The Agreement

Just to clarify, Naruto is the “father” of all the quadruplets. Sasuke’s sperm was turned into eggs, so he’s technically the “mother” of the parent pair. Now enjoy!

The Agreement

Chapter 13: Naruto and the Quadruplets

The next few weeks after the twins’ birth passed in a happy blur for Sasuke. People were constantly coming and going to see the "Uchiha quadruplets." Sasuke felt a jolt every time that it was said, seeing as how the "Uzumaki quadruplets" would have been the proper title, but it wasn't as though Sasuke felt ready to reveal that little tidbit of information.

Since there were four new little ones, several of their friends and Hinata’s family members were always coming by in order to help. Raising one baby was a handful; four at a time would have been beyond exhausting. Of course, it was not as though the Hyuuga household and its members couldn't have helped to take care of the quads on their own, but everyone seemed to want to help out with the quads, just wanting to hold or see them. They truly were gorgeous.

Naruto was practically living at the Hyuuga compound within two days of the quadruplets' birth. Despite a few muttered earlier comments that he would never hold the babies, and that he would be terrible at handling them, Naruto was the most attentive of all the helpers. He was even changing diapers and making up bottles more than anyone else (Sasuke and Hinata included), using his shadow clones to have extra pairs of hands to help. He used them to do things like test the milk in order to make sure it was just the right temperature. If the clone disappeared it was too hot. If not, the milk was fine.

Sasuke even saw one of the Naruto's henge into Hinata and appear as though "he" was going to try and breast feed the baby before a laughing Hinata came and rescued the baby, telling Naruto that she doubted he would be able to produce any milk even in that form. Still, it was comical as Sasuke watched Naruto henge one of his clones into one of the quads and then "practice" either changing diapers or clothes in order to get a feel for what it felt like for the baby. Sasuke was actually quite impressed at the insight Naruto was having, using his shadow clones in order to test everything on them in order to make sure that he did everything as good as he possibly could.

Of course, Hinata and Sasuke were busy as well. Hinata always seemed to have one of the babies at her breast, being a doting mother. Sasuke was just content to hold or play with the children, taking his time as he fed them from a bottle since it would be exhausting for Hinata to exclusively breast feed all four of the children who seemed to have inherited Naruto's large appetite.

While Sasuke loved all the quadruplets (they were all Naruto’s after all), he spent the first few days of fatherhood guessing which were his biological children. It wasn't long before Sasuke had figured out which of the children were exclusively his. All of the children seemed to have blue-black hair, so that didn’t help Sasuke since Hinata had blue hair, and he had blue highlights in his. However, what did give away the babies’ parentage were their eyes. He noticed that only one of the boys had white eyes, whereas the other three had clear, dark blue, almost black eyes. Sasuke tried not to feel too elated as he realized that three of the four quads carried his genes. And though Sasuke honestly didn't want to play favorites, there was just something about his daughter that seemed to soften his heart every time that he looked at her. She also happened to be his eldest, which would mean that she would one day be the heir of the Uchiha clan. Of course, being a younger sibling himself, he knew that he wouldn't treat the other two any differently.

"When are you going to name them?" Naruto asked as he and Sasuke were awake at 2:00 in the morning as all four of the quadruplets had decided to wake up and want food. Naruto, who had been sleeping at the foot of Sasuke and Hinata's bed on a futon had jumped awake at the first cry and had gone zipping across the room from one crib to another to make sure they were okay.

Currently Naruto held two of the babies as Sasuke held the other two, while two of Naruto's clones zipped about the kitchen preparing the milk. "I feel awkward not knowing what to call them," Naruto said, pouting as the baby girl had decided she couldn't wait for food any longer and had decided to latch onto Naruto's hand, sucking away as she chewed on her hand with nothing but her gums. She’d done that Sasuke earlier in the day, and he’d found it to be a really weird feeling. (Though it was an adorable action in Sasuke’s opinion, which was therefore only perfectly acceptable for his daughter. She could be adorable. The boys had to settle for cute as adorable was not boyish enough for them.)

