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Mikoto and Sasuke meet Naruto Uzumaki for the first time on October 18th.

It's been about two days after Kushina settled back in at home, having just delivered her first son. Mikoto knew that Kushina needed rest first-- as much as she was excited to meet her best friend and her baby boy, she knew better than anybody else that a fresh post-pregnant woman should be picking up the last pieces of rest she could ever get before her baby drains all of it in mere days. The raven-haired woman giggled to herself as she fixed her posture from her leaning position on top of the kitchen island. She placed her cup of half-drunken tea back on the coaster before walking down the hallway, where her own baby boy was cooing.

"My sweet Sasuke," she whispered as she cupped his healthily pale cheek, stroking it. The baby only gurgles in joy, making wet noises that would seem incomprehensible to any other person, but to a mother hen such as Mikoto, she would always understand her baby perfectly. Always.

The woman heard a creak behind her, and although she already knows who the intruder is, she looks up to see her older son, Itachi, standing at the doorway. Mikoto's smile grows even wider, noticing how Itachi's eyes were glued onto the baby inside the crib. His voice is hushed, gentle, as it always is.

"Mother, is Sasuke awake yet?" he asked. Mikoto nodded, and gestured for him to come over. Itachi complied almost immediately, as if he were just waiting for Mikoto to tell him it's okay. Mikoto cherished Itachi just as much as Sasuke, could never pick a favorite and wouldn't dare. Itachi was young, but he knew well. If anything, ever since Sasuke was born, that was all Itachi would ever pay attention to. 

Each time Sasuke fell asleep, Itachi would sit by the crib and drift off, promising to wake up as soon as Sasuke does so they could play together. Each time Sasuke was hungry, Itachi would ask to feed him from the bottle. Every second Sasuke was awake, he wanted to hold him, and each time Sasuke cried, Itachi tried everything he could to cheer him up. It was as if Sasuke was his child instead of his brother, and the thought never failed to make Mikoto laugh.

Mikoto leaned down and ruffled Itachi's hair. "Itachi, would you like to come to see Kushina-chan again? She just had a baby, like your younger brother. Sasuke is coming, of course." she added the last bit, feeling the least bit guilty as she knew that was the persuading point. Itachi nodded anyways, grinning as his mother's hands drove tangles into his black locks. Mikoto combed her fingers through them as an apology, but Itachi shook it off, not minding it in the first place.

"Go pick out your clothes, honey. Mom will be there to help you in a bit." she instructed. Itachi huffed playfully, "I can dress myself, I'm grown up, mother!" before he left the room. Mikoto listened to the pitter-patter of bare feet against polished hardwood floor and her eyes soften. Her boy was already growing up.

Mikoto turned to the crib and rubbed Sasuke's head before taking a piece of cloth off the chair beside the crib, sliding it over her shoulder and neck. She picked up a blanket, taking Sasuke in her arms as she carefully wrapped her baby inside the warming fabric, then gently placing him inside the sling. The woman takes a bag that had seemed to be prepared beforehand, and slings it over her other shoulder skillfully to not harm Sasuke by accident.

The raven haired woman walks out into the hallway, stopping outside Itachi's door until she hears the sound of him pulling clothes on with ease. Elastic slapping on skin, the rustling of cotton-polyester material and before she knows it, she hears footsteps coming toward the door. Mikoto only smiled before continuing to walk down the hallway, entering the kitchen to grab two bottles of milk from the fridge to put in her bag.

Shortly after, Itachi had ran out from the hallway, all dressed and ready. Mikoto nodded contentfully and opened the front door, Itachi waddling behind her. Mikoto holds her left hand out for Itachi to hold as her right one is curled inwards in a protective manner against the wrapped Sasuke in her sling.

It wasn't long of a walk-- just barely 10 minutes, and the weather wasn't overbearingly hot nor freezing cold. Kushina was already on the front porch, in a rocking swing. he red-haired woman was swinging back and forth, pushing on her heels for acceleration every now and then. Only when the raven trio got closer, did they realize she was also humming a song to her own blanket-bundled baby in her arms.

"Kushina!" Mikoto called out just as they got close enough. The red haired woman looked up immediately, and the soft smile on her face instantly morphed into a wide smile. "Mikoto!"

Kushina's feet skidded on the porch material, slowing the rocking of the swing to a stop. The Uzumaki scooted over, tilting her head as a gesture to sit down. "Minato is at work today, but I'll let him know you came by. Bring Fugaku next time, will you?" Kushina grinned.

Mikoto only let out a sigh that ended in disguised laughter. "Your husband works magic against mine." she joked before letting Itachi sit in the middle of the swing, his tiny child body able to comfortably fit in the middle as Mikoto sat on the right side. 

"Itachi, you've really grown quite a bit, haven't you?" Kushina gleamed at the 6 year old boy. "How have you been doing, with your new brother?" 

A sparkle seemed to glisten in Itachi's eyes, and Kushina struggled to hide her laugh as the boy seemed to ramble on and on about how he's tried to learn from his mother how to care for Sasuke, and how he'll protect him from everything. 

Mid-sentence, Itachi finally looks at Kushina-- or more, the bundle in her hands. The woman noticed how he paused, and looked at her son and smiled. "This is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. He's a boy, say hi, Itachi." Kushina moved so Itachi could see him more clearly. Mikoto leaned over, looking at the whiskered baby. "He's so cute!"

Itachi looked amazed, almost shy to touch him. Kushina had offered that the boy could touch his hand, but he shook his head, just studying Naruto in awed silence.

