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It is only when everything she tastes suddenly turns unbearably sour that Mikoto recognizes that the nausea and dizziness she has suffered over the last few days, previously attributed to a burgeoning cold, might very well be something else entirely.
Mikoto experiences no panic at this realization—instead, she is annoyed. She has experienced the signs twice before; she should have considered the possibility that she is pregnant earlier.
Of course, she admits to herself, this condition is hardly anticipated. The idea of a third child was floated only briefly between herself and Fugaku, before being quickly put to rest by the realities of raising two highly intelligent, impetuous boys.
These days, the boys are hardly boys anymore: Itachi speaks about moving outside of the family home and Sasuke is close to attaining genin rank.
She had been expecting to start feeling the pangs of an empty nest, not…
Well, this.
She makes sure to purchase a pregnancy test when she goes out shopping later in the day.
Or two.
Just to make sure there are no questions.
–
Mikoto looks at both tests, turns down the seat of the toilet so that she can sit back down, and considers her situation. Her mind is surprisingly sharp and calm, despite this unexpected turn of events.
She is not quite forty, but will celebrate that birthday very late into her pregnancy. She is a healthy woman who has given birth twice without complications. She is surprised, but not dismayed.
She does not feel too old to be a mother again.
But she has much to discuss with Fugaku.
–
Like all married couples, they have their rituals.
If Mikoto is in the kitchen when Fugaku returns home, the day has been one of normal routine. If she sits on the veranda, it is an invitation to speak more casually, of gossip, idle thoughts, or of their sons if they are not present.
If she is in the bedroom, there is something they need to discuss immediately.
It is there that she waits, in the hours before he is due to return, reading a book without absorbing any of its contents.
Finally, she hears his footsteps through the entryway. Hears him call out for her.
“In here,” she calls back, her heart pounding under her breastbone. She doesn’t know why she is so nervous.
The door to their bedroom slides open. Fugaku’s expression is normal enough, but there is tension along his shoulders.
“How was your day?” she asks, smiling a little, to ease his mind. She swings her legs over the side of the bed, and pats a spot besides her. He obliges, crossing the threshold to sit next to her, the futon dipping under his weight.
“Uneventful,” he says, eyes searching her face for clues about what she wishes to discuss. “Yours?”
“Interesting,” she says, taking his hand in her own. It is rougher than when they first met, even though he spends more time signing documents these days than forming jutsus. She brings the hand to her lips, palm up for a kiss.
She can feel his eyes on her, his gaze softer, but still wary.
“Remember how I haven’t been feeling well?” she asks. Before he can misconstrue her meaning and grow alarmed, she brings his hand to rest on her belly.
Fugaku is a smart man, but it still a moment, looking from her womb to her face and back again before he gets it.
“We’re going to have another baby?” he asks, genuinely surprised.
The anxiety that has been coiling within her loosens when he refers to the fetus as theirs.
“We are.”
“You’re certain?”
Her amusement for his astonishment bubbles up, and she can’t help but tease him.
“Indeed. You see, husband, when a man and a woman are very much in love—”
Fugaku looks unimpressed. “Very funny, Mikoto.”
She shrugs, unaffected. “You know how babies are made, Fugaku. We were less careful than we could have been.”
Fugaku flushes at that—a shy man in certain matters, her husband. But he recovers, pulls himself together by taking a deep breath and letting it out again.
“Have you seen the doctor?” he asks, now composed, his mind turning to practical matters.
“I made an appointment for Wednesday.”
“How far along are you?”
“I’m not certain. Not more than a couple of months.”
He rubs at his temples. “We are going to be old parents,” he complains, speaking to the air rather than her directly. “It won’t be easy to chase a child around the compound when we are in our fifties.”
There’s a rueful, self-deprecating note in his voice that delights her.
“You’re right.” Mikoto leans against him to rest her head on his shoulder. “But this one will have two very loving brothers willing to help us.”
“Hn.”
“Don’t sound so disbelieving.”
“I’m just remembering Itachi’s first reaction when we told him about Sasuke.”
“And two seconds after he was born he loved him. Besides, our sons are much more mature.”
“Which will have its own complications.” He inclines his chin and looks down at her, suddenly serious. “You will need to be careful, with this one.”
Mikoto smiles but does not comment. She knows the strength of her own body.
“We’ll play it by ear,” she says instead. “Let us not jump to conclusions about my poor, frail self just yet. There will be plenty of time for that later.”
