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Having a child wasn’t exactly their plan. Of course, there was the issue of restoring the Uchiha to its former glory, but there were the obvious biological problems when it came to that. When Sasuke settled down, he didn’t expect to have children. Sure, it was a wish- maybe simply a selfish desire, yet he didn’t feel it was necessary for him to be happy with his newly wed husband. Naruto loved him even if he couldn’t bear children, and they had bigger fish to fry at the moment. The two were going to rebuild the village together, and create the sort of world they would want a child to live in. No more child soldiers, no more political disadvantages, a pure and refined clan system, those were all part of Sasuke’s dream.
Dating wasn’t like either of them imagined it. As a child, Sasuke didn’t have time to daydream about girls, due to his strict upbringing. He would be married off to a spare girl from his clan, and that was that. Naruto had always imagined himself with a woman too, but it seemed far more natural when the two were together rather than trying to romance women. Learning to live a peaceful life and recover from the past was a difficult process for both of them, but they wouldn’t have ended up together if it weren’t for the harder times. Of course, there were still arguments and the two would often disagree about the dumbest things, but there was always a hint of endearment there.
The two weren’t the first to notice their budding attraction for one another, Sakura was coincidentally one of the first to pick up on it. How they’d spend far too much time together, the subtle way their hands never seemed to separate, the way Sasuke’s lips actually twisted into a genuine smile. Something she’d never managed to earn from him. However, the past was in the past. She was way over that by now, and she was preparing to step up and join the newly appointed council. Mixed with her medical work and helping Ino, Sakura didn’t have time for chasing after mindless crushes anymore, and surprisingly she was okay with that.
After three years, Naruto and Sasuke were engaged, and became the first pair to rule the village. No more hokage; it was now simply called the Konoha alliance, a partnership between common people and ninjas. For the first time in ages, common people could be appointed into the council, and people who had came from other villages. Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu were granted citizenship, and if they stayed loyal after a certain period of time, would be eligible to join too. The elders were naturally removed, as well as anyone who’s beliefs were stuck in the past. Prejudice against the Uchiha or anyone who came from a common household or certain clan wouldn’t be tolerated in their council.
Shikamaru because their assistant, although he wasn’t needed much and managed to live a peaceful and quiet life, just like he wanted. The perfect balance of work and time to himself which gave him no reason to be lazy anymore. He’d been weary of Sasuke at first, gradually warming up to the new alliance as time passed. He had to admit though, Sasuke made his life a lot easier, and saved him from doing so much work. Kurenai and her small daughter were more of his focus in life now, rather than his job.
Slowly but surely, the village began to improve. Neji’s death had been a wake up call to the rest of the Hyuga, especially Hinata. She’d matured into a woman now, and fully agreed with Naruto’s new policies. Her father wasn’t too pleased with Hinata’s objections to his rules, or the rules of the branch house. However, the council chose to remove him from his place as Hyuga leader, and Hinata took his place instead. She was gentle and stern, just like a good leader should be. Her goal was to make every child in the clan feel wanted, and give them equal opportunities so that there would never be a cursed seal again.
Orochimaru and Kabuto were wandering nin, granted pardon by Sasuke. He felt like death would be too easy of a punishment, and instead chose to watch the two like a hawk. It would’ve been easier to kill them both, but Naruto stopped him, believing that they deserved a chance. Not in the village, they wouldn’t be welcome there, and a trial would only be unfair. They could choose to stay away, or face their punishment. The two didn’t say a word, and only disappeared without a trace as soon as Naruto had given them their choices. A fitting ending, Sasuke supposed.
The pieces were starting to pull themselves together, despite the circumstances. Itachi’s memory still haunted him, and the old Uchiha district only caused him panic. It would be impossible to forget how he’d been through, and some days it did make him angry. There were still the few stray villagers who opposed his ideas, and believed he should have been executed like the traitor he was. These were mostly shinobi, who didn’t enjoy change, and only expected things to stay the same as they had always been. It left a bad taste in his mouth, something that was only remedied by seeing his fiance’s smiling face when he returned home each day.