"I hope our boys can be good friends." Mikoto said. She carefully pulled Sasuke out of the sling, and held him out slightly so he could be right next to Naruto. Itachi's hands were right below the bundle-- ready to catch him in case anything happened. Sasuke pulled his arm out of the blanket wrapped around him and waved it around until it suddenly met something else-- Naruto's hand that Kushina was holding out.

There was a silence before Sasuke began crying. Startled by the sound, Naruto began to whine. Mikoto was also startled, and immediately pulled Sasuke back into her arms, Itachi just about to grab his brother for himself. Kushina can't help the laughter stirring up in her gut, and she tried her best to rock Naruto to a calm state while failing to contain her laughter.

Mikoto's the next one to not be able to hold it in, and she just barely lets the smallest snicker fall past her lips, and then Itachi's laughing too.

"Oh dear, let's hope our boys don't cause a ruckus when they grow up!" Mikoto exclaimed.

The next 30 minutes were filled with comfortable chatter between friends, while Itachi entertained himself by watching the two babies.

As anyone could have expected from their first ever interaction, Sasuke and Naruto had their first falling out pretty quickly.

Mikoto sat on the park bench, chatting with Minato as their sons, age about 4, ran around the playground. Kushina was at work, Itachi was at Shisui's house, and Mikoto needed to catch up with the blonde man anyways.

Although they tried their best to converse with the other, it was obvious their focus remained on their children, nodding heads at words that were paid with half-attention as their eyes gleamed at their son running on the playground bridge. Naruto was the more outgoing child-- so naturally, Sasuke just trailed behind him, but played with just as much enthusiasm. 

The pair ran up the bridge, and jumped up the platform. Sasuke ran past Naruto, lungs burning with energy as his hands latched onto the support bar, throwing himself down the slide. The feeling was one of the best he's ever felt, chilly summer air blowing past his face and going up his shirt and he giggled as he slid all the way down. His joy, however, was short-lived. As soon as the raven boy jumped off the end of the tube, feet landing perfectly on wood chips, he hears a whine at the top of the playground platform. His head shot up, seeing Naruto just by the entrance of the slide, tearing up.

"What's wrong?!" Sasuke shouted. Minato and Mikoto look up from a picture Mikoto was showing on her phone-- startled by Sasuke's sudden worried tone.

Naruto only choked on a sob, before he began to start full-on wailing. Minato practically leaped from his seat, running up to the slide platform, Mikoto picking up her sweater from the bench as she followed behind him.

"Honey, what's going on?" The blonde man shushed Naruto as he plucked the boy up, hoisting him up over his shoulder and shushing him.

"S-Sasu--!" the child sniffled. "Sasuke w-went on the slide first-t!" he whined as fat tears rolled down his whiskered cheeks. Sasuke's eyes widened at the words, and he began spluttering, "What? I- You- but--! It's not fair that you a-always get to go first!"

Mikoto walked over to hold Sasuke-- noticing he was starting to get mad. "And I'm-- I'm older!" he shouted, his own tears pooling in his eyes, but of anger.

Naruto's cries seemed to settle, but he was beginning to get angry as well. "But I-I've always gone first! So it's not-- not fair that you get mad about it now! You don't wanna do stuff 'till I do it!!" he argued. Sasuke only huffed as Mikoto picked him up. Minato sweat-dropped and chuckled nervously as he walked backwards with Naruto in his arms. Mikoto only shot him back a smile in understanding as she began to pull away from the scene with Sasuke in her hold.

"Whatever! You're mean-- and I don't like you! Blegh!!" Naruto shrieked as Minato left for the gate. Sasuke stuck out his tongue in return before burying his head in his mother's chest. Mikoto sighed and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Let's calm down, love." she cooed as they made way to the exit, she knew that Sasuke wouldn't wanna play with anybody else anyways.

Later, over the phone, Mikoto would tell Kushina all about the aftermath over the phone, everything she didn't hear from Minato. How Sasuke was angry for the first 30 minutes of being home before he crawled into his mother's lap and asked if Naruto really didn't want to play again. She laughed and stroked his hair, saying it would be over soon. Itachi came home shortly after, and that had distracted Sasuke enough.

Mikoto just smiles again. They would get through it. They're just about to start growing, after all.

Conveniently, the stars align and Naruto is put in the same kindergarten class as Sasuke. 

Also conveniently, the teacher is Kushina's old friend, Iruka. Mikoto connects with him right away. He's a bit strict, but knows just how to make a kid laugh, knows how to cheer a kid up in a way so quick it puts the child's own parent to shame.

Itachi is usually the one who picks up Sasuke, the walking distance from his middle school to Sasuke's (and his old) elementary school just as short as the walk to home. However, it's Friday, and Itachi is going home with and spending the night at Shisui's again, so Mikoto doesn't mind picking up Sasuke today.

She pulled into the parking lot, cursing as she looked at the time. 11 minutes late. Damn 3PM traffic.

The raven woman exited her car and glanced left and right, even though she knew there was nobody in this dang parking lot at this time. Her shoes made a soft patter on the floor, and she walks until she spots an open door. What surprises her isn't the fact that there's someone else in there that isn't Sasuke or Iruka, but the fact that it's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto.