Fugaku smiles at her then. A wry tilt of the lips, very small but entirely him. As always, it sends a small flutter through her chest.
“We will have to unpack their old clothes and toys,” he says. “We gave the crib to Sayuri when she had her daughter, so we will need another of those. And which bedroom should be the child’s, once it is old enough?”
Mikoto lifts herself off his shoulder to grasp his hand, and winds his arm around her waist. He lets her, fingers curling under her breast, where her heart beats.
“Again, later. Let’s enjoy the peace while we still can.”
“Of course, wife.”
They sit together a while, and Mikoto’s heart is steady and at peace.
…At least, until her husband makes a comment astounding in its daring, and she shoves him to the bed for his insolence.
–
Apart from a couple of teasing comments, Mikoto’s doctor declares her healthy, and her single order is for Mikoto to be careful with what she eats and what endeavors she executes, lest it leads to heartbreak.
The next few weeks are a series of small substitutions. Mikoto eats better and more, though the quantity she already buys for two teenagers means that hardly anyone notices. She starts to sort through her wardrobe, storing away any clothes that will not be forgiving to her changing figure, and digs out her old maternity dresses. Fugaku suggests that she wait until she needs them, but Mikoto sees no harm in imagining this small glimpse into the future.
–
Three months come and go. Itachi successfully completes an S-class mission and Sasuke starts his genin training. She is putting on weight and feels content in her hope. Mikoto and Fugaku’s conversation turns into how to let others know of their pregnancy, starting with their sons.
Itachi, however, brings up the matter before they can.
“Are you not been feeling well, Kaa-san?”
In the past year Itachi has taken to sharing wine with them—not much, but it has become a ritual all the same. It is not one Mikoto indulged in every night, but she does enjoy it on occasion, and she supposes that her continued deference has not gone unnoticed.
Itachi’s demeanor is calm as ever, but she’s his mother: she hears the tinge of worry coloring his words. Sasuke also hears it and looks up from his own meal, a frown creasing his face.
Mikoto smiles warmly at both of them. “Nothing out of the ordinary, Itachi. I’m just going to have a baby.”
Simple enough. No fuss, no frills.
Her sons react more or less as she expects.
Sasuke’s eyes widen and he coughs violently. When he looks up again, his gaze is suspicious, probably wondering if she is joking.
Itachi blinks, once slowly, then three times in rapid succession.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks, carefully setting the bottle back on the table. Fugaku takes it and stands to return it to its proper place.
“I am,” says Mikoto.
“That is…unexpected.”
“It is a surprise,” says Mikoto. “But a pleasant one. I hope that the two of you will be able to welcome your new sibling into the world with as much excitement as your father and I welcomed you both.”
“Of course,” says Itachi. She can see how his mind tucks away this new piece of information, to take out later to study and absorb properly.
Sasuke is less sanguine. He looks between her and Fugaku, now reseated, and pulls a face.
“Is there something wrong, Sasuke?”
“Nothing,” he says, a little too quickly. His eyes flicker downwards, where the table hides her belly. “When is it coming?”
“Late summer.”
Sasuke nods stiffly and returns to his plate. He’s been eating something like half of his body mass recently, and she can’t tell if he’s just growing or if that sensei of his doesn’t give breaks for lunch. She’ll have to compare notes with Kushina at some point. Sasuke and Naruto are going through a rough patch in their friendship—something to do with Naruto’s laziness during training and an unexplained incident that still leaves Sasuke red in the face—and she has not seen the Hokage’s son around the compound these past few weeks.
It is not the enthusiastic reception she would have liked, but her boys seem more bemused than upset, and it is a step in the right direction, at least.
–
Then again, enthusiastic would be an understatement when she starts telling those outside of the family.
Kushina cackles outright.
“You’re pregnant? You’re accidentally pregnant?”
“Keep your voice down,” says Mikoto, her smile strained, as she sees several patrons in the tea shop turning around to stare at them. “And please don’t say it like that. I am not a hormonal teenage girl. I am a grown woman with a healthy relationship. Babies happen.”
“Clearly,” says Kushina, taking a bite of her cake. “Two I could understand—but three kids? Do you really want that, Mikoto? Just having Naruto was more than enough for his father and I.”
“Well, I don’t need special wards every time I give birth.”
“True, but it still hurts.” Kushina shakes her head in amusement. “What do the kids think about all this?”