"Welcome home, idiot!" He’d greet him, and that seemed to stick. Every evening, Naruto would say that same old teasing sentence, even if Sasuke glared at him. He thought it was hilarious, and so it stuck with them even after their marriage. At first, the two were nervous about tying the knot. There would always be people here in the village who detested them for being the same sex, and found it absolutely disgusting that they were in office and together at the same time. Not exactly the best time to get married. Still, they both wanted it more than anything else in the world, and their friends all agreed to be in the wedding without any objections.
It was an odd feeling of satisfaction, as Sasuke walked down the aisle. Sakura and Kakashi stood on either side of the two, both grinning from ear to ear, except that Kakahi’s was well hidden. It amused him a little, that Kakashi wouldn’t take off that damn mask even for his own student’s wedding. The best thing though was seeing the pure happiness on is husband’s face before they kissed, and gently slid the rings on to each other’s fingers. It was the first time in a very long time that Sasuke felt at peace, a rare moment of joy. Slowly, he was getting better.
After a few months of marriage, the inevitable subject began to pop up. The dreaded baby conversation. So far, they were both happy. Sasuke still had his nightmares, and it was hard to completely start wiping the images of his family from his mind, but he was getting there ever so slowly, with help from Naruto. It was no surprise that Naruto had always wanted children, something Sasuke couldn’t give him. That hurt him, and it was constantly weighing on his mind when he was feeling worse for wear. One day at work, the topic came up while they were organizing files. More specifically, the birth records.
"Y’know, there are a lotta babies being born lately." Naruto spoke up, tapping a finger to his desk absentmindedly. Sasuke only rolled his eyes.
"So what? Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?" He replied, while carefully watching him for any reaction.
"Well, yeah. I was just thinkin’…" And there Naruto went. Doing that thing that he always did whenever he was about to voice an opinion or some new idea. "About a baby." He finished, anxiously gnawing at his lip. That word make Sasuke’s heart drop. He didn’t want to think about it, because it would only end in disappointment.
"You know as well as I do that that’s impossible…" The raven sighed, going back to the stacks of paperwork. It was better not to say too much, he knew his husband well, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up.
"I know that, but I mean adopting or something. Maybe even a surrogate. I dunno, don’t worry ‘bout it too much, okay?" Naruto smiled at him and put on his usual cheery tone, but Sasuke knew good and well that it was forced. The need got even worse when they saw civilians on the street. Mothers holding the hands of their children, or fathers pushing their newborns in strollers. Sasuke was perceptive enough to know that these things bothered Naruto more than anything else at the moment. The little things. He tried to make up for that by taking him to Ichiraku’s more often, and much to his displeasure, set up a dinner date with some of Naruto’s friends.
Socializing wasn’t his forte, but he was willing to swallow his pride this time. At first, it went great. All of their fellow jounin were gathered around the bar, chatting excitedly and sharing stories from their lives. Even Naruto perked up a little. That all changed when Ino announced that she was pregnant. Naruto left early that night, making some excuse about extra work he had to finish up. Fortunately, Sakura caught on and narrowed her eyes at Sasuke before the night was over, as if to say it was his fault. When everyone started to file out and head home, she pulled him aside into the alleyway, with a vice grip on his arm.
"What did you do?" She questioned, giving him a glance that clearly insisted that he speak up quickly.
"It isn’t something I did. Ino is guilty as far as I’m concerned." Sasuke scoffed, and the grip on his arm loosened.
"Ino?" Sakura repeated, clearly confused. Suddenly, everything clicked to her. Her eyebrows knitted in worry, and she frowned in dismay. "It’s because of the baby, isn’t it?" Sasuke nodded, and she let go of him. "I knew this would come up sometime. I don’t know what I can do to help you two.. Unless.. You’re looking for a surrogate." Her words left him in a daze. Sakura would really do that for them? She’d bear the burden of childbirth, just to see the two of them happy?
"You’d have to speak with Naruto about it, but I’d be glad for you to carry our child."