Mikoto walked in almost completely silent, but Iruka caught the motion and looked up with a smile. "Heard the traffic's rough out there now." he said, his face showing a bit of sympathy. Mikoto just sighed and nodded. "Has Kushina not picked up her little one yet?" she asked, noticing that Sasuke and Naruto were the only people in the room. In fact, it looks like they haven't even noticed her, giggling over something as they huddled together by a table.

"Hey, why am I the mommy?!" Naruto complained. Mikoto's head snapped so quick, Iruka could have sworn something broke in her neck. Naruto and Sasuke were huddled over a piece of paper, Sasuke coloring the left side, and Naruto, the right. 

"Dummy, who said you were the mommy? It's a cat, it doesn't need mommies and daddies." Sasuke scowled. Naruto poked his bottom lip out and continued scribbling. Mikoto walked over to the table to catch a glimpse of the picture.

"Sasuke, don't be rude." Mikoto said. Sasuke turned around and saw his mother standing right behind their chairs. Just as he opened his mouth to say hello, a red haired woman sped through the front door, "S-sorry! The traffic-- the traffic, y'know.." she huffed, barely catching her breath as she gripped the doorway. Iruka bit his lip to contain his laughter as he stood up from the desk. "No worries, Kushina-san. You came just in time, if anything." the brunette said.

Kushina looked over to where Mikoto stood, following her eyes. Kushina walked to the table, ruffling Naruto's hair and leaving down to look at the picture, and her heart nearly shattered into seven billion pieces. The coloring wasn't the best, but it wasn't hard to tell out what was drawn-- especially if your child was the artist.

Green grass on the bottom of the page, the left side-- Sasuke's side --a darker green. The sun, as expected of a child, was in the corner, lines depicting rays shining on what could easily be made out as Sasuke and Naruto holding hands with each other, and an strange orange animal holding Naruto's other hand. Even though Sasuke had said it was a cat, it sure didn't look like one.

Kushina cooed at the picture though. "Oh, this is so cute, y'know?!" she exclaimed. Naruto grinned, shoving crayons back into the bin. "Even though Sasuke made me the mommy, I think it's cool!" 

Sasuke snapped his head at the blonde. "I told you, it's a cat! You aren't the mommy, unless you wanna be so bad." Naruto shook his head.

The red-haired woman put a hand on her son's shoulder. "But it's cute. Do you want to take it home?" she asked, more for herself rather than her son.

Naruto seemed to actually think about it for a second, before shaking his head. "I can draw a better one where both me and Sasuke are the daddies." he declared. Kushina laughed and picked her son up from the chair. "Alright, alright. Then, we can let Sasuke take it home?"

Sasuke looked back at the paper on the table and took it in his hands, nodding. Mikoto eye-smiled, pulling out her son's chair to let him stand.

The children waved their good-byes, and if Sasuke kept claiming that the picture wasn't even that pretty while he clutched onto it the entire car ride home, that wasn't a concern of Sasuke's.

The paper grows a bit dirty over time, but it stays in the same spot on the Uchiha family's fridge for years.

Their friendship is getting a little predictable, no matter how unpredictable Naruto is, Mikoto thought. They would claim to be best friends, but then have a falling out over a small thing, and then realize they don't really want to play with somebody else, so they go back to find the other and shake hands to forget their fight. It's a bit cute, really, and Kushina agrees too. The one thing Mikoto does not expect, though, is her 13 year-old son coming home from the first day of 8th grade, not happy, not mad, but dead silent.

Obviously, Sasuke was a naturally quiet child. He didn't cry often either, but he did complain where he did see fit. So when he walked through the front door, not even greeting his mother, she shoved her face out of the doorway, looking at her youngest son. Footsteps could be heard going down the stairs, and Itachi appeared from the stairwell. "Welcome home, Sasuke. How was schoo...?" he trailed off, studying the lost expression. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke just stared at the floor. He reluctantly looked up into Itachi's eyes and muttered, "I got kissed on accident."

Itachi nearly fell down the last stair. He quickly collected himself and put his hands on his little brother's shoulders. "Kissed?" and the louder confirmation made Mikoto whip her head up. "What's this about a kiss?"

"He's gotten kissed on accident." Itachi repeated, more worried this time. "Who kissed you? What do you mean by 'accident'?" Mikoto inquired, a bit more concerned.

Sasuke muttered something under his breath, too quiet to hear, which confused the other two. "Come again?"

The raven boy buries his face in his older brother's chest, squeaking when he feels his hand pat his head. He lifted his head, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes as he said, "Someone.. pushed Naruto on me."

Mikoto and Itachi lock eyes immediately, widened in surprise. Sasuke just returned to shoving his face in Itachi's chest, most likely from embarrassment. He scowled when he heard Itachi trying to stifle a laugh, but after hearing their mother lose it, he starts to smile a bit to cope with the humiliation.

Even if nobody really lets him (or Naruto) forget that incident, he's learned to recognize it as a running joke between the families rather than something to get hung up about.

The school year is beginning to wrap up, and the warm breezes of May were beginning to finally reach it's peak. Sasuke is doing his best to finish off 8th grade strong, while Itachi is working just as hard to graduate. Although Fugaku worked a shift that only allowed the boys to see their father in the morning most days, Mikoto was still around to support her children.

Sasuke's walking into the common room, Mikoto can instantly tell from the way his footsteps are a bit faster than Itachi's, and the lightest in the house. The teen walks in, holding a notebook and his school-issued laptop in his hands.

"Mother, can you help me with this assignment?" he asked, already heading for the seat on the couch beside Mikoto. "Of course, darling. What's this about?" she responded as Sasuke set the notebook on the arm of the couch, opening his laptop.