Mikoto tilts her head, considering “Well, I suppose. I think Itachi’s more off-guard by the situation than anything else, but he’s promised to help out. Sasuke…was a little disturbed, I think, not so much about getting a sibling, but the fact that Fugaku and I—”
“Are still sexually active?”
Mikoto gives Kushina A Look. “We’ll just have to wait and see how he reacts as the rest of the pregnancy unfolds.”
Kushina waves away her concerns with a flutter of the fingertips. “He’s a good kid. Grumpy, but essentially good. Just wait until the baby’s here and he can’t wait to play the overprotective big brother.”
“We’ll see.”
“Don’t worry about it. Sasuke adores you and he’ll adore any baby that comes out of you. It won’t take that long. Hey, what has he been telling you about how his team has been going?”
“The same things. Naruto isn’t concentrating properly; his sensei reads porn…”
Kushina winces. “I promise I can vouch for Kakashi-kun’s value as a mentor.”
“I find some of his habits are more than a little questionable. Though, his bell test was remarkable,” Mikoto concedes, unwilling to criticize the former student of the Hokage too harshly. “He seems to be a decent instructor.”
Kushina looks pleased. “He will be, I promise. Has Sasuke–kun talked about Sakura-chan very much?”
Mikoto shakes her head. The only description she has of Sasuke’s female teammate is a clipped “she’s all right”. However, from the scanty information she has managed to glean from Sasuke’s accounts, Sakura is very intelligent and shares Sasuke’s irritation for Naruto’s goofing around.
And then there is also the small matter of Sakura’s crush on him. Makes him uncomfortable. She hopes they can work past it, and that her son won’t break her heart if there is no need.
“Why do you ask?”
Kushina looks thoughtful. “I think Naruto has a crush on her.”
…Well. That is complicated. Mikoto shakes her head. Poor Sasuke.
–
When Kushina knows, everyone else in the village finds out. Mikoto starts getting congratulations in the street, questions about when the baby is due (August), whether she wants a boy or girl (still undecided), and admonishments to take care of her body—she is over thirty-five, after all (unnecessary).
Fugaku, on the other hand, gets congratulations from his peers of a rather…different kind. Slaps on the back and guffaws and, in particular, comments on his…
Ahem.
Virility.
Mikoto has not seen him this flustered since they were courting. She cannot quite help her laughter.
She shouldn’t, but his exasperation is endearing.
He denies that he is embarrassed. In fact, he claims that he is annoyed by the inaccuracy of the statements, since she was the one who kept initiating their encounters.
Which, she concedes, is not entirely false. Though she is quick to point out, he is equally guilty, dropping by the house during his breaks, when no one else is around, to “check up on her”.
Of course, then she upturns her case completely by wrapping her arms around his waist and going up on her toes for a kiss.
–
Because she is a little older than the average mother (which no one seems to be able to stop from reminding her), Mikoto is advised to avoid growing too stressed.
She suspects that her doctor might have communicated this concern to her family without her knowledge. And they have risen to the task. Itachi is not taking quite as many missions out of the village, while Fugaku returns at earlier hours and does his paperwork in their library. Sasuke returns straight from his training and asks her, very seriously, if everything is all right.
At five months along, she is already showing. She does not remember feeling this large with either Itachi or Sasuke.
(When she asks Fugaku for his opinion, he refuses to give her a straight answer)
Her ankles are starting to swell, her back hurts but more often than not she is purely and completely happy.
One key source of this happiness is a feeling that her sons and husband are plotting together. The tension between Sasuke and Fugaku over his graduating rank has eased, and she swears she catches them sharing looks. Amused looks. Chores are getting finished before she even notices they need doing. And then there is the memorable afternoon when Kakashi Hatake showed up with her blushing son and his teammates in tow, and announced that their mission of the day was to be at her beck and call.
She’s still not sure who put them up to it (though she suspects Kushina), but it was an enjoyable afternoon all the same.
–
Despite her family’s best intentions, they cannot protect her from everything.
And nothing is as stressful as having your little boy returns from his first mission out of the country half-dead and in possession of the Sharingan.
It is not rare in their clan, to gain the Sharingan so young. But she had hoped that Sasuke would have had more time to prepare himself for what the Sharingan entails. Even when he recounts the mission (successfully completed, despite his near death experience) to them, there is a slight tremble in Sasuke’s voice, though he tries to play it off as nothing.