9 months later, Naruto and Sasuke came home with a small bundle of blankets. A baby girl, exactly what they’d hoped for. She was so small, with a tiny rounded nose and sleepy almond eyes. Her hair was the same shade of black as Sasuke’s, and her lips naturally curved into a slight pout like her father’s. She was absolutely perfect, and everything that they had wished for.
"Welcome home, Chigu." Naruto cooed, cradling the bundle in his arms. Just mere days ago, he’d been crying when she was born. At first, Sasuke thought something was wrong with her and started to panic, only to realize that they were tears of joy. The next couple days went by in a flurry of excitement, and here they were, bringing their daughter home for the first time. It wasn’t perfect at first, more like far from it. The crying in the middle of the night, the constant diaper changes and the lullabies that Sasuke had to memorize. By the next month, he still hadn’t gotten the whole dad thing perfected. Fortunately, he had Naruto to help, who was admittedly better with their daughter.
He knew how to rock her, how to make her giggle, how to make her smile. He was smug for awhile that her first word would be Papa, due to his amazing parenting skills. When she was around a year old, the child lifted a tiny fist and lifted it to Sasuke, before declaring, "Daddy!" Naruto was shocked that his daughters first word had been what she called Sasuke, and not him. It was his husband’s turn to smirk at him now. Their daughter was a fast learner, and picked up on so many things so fast. She had no trouble taking her first wobbly steps, and was already talking before Ino’s kid. Of course, Ino was jealous. Their baby girl was growing so fast, and soon enough she was no longer a baby.
Sasuke loved his daughter more than anything else, but when she turned 5, he started wishing for something else. Another baby. Naruto shared his desire for another kid- a boy this time. And so they started all over again. Little Chigusa was wary of her baby brother when he was brought home, naturally being a little jealous of him at first. Her ‘aunt’ Sakura had told her she was going to be a great big sister, but Sasuke saw the doubt in his child’s eyes. While Naruto sat down on the couch with the newborn in his arms, Sasuke bent down to Chigusa’s level and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"This is your new baby brother, Taro." He told her, gesturing over towards Naruto and the small bundle. They’d been so nervous when they’d first brought their little girl home, but it was almost second nature to them now how to take care of their new son. While Naruto fed the baby, Sasuke tried to reassure his daughter, gazing into her eyes that were identical to his own. "When I was your age, I had a big brother. His name was Itachi, and he was a wonderful brother. He was kind, and smart, and brave. Just like you’ll be. Taro needs a big sister to be there for him, don’t you agree?" He smiled, seeing the glimmer of fascination in his child’s eyes.
"I’ll be like ‘Tachi then. I don’t like my new brother too much, but when he gets bigger he’ll be a lot more fun." Chigusa explained, before walking away from Sasuke and over towards the couch. She hesitantly leaned over, before brushing a strand of unruly blonde hair from her brother’s forehead.
"Welcome home, little bro."
It had been a long day at work, and Sasuke was desperate for a good meal and his bed. His whole body ached with exhaustion as he climbed the stairs to his apartment, and he let out a soft sigh. He fished the keys from his pocket and opened the door, not expecting to be bombarded with hugs as soon as he walked through the doorway. Taro latched onto his leg, and Chigusa happily tugged at the sleeve of his cloak. Naruto grinned apologetically from his place in the kitchen. The smell of tomato soup wafted in as soon as Sasuke entered, which told him Naruto had cooked dinner early for him tonight. Oh, how he loved him even more now.
"Daddy! Daddy!" The two children chanted, grinning happily up at their father. "Welcome home!" Even with his exhaustion, Sasuke was glad to be home. He’d had a hard time figuring out what home was to him, since his had been taken away from him. He knows now that home is the place where his children run, littering their toys across the floor. It’s the place where his husband kisses him on the cheek every morning, and surprises him with his favorite thing when he needs it the most. Home is where the picture of his parents and Itachi hang on the wall, but they no longer burden him.
Sasuke has found his home.