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Izuna struggles to keep his eyes open as he walks into the kitchen.
He'd leave them closed, except for the way they really don't need to replace the shoji again for the third time this year.
"Nii-san?" He yawns into the sleeve of his yogi, wrapping it more closely around his shoulders. Even though winter has barely begun it's already far too cold for his liking. "What are you making for..."
"Good morning, Izuna-kun!" Hashirama-san gives him a cheery wave and Mito-hime smiles at him from her seat at the table, holding the child to her breast as she feeds their baby. Izuna makes a disgusted face in return. It's too early to deal with their happiness. "The chawanmushi will be ready soon!"
"Ugh, you are tooth rottingly sweet." Izuna collapses next to Mito-hime, burying his face in his folded arms. "Why did I tell nii-san he couldn't just live with his lovers and that he had to be respectable by moving in with our clan. Can't you all go away and subject Tobirama to this instead of me?"
"No," Hashirama-san smacks a loud kiss on the top of his head and Izuna flails at the man half heartedly. "It wouldn't change anything. You're my beloved otouto now!"
"I'm so lucky," Izuna makes the words as sarcastic as he can but his biting tone just seems to bounce off. "I get kisses from a tree, what an unexpected extra benefit to nii-san's marriage."
"You also get a nephew," Mito-hime deposits the baby in his arms before rising to join nii-san at the stove. "Help him to burp please, I need to go and prevent your brother from burning the kitchen down."
"I will not burn down the kitchen!" Nii-san yells back, but Izuna can already see the rice bubbling over so he has no high hopes. "Leave me alone!"
"Madara!" Hashirama-san flutters over to nii-san and Izuna spitefully hopes the sleeves of his over large haori catch fire. "Eyes on the pot!"
"Hey, don't leave him with me!" Izuna cradles the baby more closely but can't help feeling a little panicked. He hasn't held a child this small for a while. "I already admitted I was wrong to force this marriage! Shouldn't that get me out of childcare?"
"Ah, but love isn't about right or wrong," Mito-hime pats him on the arm. "It's about helping out when you're needed."
Which is... true.
"Well then." Izuna stares down into huge dark eyes that stare right back at him. "I guess it's you and me, kid."
"Tou!" A little hand waves before grabbing onto his wrist. "Zu!"
"Zu?" Izuna tucks the baby into the yogi with him, it wouldn't do for nii-san's son to get cold after all. "I think you mean I-zu-na."
"ZU!" It's a bellow, right in his ear, and Izuna can't help grinning. Yeah, this kid inherited nii-san's lungs alright. "ZUNA!"
"Did he just...?" Hashirama-san's head whips around. "Say...?"
"He said my name!" Izuna hugs the little boy joyfully. "That's right! I'm your Uncle Izuna!"
"What!" Nii-san abandons the rice without ceremony. "His first word is your name? Why not tou-chan!"
"Because I'm the best and he's smart enough to know it!" Izuna ducks away from nii-san's reaching arms, refusing to give up the baby. "Go back to the stove or you really will burn down the kitchen!"
Grumbling, nii-san and Hashirama-san go back to cooking but Mito-hime throws him a wink that Izuna returns.
At least nii-san married a sensible woman.
And the kid is pretty cute.
Izuna can live with this.