Chapter Text
3 weeks AKA (After Kyubi Attack) - Itachi; 5 years old, Sasuke; 14 weeks old, Naruto; 3 weeks old
***
Minato is fairly certain he can count, on one hand, exactly how many hours of sleep he gets in a night. He doesn't even need to use his thumbs. Naruto is tiny, adorable, and cries almost constantly. And tonight? Well, tonight he just won't. Stop. Crying. At all.
Minato is fairly certain the seal is fine, and that the baby isn't sick or injured, but he's upset about something, and won't settle, no matter what he does. Minato doesn't know what to do, nor does he have any idea who to turn to. Jiriaya-Sensei would probably suggest Sake (either for Minato or the baby, he's not sure), and he can't face Inoichi or Shikaku. Not that he's embarrassed, it's just... They have wives. Living, breathing, wives who love them and... He bites his lip. There is, he supposes, one person he could turn to. Someone who is both an experienced parent and a recent widower... Whether he'd help Minato though... They're not exactly, close. In fact, Minato is not sure if the other man could be considered close with anyone outside of his Clan...
Naruto's wails have quieted a little, but he's still clearly upset... Fuck it Minato decides. It's worth the risk; I mean what's the worse that could happen?
Minato has seals all over the village even with all the destruction from the attack, they're all still in place (they are nigh on indestructible after all). It means he can travel pretty much anywhere near instantaneously...
In a flash, he's stood outside the recently erected house that the Uchiha Clan Head calls Home. Now that he is here, he's not entirely sure what to do. He hovers for a few moments, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, whilst Naruto sniffles and wails. He's just about worked up enough courage to knock on the door when it opens, without him actually having to do anything.
Fugaku isn't a sensor -Minato knows that- but he must have felt a burst of chakra as Minato arrived (he hadn't been trying to conceal his chakra signature after all). That or he had heard Naruto crying...
"Hokage-Sama." Fugaku greets, as gruff but polite as always. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Naruto's sobs increase in volume again, and Fugaku looks from the baby to Minatod's face, an expression of understanding overtaking his stern features.
"Ah." He says, then sighs. "Come in".
Once inside he watches Minato struggle to remove his shoes whilst holding the baby. "Let me," Fugaku says, before dropping to his knees and undoing and then removing the zori for him (if Minato were any less tired he'd blush), then silently leads him through a sparse tatami room and then into another (more lived-in) room with a shabby, but comfortable-looking sofa. He gestures for Minato to sit, which he does, grateful to sit down for the first time in what feels like hours. He's exhausted.
"Is everything okay?"
Minato shakes his head so quickly it makes him feel a little dizzy. "Yes. I mean. No. I. He. He won't stop crying."
Fugaku looks at the baby, for a few moments, before sighing in resignation and gesturing at Minato to pass him the infant.
When Minato just blinks blankly at him, Fugaku takes Naruto from his arms and puts the baby on the left side of his chest, the small chin resting on his shoulder.
"When did he last eat?"
"About 20 minutes ago?"
"Ah."
Minato watches, fascinated, as the Uchiha Clan head alternates between rubbing and firmly hitting the baby's back. After a few moments, Naruto emits a very loud burp, one that sounds like it should come from a full-grown man and not a tiny infant. Fugaku keeps the motion going, subconsciously swaying from side to side and more burps eventually issue: though they are much quieter than the initial one. Naruto settles and begins to doze off on Fugakus's shoulder.
"He just needed burping, have you been stopping after getting the first one out?"
Minato looks at Fugaku like he's grown an extra head.
"You have been burping him, right?"
"Whats burping?!" Minato may be a genius, but he's clearly clueless about babies. He'd read all the books during the early days of Kushina's pregnancy, how had he forgotten about burping?
Fugaku gives him a look, somewhere between startled and bewildered, but still clearly asking 'Are you an idiot?!'