"I told you before, the naming ceremony is in another two days," Sasuke said as he looked down at the two babies in his arms. Naruto sighed and turned his attention back to the twins. As Naruto made funny faces to the two children in his arms, Sasuke couldn’t help but think that Naruto was an amazing father without even knowing he was.

Sasuke sighed happily as he looked down at the two quads in his arms, and almost gasped when he noted with a jolt that both of them had three nearly invisible whisker-like marks on each of their cheeks. He wondered if it was just the fact that he was sitting directly under the kitchen light, and that the light was just playing tricks on him, but he looked again and saw that the whisker marks were definitely there.

Sasuke looked over towards Naruto, looking at the two babies in his arms. Naruto wasn't seated that far away from him, but Sasuke couldn't see if the two babies he held also had the whisker-like marks. Then again, Naruto wasn't directly under the kitchen light, so it might be harder to see. Sasuke moved out of the light in case Naruto looked over at the two babies in his arms. He then once again looked over towards Naruto, but this time at Naruto's face where the whisker-like marks stood out proudly. It had never occurred to Sasuke that these marks would be passed down to Naruto's children. Sasuke had always assumed that the marks were either a birthmark, or, as Sasuke thought more plausible, due to the fact that Kyuubi happened to reside inside of Naruto.

Why was it that these markings were passed down to his children? It was something that could be of terrible consequence. Naruto would surely notice that his best friend's kids had the same whisker marks as he did. And then what? Sasuke had never actually given thought to how and when he would tell Naruto about the babies being his. What would he say to him? How would Naruto react to knowing-

"This one has your scowl," Naruto said as he looked at the girl in his arms, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts. "She clearly wants food, and seems really upset that she hasn't gotten it yet," Naruto said, amused. "Her eyes are brighter blue than her brothers,' and it's like looking back and forth between a night's sky and a clear stream," Naruto murmured. "She seems like either a Yozora, or a Seiryuu. Then again," he looked over at Sasuke, "I really hope she doesn't end up so broody like you, so Seiryuu for clear stream instead of Yozora for night's sky would be better," Naruto said, smiling widely.

"Seiryuu does have a nice ring to it," Sasuke said thoughtfully, ignoring the indirect insult.

"The one you're holding in your right arm," Naruto said, nodding towards the baby, and Sasuke looked down at him, the whisker-like marks on the baby’s cheeks practically glowing with how much they stood out now that Sasuke had finally noticed them, "always seems to gaze at me as though he's in a trance, yet somehow manages to look really happy and ecstatic all the time. I think of him as Muchuu," Naruto said. Sasuke smirked inwardly. Yes, Naruto would go ahead and name all of the babies. Sasuke would let Hinata know of the names that Naruto had picked out. Hinata and Sasuke had decided that they would name their biological children, but Sasuke hadn't really thought about what he was going to call his children and was glad that Naruto was naming them for him.

"Let me guess, you have names for the other two as well?" Sasuke asked, smiling lightly.

"Etoooo...well...yeah," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "The one in your left has Hinata's eyes, and seeing as how she and all her other family members have sunny and happy names, I think of him as Tenpi, you know, sunlight? And this one here," Naruto said, looking down at the boy in his arms, "I think of as Kitsu because he's the oldest boy, and it's good for the eldest boy to take care of his siblings, and he should be healthy, and correct," Naruto said, smiling. Sasuke merely shook his head, bemused, thinking soberly of his own older brother and Itachi’s idea of taking care of his youngest sibling, his family, and Konoha. His face fell, and he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath in order to stop the dark thoughts from taking over his mind. "Oi, teme!" Naruto said. Sasuke's head snapped up to look at Naruto.

"Stop thinking about him. It’s all in the past now," Naruto ordered. Naruto looked at him worriedly. It was times like these that Sasuke was grateful that Naruto knew him so well. The fact that Naruto had said that the eldest brother should take care of his younger brothers – and sister even if she happened to be older – showed that Naruto was trying to hone in on Sasuke's own fears. Sasuke knew that Naruto was playing on Sasuke's own horribly messed up and confused relationship with Itachi.

Sasuke smirked. He wondered if the reason that he was growing attached to his daughter so much quicker than his sons was due to his own fears that his sons would mirror Itachi and himself. Hand it to Naruto to face the matter head on.