There is an ache in her chest that does not fade. Itachi opts out of his next ANBU mission to stay with Sasuke, and they disappear into the forests for hours at a time. What they speak of, she does not know, but she is grateful to her older son.
If words are exchanged between Fugaku and Sasuke, Mikoto does not hear them. The lines around Fugaku’s face are more haggard: there is a new kind of training to start. New secrets Sasuke is to be entrusted with. But he’s proud of Sasuke. So, so proud of him.
And this time, she thinks Fugaku might have told him. They start disappearing to the training grounds after dinner two nights a week. Unlike when Sasuke was learning the Katon, they return from these sessions revived: Sasuke determined and Fugaku content.
She is proud that her son has recovered so well.
But it reminds her that barring extraordinary luck, the child in her womb will face similar challenges.
It is only a thought, and one that arises every time she is pregnant. But it is one that she hates to dwell upon the most. She knew what she was getting into when she got married. She does not need to sink into morbidity.
The upside that seems to have sprung from this experience is that the absurd rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto seems to have vanished, and the blond’s presence at the Uchiha compound is soon as frequent as it ever was before. Sasuke also speaks of Sakura more easily, and even if his words are not always admiring, their relationship is much warmer.
He spends a little more time with her now. He doesn’t confide in her the way he did when he was little, but he’ll sit with her when she reads, looking up if she so much as sneezes. Whatever uncertainties he had before about her pregnancy, they are gone now.
He doesn’t say as much directly. But he admits, with a little prodding, that it would have been a shame not to get a chance to be a proper big brother to the baby, the way Itachi was to him.
When the baby kicks for the first time, he is the one with her, and she does not want to forget the look on his face, when she puts his hand on her belly.
–
Fugaku accompanies Mikoto to her next ultrasound. Out of Fugaku’s strong desire to minimize any of the surprises this pregnancy might throw at them, they ask to know the sex.
Somehow, they are still caught off guard.
“Congratulations, Mikoto-san. Fugaku-san.” The technician looks up with a smile. “You’re going to have a little girl.”
A girl!
She’s going to have a baby girl.
Mikoto is stunned, and surprised to find herself stunned. Her husband is panicking under his calm exterior.
“We don’t know anything about raising a daughter,” he grumbles, but Mikoto knows that it is pure nerves.
She touches his face, to draw his attention back to her. “We’ll learn.”
Itachi and Sasuke are much more positive about having a sister. Itachi starts talking about baby names. Sasuke promises to protect her, no matter what.
Her little girl kicks happily (or so she imagines) inside of her, as if responding to her brothers’ words.
–
“Sakura wants to come over,” says Sasuke one morning, without preamble.
Mikoto looks up from her book. Kneeling down at their table is near impossible these days, so she has broken out her old reading chair, which she keeps on the porch for times when she needs the rest.
“Your teammates are always welcome, Sasuke-kun. There’s no need to ask for permission.”
Sasuke fidgets, scrubbing harder at the pots left over from their lunch.
“I told her that we were getting a sister and she said she had some old baby stuff. I told her we didn’t need any but…” he shrugs, shoulders hunching inwards. “I thought I’d ask, anyway.”
“That’s very thoughtful of her. Tell her to come over anytime.”
Sasuke nods. “We were going to meet up for training anyways. I’ll just ask her to come here instead.”
Mikoto arches an eyebrow at his prearranged plans, but does not comment. Sasuke’s relationship with Sakura has been developing on interesting lines. She doesn’t know if her son is nursing his own crush on her or simply learning proper teamwork, but she is pleased by this change in attitude.
…Though by the way he’s blushing right now, there is a good chance it might be the former.
Still, she won’t make assumptions.
True to Sasuke’s word, precisely two hours later there is a light tapping on the front door. Sasuke goes to open it, while Mikoto puts down her book and begins the arduous process of standing. She is only just on her feet when Sasuke returns with his pink-haired teammate in tow, a flowery box tucked under her arm.
Alarmingly, it is brimming with kunai.
These, Sakura is quick to explain, are not for the baby but for the training session to come.
“You didn’t have to bring your own,” says Sasuke, annoyed, standing over Sakura while she picks them out of the box. “I told you we had enough.”
“I don’t want to lose any of yours,” insists Sakura.
Once satisfied that all of her kunai have been safely removed from her collection, she shyly presents the box to Mikoto.