Minato puts his face in his hands, his eyes scrunching in a vain attempt to prevent himself from crying. He can feel a lump rising in his throat as he sits on the Uchiha Clan Heads' tatty-looking sofa: once again, he misses Kushina fiercely.
"I have no idea what I'm doing."
A large, warm hand is placed on his shoulder -it's probably meant to be comforting, but just makes him feel very, very young- and Minato looks up into Fugaku's stern, frowning face.
"No one does at first... Don't you have anyone who can help you?" Fugaku still has Naruto on his shoulder: he's absent-mindedly patting the baby on his rump, and gently swaying from side to side. He probably isn't even aware he's doing that, Minato thinks, the action must be so ingrained from soothing his own children. Part of him wonders if he'll ever look and feel as at ease with a baby in his arms as Fugaku clearly does.
Minato shakes his head, both to dispel his thoughts and in response to the Uchiha's question. Everyone he knows (who he could trust enough to help) is either dead or just as clueless as he is. He still clearly remembers Kakashi's panicked expression when he'd introduced him to Naruto and passed the younger man the baby. He knows that Kakashi is technically too young for Minato to worry about a heart attack, but worry he had. He's never seen his student look so terrified.
Minato relaxes into the sofa, head flung back, neck resting on the padded back.
He probably shouldn't trust the Uchiha Clan Head: he still remembers the masked man with his blazing Sharingan, who had attacked him That Night... But... He also remembers Mikoto. Mikoto, who had gone to his wife's aid, despite Danzo's orders, and given her life to help seal the Kyubi.
He hears Fugaku sigh. It's late, he must be tired. Minato should probably take his son home, but... Naruto is sleeping peacefully, for the first time in days, and Minato is just so exhausted... His eyes start to drift and... Then...
He startles awake when he hears murmuring voices coming from the genkan. Fugaku must still have Naruto, but neither are in the room... Before he can panic, Fugaku walks back in, Naruto still fast off on his shoulder.
"When did you last get a decent night's sleep," he demands with another sigh.
Minato rubs his eyes, in a vain attempt to banish his exhaustion. "Erm..."
Yet another sigh. "Go get some sleep Hokage-Sama, the guest room is the first door at the top of the stairs. I'll take care of the baby"
Minato briefly considers arguing, but can't bring himself to do so. He's, so, so tired. More tired than he's ever felt in his life, in fact. He'd consider letting then Riakage babysit if it meant he could snatch a few hours of sleep...
"Who was at the door," he asks, before leaving the room. Fugaku has sat on the sofa, Naruto still comfortably resting against his chest, Fugaku's large hand supporting the baby's bottom. He's managed to pull a book from somewhere and is clearly planning to read it one-handed.
"My sister-in-law. I called her, and asked her to come over to set up the guest room." he gives Minato a calculating look "Don't worry, she won't mention this to anybody". As if that had even entered Minato's mind.
"Thank you" he utters before trudging upstairs and passing out on Uchiha Fugaku's spare bed, not even bothering to get undressed before doing so.
***
Downstairs Fugaku looks at the sleeping baby propped on his chest and whispers "Give your dad a break kid. This isn't easy."
He settles in for the night. It won't be the first time he's sat up all night with a sleeping infant propped up on his chest, and he doubts it will be the last.
Tomorrow, he'll call off work and ask Mariko to come over and watch the kids whilst he sleeps. His sister-in-law may be a harridan and a horrific nag, but she's very kind-hearted.
He's not entirely sure why the Yondaime Hokage came to him for help, but well. He keenly remembers how out of his depth he felt when Itachi had been born. It only feels right to help a fellow parent out. Mikoto would haunt him if he didn't. He stiffens, his back strengthening, at the thought of his wife. His grief is still raw, like an open wound on his heart. He looks down at the baby on his chest and thinks of Sasuke. He and Naruto will never know their mothers...
He's overcome by the urge to look in on his own children, to reassure himself that they are alive, well and blissfully asleep, but he doesn't move from the sofa.
They'll be time for that, later: for now he has a newborn to care for.
***