"They asked me to pick something I don't know much about, and write a paragraph explaining the definition.. I picked romantic love, but I don't know about it, of course, so.." he turned back to his screen, entering the password and opening tabs. "I figured, since you love Father, you can explain it to me?"

Mikoto hummed, "Of course. Romantic love is very complex, and hard to explain," she paused, noticing Sasuke was typing that into a document. "How about you ask me some questions, and I answer them for you?"

Sasuke nodded. "Okay, then... How did it feel to fall in love for the first time?" Sasuke asked, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

The woman places a finger on her chin, genuinely thinking. "It's been such a long time since I've thought about first love, huh.. Well, you don't come to terms with it right away. It takes time to realize that you've fallen in love." she started. "Love takes time. If you're suddenly in love with someone at first sight, there must be something you aren't seeing. Maybe you're focusing on a singular thing in them that interests you-- most often, it's a physical feature. To love someone, you love them for who they are. You love them because they have flaws, because they have ups and downs that make them human. Love can't be called love if it's simply admiration from the surface." she continued. She paused to let Sasuke finish noting everything she'd just said.

"When I first met Fugaku, I didn't even like him." Sasuke's head shot up at this, surprised. "Really?" he murmured. Mikoto nodded, "Really."

"Your father was stern, a rule-freak, and didn't know how to have fun. At first, I thought, he's so boring! Who would like a guy like this? But, that was how he was on the 'surface'. Your father may be strict on the outside, but once I got to know him, I knew he was strong, he held interesting stories, and he loved to read childish books. Once I got to know him, I started to think about what our future would be like together. I pictured us as best friends, and then subconsciously, pictured us as parents." she was blushing a bit. The corner's of Sasuke's lips turned up slightly as he continued typing.

"Your brain knows you're in love before you know it yourself. The hardest part comes after you realize it." Sasuke tilted his head. Mikoto just smiled. "More often than not, you get embarrassed by your own feelings, sometimes even shameful. Love is a natural need-- platonic, familial, or romantic. Your brain, greedy for love, might even mislead you into thinking the person feels the same for you." she explained.

She tries not to notice Sasuke's hands pausing, tightening into fists before he resumed typing. She tries not to make a worried face. She tries not to wonder why Sasuke picked love out of all unknown topics to write about. 

She tries not to pry too much, don't pry too much, she thought, as Sasuke slumped back into the couch to think of another question.

She trusts her son will tell her in time.

Itachi decides to stay home for college in order to save his pockets.

The university the older Uchiha planned to attend was roughly a 12 minute drive, and Mikoto and Fugaku had no complaints handing over Mikoto's car to Itachi while they shared Fugaku's. Nobody was mad at the decision, and most importantly everybody was happy to keep Itachi at home.

August was coming to a close, and in the last week, Konoha High held it's open house and activity fair for freshman. Unfortunately, the event landed on a Thursday, meaning Mikoto and Fugaku were heading in for work in the morning. Itachi waved it off and told them not to worry-- he could take Sasuke. The worry eased off the parents' shoulders, telling the brothers to have fun and stay safe before each one left for work.

Mikoto arrives home just about half an hour before Itachi and Sasuke return at 5. Sasuke's holding a folder and a school-issued laptop case, and he complained immediately about how a bunch of girls were onto Itachi as soon as they'd walked into the school. Itachi just snickers, ruffling his little brothers hair. They both go straight into their rooms after greeting their mother and telling her everything went well. 

She'd asked them if they wanted dinner, and they requested it in an hour. So she prepared, all for that hour. When dinner was ready, she walked down the hallway. Knocking on Itachi's door, she called through the wood that it was ready to eat, pleased when she heard his masculine voice assure her he would be down in a minute.

Mikoto knocks on Sasuke's door, "Sasuke, dinner is ready." she called. "Sasuke?" the mother repeated when she heard no answer. She opened the door, face softening as she took in the sight. Sasuke was fast asleep on his bed, face pulled into a relaxed expression. It looked as if he fell asleep while working on something on his new laptop it seemed, Mikoto assumed so from the way the laptop was open in front of Sasuke, but the screen was asleep, and the folder he had brought home was open on his bed, several papers scattered on top of the folder as well as the bed.

"Goodness.." she smiled. She closes the laptop, setting it on Sasuke's desk before picking up the papers to put back in the folders, putting everything away before she woke up Sasuke. Her hands freeze at one paper, however, fingers shaking as she picked it up, studying the contents.

"Konoha High Official GSA Program" it read. There were obnoxious rainbows plastered around the paper, but once Mikoto understood what this was about, she found them a bit comically cute. "Gender Sexuality Alliance: A safe space for LGBTQ members of Konoha High" her eyes skimmed over the paper until her sight landed on the bottom line. "Your attendance in the program will not be shared to family members or classmates until you tell them yourself. We value the closet and courage to come out. Email [email protected] in order to confirm you want to join the program."

Mikoto was at a loss for words, and a million thoughts were running through her head. Her son could be gay. Or transgender? Whatever it was, she allowed herself to calm down before shoving all the papers back into the folder and placing it on the desk. She shakes Sasuke awake like she was supposed to before any of this happened. She tries to get her mind off it, but nothing works. She tries the best she can, and reminds herself that she trusts him.

She trusts Sasuke, she trusts him, she trusts him, she trusts him. She trusts him to tell her everything in time.

