thank you Sasuke! For everything!” Naruto cried.
Sasuke smirked and kept his snark remarks to himself. Though Naruto sniffed and smelt body odor from Sasuke. “You need a bath,” Naruto said. Sasuke looked a little offended, but Naruto soon passed Ai to Sasuke. “Watch her while I run you a bath!” Naruto said as he hurried to the restroom. He didn’t know why he didn’t think to do it sooner!
Sasuke smiled and looked at his sleeping infant daughter. He kissed her forehead. He’d never felt so happy since—
He thought about his brother and grew sad. He looked down at his child and said, “I won’t let anyone hurt you Ai. I’ll kill them before they even think about it,” Sasuke said and walked over to where her bassinet was in the living room and laid her down he pulled the small baby blanket up to her chest and made sure she was comfortable before he went to check on Naruto and the bath situation.
“Thanks again for the birthday cake Sasuke!” Naruto said as he had his third slice. Sasuke was on his second and said, “I don’t like sweets but this cake is actually pretty decent.”
“Ya know it’s kinda funny. I never imagined you to being into this family business! I just thought we would be roommates but do you really see me as your spouse?” Naruto asked.
Sasuke coughed a bit in his food and said, “you think I was serious?!” He asked with a blush on his cheeks.
Naruto smiled and got up, going to Sasuke’s side, “I think you’re more serious than you let on,” Naruto said and picked up the last strawberry from the cake. He held it out to Sasuke and just as the raven-haired male was about to take a bite, Naruto ate it for himself with a big smile. Sasuke leaned in and kissed Naruto on the lips.
Of course, it tasted like strawberries. Naruto’s eyes opened in surprise and Sasuke smirked he pushed his tongue down Naruto’s mouth and wrapped it around the strawberry but that was still in Naruto’s mouth.
Naruto was completely red — as red as the strawberry that Sasuke stole from him. “Not fair Sasuke! That was my first kiss!” Naruto pouted.
“Well you shouldn’t have teased me like that,” Sasuke said and swallowed the strawberry down.
“I can’t believe you actually ate it,” Naruto commented.
“It was a little sour admittingly,” Sasuke added. “But not the worse thing I’ve eaten.”
Naruto pouted and said, “you tasted like icing by the way, but you have some on your lips,” Naruto commented.
Sasuke was about to wipe his mouth with his hand but Naruto stopped him and kissed his lips, licking the corner of his lips to taste the sweet sugar. Sasuke was now just as red as Naruto had been. The blonde pulled away, “now we’re even Otto,” Naruto winked and pulled away. “Definitely the best birthday I’ve ever had!” He said and began heading to the living room to check on Ai. The baby was making cooing noises and had kicked off her blanket and was about to start crying when Naruto picked her up in time. “You’re okay Ai-chan,” he said, kissing her forehead, “you’re perfectly fine.”
Sasuke walked to the couch and sat down, and soon enough, Naruto joined him, leaning against him with Ai in his arms. Sasuke pulled Naruto closer and had his head resting on his chest as Sasuke leaned back. Naruto smiled some and they enjoyed the moment of quiet.
The Uchihas were finally all home together.