The things inside are well-loved and tended. Wooden dolls with tiny shruiken, a set of wooden blocks very much like the ones her sons played with as children though the patterns are noticeably different, a few plush animals, a still-soft baby blanket patterned with (of course) cherry blossoms. There are also colorful baby bonnets, tiny mittens and even a few frothy dresses.
“My parents save everything,” explains Sakura, blushing under Mikoto’s gaze. “I know you probably have everything you need, and you can probably get much better quality if you want it, but I thought that you, well, you might want to see this anyway.”
The last sentence is said all in one breath.
“I-I hope I’m not wasting your time—”
“You are not,” interrupts Mikoto. She smiles at Sakura, who only blushes harder. “This was very sweet of you. Thank you for thinking of us.”
Sakura nods, smiling back tentatively in turn. “It’s very exciting. Sasuke-kun talks about her a lot.”
“Does he?” Mikoto looks at her son, who is turned away from them, as though he finds the proceedings deeply boring. The tips of his ears, however, are definitely burning. “I’m glad to hear it.
“Do you have a name picked out?”
“Yes, but it’s a secret.” She puts a finger to her lips and smiles at Sakura’s giggle. “Are you certain your parents won’t mind if I take some of these?”
“They won’t,” says Sakura. “These were mine, and I want to give them to you.”
“Thank you. I’ll look through them more while you and Sasuke-kun train.”
Sakura nods, bouncing happily, and looks to Sasuke. “Are we waiting for Naruto, Sasuke-kun?”
“If the dobe’s late, he’s late. Come on, let’s start with genjutsu.”
“Yes, Sasuke-kun!” chirps Sakura, easily falling into step with him.
Mikoto listens until their voices fade, and then turns back to the box. Many of these toys are a little too old for a newborn, but the blanket is perfect, and so she sets it aside, along with a few items of clothing and a particularly sweet-faced panda doll.
That night, she takes a great delight in speaking about Sakura’s generosity, that she is a sweet girl, and that Mikoto hopes Sasuke will invite her over for dinner soon. Her husband and older son look on with great interest as Sasuke’s face nearly erupts into flames.
–
Her second son entering the dangerous world of the shinobi and preteen romance aside, this pregnancy has been very easy on her body. She sleeps better at night, though the discomfort lingers, and having three men around the house to help has proven to be a great boon.
However, on the flipside, right now she is bored out of her mind.
All she wants to do is hang up a little laundry. Get some fresh air.
But her husband (who should probably be at the police station at this hour) will not let her!
“Your doctor has been insistent to me that you stay off your feet,” he insists, stepping around her and easily taking the basket she tries to keep out of his reach.
“I have a full month to go. I was wandering around the village right up until an hour before Sasuke was born without any problems.”
Fugaku gives her a disbelieving stare. “And remember how stressful it was when we checked you into the hospital and how it became clear that if they didn’t move any faster you would be giving birth in the waiting room? I’m not the one due to go to the hospital.”
“You have a bad back,” she retorts, knowing she sounds childish.
“And you can’t see your toes,” he returns. “If you are truly so bored, there is a stack of forms on my desk you are more than welcome to fill out.”
She gives an unladylike snort. “Of course. Very clever, Fugaku. Get your pregnant wife to do the work you are avoiding.”
But she goes and grabs the forms anyways, because it really isn’t a bad suggestion. It keeps her off her feet and her mind occupied, and she spends an excellent afternoon sitting on the porch, forging her husband’s signature and ordering him around the backyard.
And the identical look of bewilderment on her sons’ faces, when they return from their practice in the woods, is completely worth it.
–
Her eighth month comes and goes. Kakashi’s team is entered into the Chuunin exams and he and Naruto both make it to the final rounds. Sakura does not, but as she tells Mikoto, she is happy with the outcome of her fight. Itachi trains him, though she knows for a fact that Kakashi has an interest in teaching Sasuke some of his own techniques as well.
She hopes that she will have gathered enough strength by then to attend. She wants to see what Sasuke has learned.
–
Her contractions start shortly after everyone else in the house has left for the morning. She is putting away the dishes on the shelves when the first waves come over her and she is forced to lean against the counter, her breath suddenly short. She counts the days in her head.
There is a week to go before her due date. It appears that her daughter is an impatient one.
She resumes washing the dishes, listening to the ticking of the clock. The pain returns a second time, then a third. The minutes are long between and not yet regular.
She has time.
She keeps up with her normal activities for most of the morning and then returns to her bed to lie down, and it is there that Sasuke finds her.