That night, when Fugaku comes home, she greets him quietly as usual, as their boys were asleep. Mikoto asks if he wanted dinner, he shakes his head and tells her he'd had some on his way home. Fugaku places the empty bento boxes on the counter, pressing a kiss to Mikoto's cheek as he goes to quickly wash up.

This nightly routine is no different than any other night, Mikoto washing the tupperware and placing it on the drying rack, drying her hands with a towel before she shuts off the kitchen light, heading for her and Fugaku's shared bedroom. She stretched, before crawling in to one side of the bed, smiling contently when Fugaku crawls in behind her, pressing his chest against her back. Fugaku's eyes are about to slip shut before Mikoto's sweet voice breaks the lunar silence in the room.

"What would you do if one of our sons were gay?" she suddenly asked. She felt Fugaku tense in surprise, before he relaxed.

"What's with that question, all of a sudden?" he sighed. "I have no interest in our sons' love lives," he started. Mikoto's worry began easing slowly-- but not entirely.

"I wouldn't really mind if one-- hell, even both-- turned out to be gay. As long as it doesn't distract them from their school performance. And as long as it's legal." he responded. He muttered a last sentence, "and as long as their lovers don't turn out to be pains in the bottom."

Mikoto giggled at that. "I hope so."

"But what's with the question? Is there something you need to tell me? That they need to tell me?" Fugaku asked.

Mikoto shook her head. "I don't know yet." she felt Fugaku tilt his head behind her. "I trust him. You need to trust him in this too."

"Trust him?"

"That he'll tell us when he's ready."

A year later, when Sasuke is a sophomore, the night's constellations seem to shine brighter. Different stars align this time. Itachi and Sasuke's spring breaks line up perfectly, and Sasuke spends the first day breezing through all his break work with ease, and the rest of the week, he spends happily in Itachi's room.

The second day, he and Itachi fall asleep on the couch after breezing through an all-night Spongebob marathon. 

The third day, they go out to the spring carnival. Naruto tags along too. They bring him into the Uchiha home, but the blonde decides to leave after Sasuke falls asleep first.

The fourth day, they just huddle inside Itachi's room practically all day long, until both of them shuffle out into the common room where Mikoto and Fugaku are sitting.

"Good evening, boys." Fugaku greeted, the children doing the same. "Do you boys want the TV?" Mikoto offered, handing out the remote.

Sasuke shook his head. "I.. wanted to talk about something. Or-- or t-tell you. Something." he breathed, almost like he forgot until Itachi laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Something?" Fugaku repeated, raising a brow as he shuffled to get comfortable on his seat, a mixture of concern and curiosity stirring into him.

"I.. told Itachi this before I told you guys, so. Sorry." he nervously chuckled, wiping his hands on his pants. He seemed to get more antsy by the second, and it was killing Mikoto as well.

He would tell them when he was ready. Is he ready yet?

Mikoto took a deep breath. "Sasuke, honey." she called out. The raven looked up at her, barely able to hold the eye contact but looked up nonetheless.

"You're shaking, love. Calm down, please." she stood up from the couch to take her baby's hands in hers.

"We'll love you no matter what, Sasuke. You don't have to tell us things you don't want to if you aren't ready. I trusted-- no -- I trust you. That you'll wait until you're ready. Your father and I will never hate you." she reassured him as if she knew the situation already, which she was 87% positive she did, but she refused to let herself jump the gun. 

Fugaku cleared his throat as he began. "I've not an idea of what this is all about yet, but if Itachi still loves you, then I doubt I will stop loving you. You are my son, too, Sasuke." he spoke, clear as glass.

Sasuke's hands began to shake before he opened his mouth to speak, but what only came out was a whimper. Mikoto stroked his hair, pulling the side fringe neatly behind his ear. His voice was trembling as he looked his mother in the eye, glancing from his mother to his father before his voice came out in barely coherent pieces.

"Would you still love me i-if I was gay?" he croaked out.

Mikoto's face didn't change from her motherly smile, as if she'd known all along. But tears couldn't help spilling into her warm eyes as she pulled her beloved son into a hug. Fugaku's eyes widened, lips parted slightly in surprise, but his expression morphed into one of gentleness as he watched Sasuke hesitate to wrap his arms around his own mother before burying his face in her neck.

"I mean what I said, baby, we will never hate you. We will never-- God, I'm so proud of you." Mikoto's voice was muffled as she sighed into the fabric of Sasuke's shirt, who was obviously a little taller than her. She rubbed his back, feeling warm tears spill into the side of her own dress. "M-mom, I--" 

"Shh.." she whispered. "We love you." and Sasuke sobbed.

Itachi's eyes were damp, not enough to fully cry or shed tears, but he wiped at them quickly before wrapping his arms around his mother and Sasuke. He looked up expectantly at his father, who didn't hesitate, already on the move to stand up from his seat and wrapped his arms around his family as well.

"We love you," Fugaku repeated. "We always will."

On the fifth day of Sasuke (and Itachi's) spring break, he huddled on the couch with his phone in hand all day, not pressing a button, just staring at Naruto's contact.

After another hour passed, Itachi sighed and ruffled his brother's hair. "Naruto would never hate you for this. What makes him so different than our reaction?" he said, Mikoto looking up from her crochet to study her sons.

Sasuke buried his face into the cushion. "Naruto is just.. different, I suppose. His reaction means a lot, 'cause he's special and all, and, I..." Sasuke trailed off as he noticed Mikoto and Itachi giving him a strange look. It wasn't a bad kind of strange, just something he's never seen on both of them before. The worst mixture of amusement, curiosity, and a disgusting glance that screamed of knowing.