"Un," Sasuke murmured, letting Naruto know that he would stop thinking about Itachi.

"Don't worry, your kids will turn out just fine," Naruto reassured him. "I'm gonna be here in order to teach them not to be a bastard like you!" Naruto said, grinning. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"Just as long as they don't become dobes like you," Sasuke said, grinning as well. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, as one of Naruto's clones came over with four prepared bottles. The two clones each took one of the quads so that each person had an arm for a quad and a hand for a bottle as they began to feed the little ones.

Perhaps it was because becoming a father had changed something inside Sasuke; perhaps it was because he knew that Naruto would make sure that his – no – their children would be taken care of; perhaps it was the feeling of knowing that Naruto wouldn't let Sasuke mess up this family; perhaps it was because his own family had been forcibly and brutally taken from him, and he now sat here with his and Naruto's children in such a peaceful, such a normal and loving setting, that made him feel like something was bursting inside him. Perhaps it was all of these things combined that made Sasuke feel so much all at once that suddenly Sasuke began to cry silently. He was crying but out of peace and happiness rather than sadness or hurt.

"S-sasuke?" Naruto asked concerned finally noticing Sasuke’s tears, looking at Sasuke and his very un-Sasuke-like action.

"I've never felt so happy," Sasuke murmured, as he wiped at the tears that refused to stop coming. Sasuke had never recalled crying for joy before, and it was a strange feeling. He looked up at Naruto, a wide smile on his face, as Naruto's bottom lip began to quiver, and Naruto began to sob himself, though much louder.

"It's such a beautiful sight to see a father so happy over his children!" Naruto said. Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle as his tears finally stopped. For some reason, he wasn't embarrassed about crying in front of Naruto. Then again, he could still clearly hear Naruto's voice telling that little kid on their first mission away from Konoha that it was okay to cry as long as you were happy.

"You sound like Lee," Sasuke said, amused. Naruto sniffed loudly, his tears of joy short lived. There was a pause before Sasuke spoke again. "If you tell anyone I cried just now, I swear I'll make it so that you won't be able to speak again," Sasuke threatened. 'Though I almost hope he does. I'll find away to pleasure him so much that he won't be able to speak from screaming himself hoarse with pleasure,' Sasuke thought to himself, before the thought was gone.

It was amazing how chasing after Naruto romantically seemed to have been put on the back burner since he had become a father. It was just nice for Sasuke to know that they were a family legally and literally: even if Naruto didn't know it. The fact that Naruto was such a large part of the quadruplets life already also made Sasuke extremely happy.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Naruto said, jovially. Sasuke smiled, looking down at the baby in his arms, who seemed completely unfazed that his father had just been crying – well, fathers actually. Now that he looked at him, this quad did seem to have a sort of dazed look on his face, and Muchuu did seem to suit him.

There was silence in the kitchen between the two adults and Naruto’s two clones. The only sounds were the suckling of the babies as they downed their bottles happily. After about five minutes of silence, Sasuke voiced a question he’d been wondering for the past two weeks since the quads’ birth.

"Ne, Naruto," Sasuke began, trying to word his question carefully, "Hinata and I are both grateful that you've been helping out so much. I think you've been taking care of the quads more than either of us," Sasuke smiled, quite glad at this fact, but still, a question burned in the back of his mind that he knew that he needed to know, "but what does Sakura think about you being here so much? You've been spending the nights here for almost two weeks now," Sasuke said. Naruto looked down at the floor, and shrugged.

"Ah well, you know Sakura. She's been doing the night shift at the hospital, so it's been getting a bit lonely really." Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke could see that something seemed off with Naruto’s explanation.

"Everything okay?" Sasuke asked.

"I think Sakura might be a bit annoyed that I’m enjoying baby-sitting more than spending time with her right now, but, well, I’ve never been a baby-sitter before! I didn’t know how much I like babies. And besides, you need me right now. You’re my best friend. I can’t abandon you in your time of need," Naruto said, grinning widely.

"Thanks," Sasuke murmured, truly grateful.