“Kaa-san?”
She looks up to see him standing in the doorway to her room. His arms are crossed and he’s frowning down at her.
She smiles at him, though she knows that it will not ease his mind. “You’re home early today, Sasuke. How was training?”
“Kakashi didn’t show—he sent a dog to say he’s sick. So I did a few drills and came back.” His eyes narrow. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing like that, Sasuke-kun. Your sister is just getting ready to come out.”
Sasuke’s face goes completely white. “The baby’s coming? Now?”
“Not yet, but soon. Your sister is as headstrong as you are.”
“Then why are you here? We need to tell Tou-san, we need to get you to the hospital—”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet? Why not yet?”
“Labor takes a while, Sasuke-kun. I’m not ready to give birth. I don’t need to go to the hospital now.”
“…what do you mean, you don’t need to go?” Sasuke’s voice cracks and she laughs, though the laugh turns quickly back to a groan. Sasuke does not share her amusement; he steps into the room and grabs her hand and tries to pull her towards the door. She braces herself against the bed, easily resisting him.
“Sasuke-kun, trust me. It’s not time.”
“But then you’ll have the baby here.” He sounds so plaintive. She forgets he’s only thirteen.
“I won’t. Trust your Kaa-san, Sasuke-kun. Everything will be fine.”
Still, he hovers. She cannot entirely blame him. He knows nothing of childbirth, apart that contractions means that labor will be shortly forthcoming.
When he leaves the room, she assumes that he trusts her, at least for now.
…But then he comes back with his brother in tow, who gently suggests that she should, in fact, go to the hospital now.
Again, she refuses.
She watches with gentle amusement at how Itachi’s urging becomes increasingly more frantic, while Sasuke cannot sit still and is thundering all over the house.
One of them—and she’s not sure which one—goes to fetch Fugaku.
He does not burst into the room, for which she is grateful. Instead, he slides open the door and lingers there, arm still outstretched and holding the frame.
He tilts his head to the side and raises his eyebrow at her and her prone form. “Are you ready, wife?”
Her contractions are coming seven minutes apart. Not quite time yet, but it is a long walk to the hospital.
She can see the faint shadows of her sons hovering behind him, their concern palpable.
Her boys. Fully fledged shinobi but they are still such kids.
She sighs.
“If you insist.”
Fugaku is unruffled, coming into the room to help her to her feet. “Let’s just make it past the waiting room this time.”
–
By eight in the evening, their new addition has arrived, without complications.
Her daughter squirms in her arms, one small hand wrapped around her father’s finger. Mikoto’s body feels unexpectedly light after her labor, her heart swollen with love, not just for her little one but for the new family that is formed by her arrival.
They name her Reika, in the hopes she will be wise and elegant.
Itachi arrives with Sasuke an hour after the birth, when the bloody sheets have been bundled away.
“So this is our new sister.” Itachi, crossing the room and settling in the empty chair to the right of Mikoto’s bedside. Sasuke circumvents the bed, joining Fugaku on her other side.
“I didn’t know they looked so red,” says Sasuke.
“Her color will change when she gets a little older,” says Mikoto, looking from Sasuke to Itachi. Itachi holds out his arms, and she leans over to settle Reika into them. She murmurs a warning for him to watch her head, though she knows it to be unnecessary. Itachi cradles her securely, and gently taps her on the nose.
“She looks like Sasuke,” says Itachi.
Sasuke vehemently insists otherwise. But he doesn’t take his eyes off her.
“Would you like to hold her?” Mikoto asks Sasuke.
He hesitates, but nods all the same. He climbs up on the side of her bed, receives Reika carefully. He’s held babies before, but never any as young as Reika. He looks a little terrified.
But Reika’s eyes are open again and seem to be fixed entirely on him. He rocks her and smiles, tentatively.
“You’re doing well,” says Fugaku, and though Sasuke’s eyes widen at the compliment, there is no physical jolt at the praise there might have been, once.
Mikoto sleepily watches this little domestic scene. She is still tired from the labor, and Itachi picks up on her fatigue. He announces that he needs to get something to eat and Sasuke needs to keep up his preparations for the second round of the Chuunin Exams. Sasuke starts to protest, but catches her eye and agrees without further fuss. He passes Reika to Fugaku and, with a final lingering look, leaves with Itachi. She sees Itachi’s hand come up to ruffle Sasuke’s hair as they exit the room, a murmur from him provoking a heated exclamation from Sasuke.