"What?" he asked, because seriously, what.

Itachi raised a brow. "He's really special to you?"

”Yes.” Sasuke quickly said as he sat up, brushing the frizzy cushion-attacked hair from his face. A few seconds pass, and he realizes his mistake. Mikoto puts a hand before her mouth to hide her smile, but it’s wider.

Sasuke waves his hands frantically. “No! No, no, no, no nonono! Not like— not like that!” He exclaimed. “Hey, Mother!!” he cried. Mikoto’s quiet giggles turned into louder laughs.

”It’s not funny! Not— HEY!” The teenager’s face was stricken with tomato-red blush, and that was what broke Itachi, barely having time to hide his smirk behind his hand. 

“Nii-san, not you too!” he cried out. Itachi waved his hand to cool himself off from the sudden burst of laughter. Mikoto inhaled to calm herself down as well. The raven-haired woman stands up from her seat and smiles. “I’ll go start dinner, okay? Let me know how telling your boyfriend goes, darling.” she teased before disappearing into the kitchen.

Sasuke sputtered, at a complete loss for words. “But I— he, he, he’s not— boy- boyboyb- boyfr- not- HEY!” he shouted before flopping into the couch, opening his phone again. Itachi pursed his lips to contain the chortle that was about to slip past his lips.

”I know you’re laughing, nii-san.” he heard his brother grumble into the couch cushion, muffled.

”Oh, don’t be like that. I’m being supportive.” Itachi hummed as he walked over to the couch, leaning over Sasuke’s phone to peer at the message he was typing. 

“Does this look right?” Sasuke sighed, tilting the texting screen to show Itachi. Itachi studied the message.

”Maybe a little less blunt. How about this?” Itachi held his hand out, and Sasuke gave it to him, watching as he typed out ‘when are you free i have to tell you something important’.

”Wouldn’t it be better to tell him just like that, over text? If he’s not nice about it then I’ll just ignore him.” Sasuke inquired. Itachi shook his head with a smile. “I doubt he’ll hate you, Sasuke. With this, he can prepare to respond accordingly, and if you end up video calling, you can know his true reaction.” he explained.

Sasuke frowned. “But what if he..” Itachi shushed him. “He won’t.” he reassured, then gave the phone back to Sasuke before standing up from his kneeling position beside the couch.

“I have a project to work on. Let me know when Mother is done.” Itachi waved. “And let me know how it goes with your boyfriend.”

”ITACHI!”

In the peak of winter, Sasuke brings Naruto home on a Friday afternoon after school. Saying it was cold outside was merely an understatement, it was freezing. It was mid-January, when winter tended to be the coldest. Sasuke was as quiet as usual, but Naruto came in shivering, obviously over-exaggerating (because who the hell actually says “brr” when shivering). Sasuke slips his shoes off and steps in, calling out a quick “I’m home! Naruto’s here too!”.

Mikoto stuck her head out from the doorway and walked to the entrance. “Welcome home, love.” she ruffled Sasuke’s hair, which was cold from the wind. Goodness, he was getting taller than her now. He, and Naruto, were just juniors. “Hello, Naruto.” she greeted the blonde who just kicked off his boots.

”Hey, Mama Mikoto!” he grinned. “Would you two like something warm to drink?” she asked, stepping backwards to head back into the kitchen. “Yes, please.” Sasuke said, unzipping his coat.

Naruto and Sasuke sit on the couch in the common room as they wait for Mikoto to prepare their warm drinks.

”Ah, right.” Naruto suddenly piped up. “The winter formal is coming soon!”

Sasuke perked up at this. “It’s next Saturday, right?” The raven asked. Naruto nodded. 

“Wow. Our first ever winter formal. I can’t believe they shut it down the past two years cuz of the stupid weather. But hey, anyways, you can take dates to it, too. Man, I’ve got to ask out a cute girl to go with me.” he sighed as he leaned back into the couch. Sasuke’s face fell for a second. Mikoto chooses this time to walk in with their tea.

”Hey, Sasuke, do you have anyone you want to ask out?” Naruto asked.

Mikoto set down the cups, “Here, boys.” she said, pretending she didn’t hear the last few lines of their conversation as well as Naruto’s question. Sneaking a quick glance, she can see that Sasuke’s face is just… blank. Though she knows he hurts— she decides to leave it alone.

Time will tell, after all.

Fast forward two weeks, the winter formal arrives. It’s on Saturday— January 29th. Naruto had kept bugging Sasuke about bringing a date or asking someone out, but in the end, Sasuke only wanted to ask out one boy— however that option was out of the line. So Sasuke went without a date, with a couple friends, including Naruto.

In the end, Naruto wasn’t able to find someone that would willingly go with him, so he settled for a small friend group to just be there for the fun of it. Naruto didn’t have a date. Sasuke told Mikoto and Itachi just that when they dressed him up in one of Itachi’s old tuxes that he’d worn for his first ever winter formal. 

”Really?” Mikoto said as she attempted to do the tie. Sasuke nodded.

”He was all ‘don’t worry Sasuke, I’ll go with you so you aren’t lonely! That’s what friends are for!’ and everything.” he sighed. Itachi hummed. “Well, that’s the closest to a date you’ll get for now, unless you make a move.” he grinned. Sasuke’s cheeks tinted pink. 