"And I’m bored otherwise! Tsunade-baa-chan hasn't been giving me missions until you're off of your time leave. Seems to think I need someone watching over me," Naruto grumbled. Sasuke smirked.

"Tsunade-sama thinks that I need to watch over you?" Sasuke asked, quite amused. Naruto just pouted in his chair as he adjusted the bottle so the quadruplet could finish off the last of the milk.

"Over-protective hag," Naruto said, though it was clear that he was pleased that she seemed to care so much, despite being annoyed about not having his own free reign. Yet.

"Guess that just means that I'll have to apply for overall ANBU head when you become Rokudaime," Sasuke said thoughtfully. "That way I'll make sure to be in charge of your security," Sasuke said.

"Y-you really mean that?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. It's not like it's that unusual. After all," Sasuke said, swallowing a lump in his throat, "Uchiha clansmen used to be the police force in Konoha."

"N-no. I mean, you think that I'll really become Rokudaime Hokage?" Naruto asked. Sasuke just stared at Naruto, bewildered.

"Of course, dobe. Everyone does," Sasuke said, a little taken aback. Naruto looked genuinely pleased at his comment. He hadn’t realized that Naruto had ever doubted that he’d be Hokage.

"Well, a bunch of people have said it – like me," Naruto agreed, laughing a little. "It’s just that it’s different hearing it from you. When you say it, it feels more likely to come true," Naruto said as he just grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with the bottle in his hand. As he squeezed the bottle while scratching his head, he effectively squirted milk out. With a baby in his arms Sasuke could merely close his eyes as the thin stream of milk stemmed from the bottle, hitting him directly in the middle of the forehead. He opened his eyes, feeling the milk drip slowly off of him.

Squirting milk in someone's face was definitely a way to kill a serious mood Sasuke noted furiously.

"Dumb ass," Sasuke growled, as he wiped the milk off of his face, glaring at Naruto. Naruto put the hand holding the bottle up in a one armed "don't kill me position."

"It was an accident," Naruto said, laughing weakly.

"Aaawah! Aaawah!" The quad in Naruto's arms started to cry as Naruto hastily started feeding the baby again to make her stop crying. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and they went back to being content to sit together in silence.

Two bottles apiece for the quadruplets later, (squirted milk forgotten) Sasuke and Naruto, minus Naruto's clones, walked the babies back up to bed. For now, all four quads and Naruto (who rarely left the children’s side) slept in Hinata and Sasuke's room. Sasuke idly wondered if Naruto would sleep in the babies’ room when they planned to move them in about a month's time.

"Thanks for all of your help dobe," Sasuke said, hiding a yawn as he began to get back into bed, noticing the time. The quads always fed so long because they were so hungry. Either the quads were all going to end up really fat, or, as Sasuke suspected, end up like Naruto and just always be hungry.

"Get some sleep," Naruto said as he yawned too, not even making it to his own futon on the floor, just slumping onto the bed, making it bounce as he fell asleep. The movement woke Hinata up. Naruto’s face and torso had managed to land on the bed, where as his legs were sort of propping him up as he began to snore softly.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. She noticed Naruto lying on the bed and blushed, looking down at the end where Naruto had practically collapsed.

"He's just tired," Sasuke said, as he pulled on Naruto's arm to pull him the rest of the way onto the bed. Naruto laid flat on his stomach, snoring softly in between Sasuke and Hinata. Hinata blushed, but tentatively reached her hand out and stroked Naruto's hair. Sasuke was much less abashed, and took full advantage of having an unconscious Naruto on his bed, and pressed his body firmly against Naruto's. "Go back to sleep," Sasuke murmured to Hinata, who seemed unwilling to do so...


Next Chapter: Whisker Marks


For those who are interested, I posted a oneshot called Lacking. If you’d like to see it expanded into a multi-chaptered fic (with the rating raised from T to M) then see my Fanfiction dot Net profile and review and vote. Thanks for those who already have!

I’m surprised at how many thought that the kids would have blond hair. Nope! That might have been easier to explain away to everyone than whisker marks that look like Naruto’s. That would have been too easy for them. :)

Tell me your thoughts on this chapter! ~ Jelp