“Do you want me to leave, as well?” asks Fugaku.
She shakes her head. “I like your company.”
He’ll have to go home, to announce the delivery of a healthy baby girl and because he is the clan leader and not even a wife who has just given birth can stop that.
But for now he sits with her and their daughter.
–
She remembers the clamor during her first pregnancy, the stress of a wedding pushed forward two months and the symptoms and the pressure of bearing the Heir. Sasuke’s coming, by contrast, was a pure pleasure—she knew what to expect of her body, no close calls, and Itachi’s small palms pressed to her abdomen, waiting for his brother to kick.
Reika has been different in many ways.
Welcome to the family, little one, she thinks drowsily, before finally succumbing to sleep.
–
A few days later, she is home and the family is settling into a new routine. There are many sleepless nights ahead, and Mikoto still feels a little overwhelmed by all those things she never thought she would experience again, with formula and bassinets and aching breasts, but she’s confident that they will be able to handle it.
Kushina dropped by on the first day, with a teddy bear possibly as large as Sasuke. Clan members have been trickling in throughout. Itachi brought in Shisui, who made faces at Reika, then panicked when she started to cry.
Naruto and Sakura also visit. They hover behind the sliding door, debating in harsh whispers whether or not to go inside; it takes Sasuke’s curt call for them to spill inside, bumping shoulders and bouncing like puppies, excited to see the baby.
Sakura coos softly while Naruto laughs outright at the extensive swaddling Reika has undergone.
“She looks like a burrito.”
“Watch it,” says Sasuke, testily.
“Hey, it’s not a bad thing! I could be saying she looks like you.”
Sasuke glares and Naruto glares and they already look like they are working up to another fight.
“Stop it!” hisses Sakura, and both boys immediately freeze. Naruto looks abashed. Sasuke shoves his hands in his pockets and looks away. Mikoto is impressed.
Sakura turns to look up at Mikoto. “Can I hold her?” she asks, her voice still a whisper.
“Me too,” says Naruto quickly, not wanting to be left out.
“Sakura first,” says Sasuke. “She’ll show you how to do it properly. You’d drop her.”
“I would not!”
“Sasuke,” says Mikoto reprovingly. “Don’t be mean.”
“I’m not being mean. Besides, Sakura asked first.”
She has them sit on the floor of the nursery, which some well-meaning relative has strewn with so many pillows and cushions that the floor is scarcely visible. Sakura sits with Reika, Sasuke on one side and Naruto on the other.
Sakura needs little coaching, cradling the baby in an expert hold, her eyes alight. Sasuke’s eyes are for Reika, but Mikoto notices how he keeps sneaking glances at Sakura.
“Must be exciting to be a big brother, isn’t it, teme?”
“Hn.” Sasuke is smiling. “It is.”
“She’s so light,” says Sakura. “I’m afraid of squeezing her too tightly.”
“You aren’t,” says Sasuke brusquely, beating Mikoto’s own reassurances. He looks up and flushes at her knowing look.
“Want to hold her, Naruto?” Sakura asks Naruto.
“Only if it’s all right with Mikoto-san,” says Naruto, looking up to her for permission. She nods, granting it, helping Sakura pass Reika to Naruto. He pulls a face, crossing his eyes.
“Don’t do that,” snaps Sasuke.
“What? Babies like funny faces.”
“She doesn’t.”
“How do you know? She’s what…a week old?”
“Shisui already tried that, she didn’t like it.”
Reika is starting to move within her wrappings. Mikoto watches. Sakura notices.
“Lower your voices!” hisses Sakura.
“He started it!”
“Dobe, you’re making it worse.”
Reika’s face scrunches up. The boys keep arguing. Sakura is getting angry.
“As if you know anything about babies, teme—”
“You are literally holding my sister, dobe—”
“Sasuke-kun, Naruto, if you don’t stop fighting now she’s going to cry!”
Right on cue, Reika starts to wail. All three kids jolt, clearly panicked, even as Mikoto rescues Reika and takes her out of the room. Behind her, the argument erupts again, this time with Sakura joining in and blaming both of them.
Mikoto has a feeling that such scenes are going to become very familiar.
“We better get used to the excitement, huh?” she asks Reika, who has calmed down away from the noise. “Or no one is going to have any peace in this house.”
She taps Reika on the nose, and receives a brief twitch of the lips that she might almost call a smile.
They will adapt.