“I’m.. maybe. For now, it’ll be okay. It’ll just be us, anyways.” he said.

Mikoto finished the tie and tucked it in. “He’ll be yours all night, okay? Treat him kindly, baby.” she smiled as she pinched his cheeks. “You’re growing up already. You’ll be all old and wrinkly like Grandpa Itachi.” she joked. Itachi muttered a “hey!” in retaliation, but the trio laughed nonetheless.

”Call me or Itachi if you need a ride, okay? Go have fun with your little lover.” she giggled as she walks with Sasuke to the front door.

”He’s not my..” Sasuke turned his head. A honk was heard outside.

“Anyways, I’ll be going now!” The raven lifted his head.

Mikoto held his head down and kissed his temple, Sasuke blushing a bit and leaving his fingers over the spot. Itachi gently smiled and poked his forehead.

”Go out and have fun tonight, Sasuke.” he said. The youngest Uchiha looked out the window to see the car that Karin was driving, and took in a deep breath, slipping on his shoes.

”Bye, mother, nii-san.” he called out, opening the door.

”He’s growing up so fast.” Mikoto breathed as she watched Sasuke get into the car, catching a glimpse of Naruto in the backseat while the door is opened.

The car speeds off down the sunset dimmed street, and Itachi places a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “Yeah,” he said. “But he’ll be okay.”

Itachi finds that he spoke too soon when Sasuke comes home barely two hours after he had initially left. Mikoto and Itachi were seated in the common room, watching a random show that was airing on the television when the door opens with a bang, as if someone had slammed it open in a rush.

Mikoto’s first thought was, wow, Fugaku is home early, then her second thought is, Sasuke is the only person to open the door like that, and only when he’s definitely not happy.

Her heart seems to shatter when she hears it slam closed almost as quick as it was burst open, and then a thump, like someone leaning against it, and then a sob.

Itachi is the first to scramble out of his seat on the couch, running to the front door, Mikoto sprinting after him. Her boy, god, her boy.

Sasuke was curled into a ball, leaning against the front door. His hands were glued to his face that he’d buried into his knees, and he hadn’t even bothered to take his shoes off.

”Hey, hey, hey, what the..” Itachi muttered as he kneeled down. “Sasuke.” he places a hand on his younger brother’s back who only sobbed louder.

”Baby, what’s wrong?” Mikoto hushed as she runs over to the other side of Sasuke that Itachi hadn’t occupied. “Sasuke!” she cried out in worry.

Sasuke wouldn’t stop crying, wouldn’t stop trying to breathe but it was suffocating to be crying so hard that your lungs couldn’t hold out. He only continued shuddering, until Itachi brings a hand under his knees and another at his backside and lifts him up with ease. Mikoto slips his shoes off while he’s in midair, and Itachi carries him over to the couch.

His sobs won’t settle down, if anything, they just got worse with time. Mikoto’s own tears began to fill her eyes, because, what, what the hell did someone do to hurt her boy like this.

Sasuke was not a crier by any means, and it fucking devastated her to see her child broken in and taken over by sadness, by sobs that were crushing his body so much he couldn’t breathe. Itachi laid Sasuke’s head on his lap, sideways on the couch as Mikoto sat beside the couch to make room for his feet, cradling his face. 

Itachi moved to take a hand off Sasuke’s face, and his face fell at the reddened, teary heartbroken mess he saw all over his face.

Sasuke’s tears wouldn’t stop spilling, and he just sits up and turns around to collapse in Itachi’s arms, sobs racking his body again.

”Shhh..” the older male ran a hand up and down his brother’s back, calming him. “It’s okay.” he whispered.

”But it’s not!” Sasuke screamed. Itachi winced at the raise of volume, but listened intently.

Sasuke pulled back from the hug, expression now a mix of hurt and anger. “But it’s not okay! It’s not— he k-kissed her, and he promised me that he would be with me, and—and he kissed her!” he shouted. Itachi’s brows furrowed, while Mikoto sat up.

”I don’t want him to love a-anybody else, and it’s so selfish, I’m so s-sel—” he chokes on a sob and breaks down once more, burying his face in Itachi’s chest again. Itachi ran his fingers through his little brother’s hair, sighing as he thought about how to go about this situation.

Mikoto sat on the edge of the couch, tucking Sasuke’s sticky tear-soaked hair strands back. “Love is selfish, Sasuke. It’s okay to be, sometimes.” she cooed. There was a comfortable silence for the next few minutes, of just Mikoto combing through Sasuke’s hair that had been stuck together by tears, and Itachi calmly rubbing his brother’s back. The relaxing actions seemed to ease Sasuke’s breakdown for the most part, and he just sniffled every now and then.

”Mother.” he broke the silence with a whisper.

”Yes, love.” Mikoto responded.

”Why does it h—hic—hurt so much? To.. to see him with somebody else.” he shuddered out.

Mikoto brushed her thumb against his cheek, and the boy moves his face to look at her. She sadly smiled, and just said, “Love is meant to hurt.” 

Sasuke’s sobs turned into sniffles for the rest of the night, and when they suddenly subside, Mikoto lifts her hand from Sasuke’s head to find his eyes slipped shut, gentle breaths pushing past his partly opened lips. 

Itachi tilted his head in confusion until Mikoto looked up at him and whispered, “he’s asleep.”. The older Uchiha brother nodded and gently lifted the boy up, footsteps planting down the hallway to Sasuke’s bedroom. They didn’t bother changing him in fear of waking him up, so Itachi just lifts his cover over his brother and leaves the room, not without sparing him a small glance of concern beforehand.

Mikoto wets a cloth and gently wiped Sasuke’s face and neck with the cloth, careful not to wake him up. She wiped down his eye area, to make sure that his face isn’t itchy the following morning. Her heart breaks, and she will never forget this night as one of the most terrifying moments of her life, seeing her baby cry as hard as he did. She whispers a quiet “good night”, kisses his forehead, and brings the covers up higher over him, and then leaves.

That night, she lays with Itachi, waiting for Fugaku to come home, both silently thinking.

There are no words, only silent prayers that they’d never have to see Sasuke cry again.

The next morning, Naruto’s up and at their door at the ass crack of 5am, asking 15 questions a second about why Sasuke had left early and why he wasn’t answering his texts. Fugaku had just stood there and raised a brow in confusion until Itachi took over the door and lied straight to the blonde’s face saying he’d called him home to help with something urgent. He pretends he doesn’t hold a small grudge against Naruto, because even Itachi feels bad that he’s silently blamed the boy for something he didn’t even do. 

Like all of Sasuke and Naruto’s ‘fights’, it resolves itself in a few weeks.

Mikoto pretends she doesn’t feel bad the next year when Sasuke sighed and told her he’s attending his senior prom with friends. It’s been years, and yet..

Well, she can’t afford to be too upset, after all, she’s impressed her boy has held onto this love. She trusts him to, soon…

Itachi attends a college party the same night, he considers cancelling until Sasuke shook his head and reassured him, “It won’t be like last year’s formal.”.

Like Mikoto, Itachi trusts him, so he ruffles his hair (which earns a curse) and leaves for his own party.

Mikoto also pretends she isn’t disappointed when Sasuke comes home with no new idiotic blonde whispered boyfriend. However, her boy is happy to have had fun with his friends, and that’s all that mattered to them.

Despite everything he’s held for Naruto Uzumaki for the past four and a half years, Sasuke pretends that Naruto heading off to a different college out of the state doesn’t hurt him. 

At their graduation, Sasuke doesn’t stop eyeing his best friend, and Mikoto tries not to notice. The only time Sasuke tears his eyes away is when he’s called up to give a speech as Salutatorian, and then afterwards when he’s called up to retrieve his diploma.

The graduation ceremony went by faster than Mikoto would have liked, and she couldn’t help but cry just a little bit when caps went flying in the air.

(Fugaku would never admit it, but he cried a bit as well.)

Afterwards, everybody spilled out of the auditorium into the large hall, where graduators met with their families. The flashed at every second from a random photographer snapping pictures of a family was making Mikoto’s head hurt, but nonetheless the trio of her, Itachi, and Fugaku set out to find Sasuke in the crowd of people.

Itachi tapped Mikoto’s shoulder, and she looked up to see Itachi signaling with his eyes toward someone, but then said, “Don’t go over there right now.”.

In confusion, she grabs Fugaku’s arms and motions with a tilt of her head the same thing Itachi had just said, and then looks with herself.

Surely enough, that is Sasuke Uchiha standing in a less crowded area, in front of who they all recognized as Naruto.

Mikoto squinted to get a closer look. Obviously, they couldn’t hear, but they could see Naruto’s lips, as Sasuke was facing with his back turned from their angle.

Sasuke had suddenly looked to the floor, before meeting Naruto’s eyes. They couldn’t hear what was said, but somehow something in Mikoto had leaped, as she watched Naruto’s face lighten up with pure surprise. 

The raven teen takes a step back, as if he’s ready to run away and never come back, but a hand tugs at his wrist.

Naruto grips Sasuke’s hand and pulls him forward into a kiss. Fugaku makes a surprised grunt, Mikoto a squeak, and Itachi a hum.

They stay put to see what happens next— Sasuke hides his face in Naruto’s shoulder, and the whiskered teen seems to laugh and place a hand on Sasuke’s neck before saying something that his lips read as ‘I love you too’.

Mikoto’s face softens into one of adoration, ‘So they’ve done it, huh.’.

There’s a sudden raise of volume, and Mikoto can barely blink before a familiar redhead and blond speed into the frame.

Minato and Kushina.

Of course, Kushina is naturally louder, so they can hear her voice, but not make out her words. They could see Sasuke and Naruto break apart from the hug and stand awkwardly as Kushina seemed to exclaim and go on and on about something regarding the kiss that she’d seen. 

Then suddenly, she points a finger right at the Uchiha trio standing awkwardly 20 feet away from the scene.

Sasuke looks like something inside him died as he realized both of their families witnessed the entire confession and kiss, and Naruto looks like he’s on the verge of passing out of embarrassment.

”That’s really what you get for trying to confess inside a full hall of grads, foolish little brother.” Itachi sighed playfully as he ruffled Sasuke’s hair.

Sasuke chuckled, eyes still locked on Naruto, as if he couldn’t believe the entire confession went well.

Mikoto waved a hand in front of her son, who’d seemed to space out.

”Hey, darling, no time to get all mushy. We’re going out for a celebration dinner!” The Uchiha mother exclaimed. Sasuke flinched slightly at the hand and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

The two families split back into their cars to drive to a restaurant to celebrate the graduation of Sasuke and Naruto, and if both families just teased their teens on the entire drive there, then so be it.

Because Sasuke’s stupid grin hadn’t been wiped off the entire day.

Because Sasuke has finally experienced, and now knew what love is.