Not you, too!

22: A little serpent comes to Eden

Choji smiled as the redhead blushed furiously.
Who would have thought that Gaara could be so shy about something?
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Choji said in an attempt to draw the Kazekage out.
“Well, yes. Choji, I need this. I can’t trust anyone else but since I came home it has gotten worse. Will you stay and help me?” the leader of the sand finally blurted out.
“I am still a chuunin of the leaf. I can’t give up my home so easily.” Choji demanded.
“Yes. We will consider it an emissary position. You will be my contact to the people of Konoha. I can even give you your own home.” Gaara said, his voice low and soft.
“No, that wouldn’t be very good. I should stay with you. It would be that you are sharing your home with the emissary.”
“I would prefer that.” Gaara said.
“Come on, let’s go tell Shikamaru and Neji. They can send my things when they get home. I have everything we need there, but I have enough with me to start. Do you want to begin immediately?” Choji asked.
“Tonight. I can arrange a late start in the morning. Are you sure, Choji-kun?”
“Just call me Otousan.” The chubby chuunin said. Gaara came closer and entered the other’s personal space, sliding his arms around the middle of the Akimichi.
“And when I am not in that form. What should I call you, then?” he asked shifting to face the other directly.
Choji drew a deep breath as the proximity of the other filled his senses.
“I think you can come up with something that feels comfortable to you. I’m sure you are better at this part than I am. I’ll take your lead, there.”
“Mmmm, I like this arrangement more and more. Let’s go speak with the Nara. I think I want to move you in fast.” And he released the other’s waist and pulled him across the room.

Choji sat on the big chair and watched the sand move around the room trying to figure out what the Kazekage was doing. It seemed to resent his attempting to control this part of his life.
When the redhead had finished the signs and terms of the jutsu, the sand scattered and the room was covered in a thin layer of it.
Choji lifted the tiny red haired baby and carried it to another room to clean and dress it.
The sand remained.
“Now, the important question is do you realized what is going on around you? I guess we wait and find out in the morning. I’m glad we decided to begin in that unused room, cause I would hate to have to clean up all that sand in the nursery.” He looked around the makeshift room and smiled.
It wasn’t really a nursery, as they had yet to have Choji’s things sent, but it would do for the next few evenings.
Gaara fussed a little and Choji raised him to gently pat his back and carried him to the living area. He had prepared the rooms and this one would be for playtime, then he would retrieve the prepared bottle from the kitchen area for feeding before bath and bedtime.
Tonight Gaara would sleep, and if Choji was any judge of need, this little baby needed a long nights sleep.
Grabbing a soft round toy, Neji had given it to Choji and it was one of his favorites, he held it to the tiny boy’s hands and watched as Gaara pushed it into his mouth and chewed on it vigorously. Choji smiled.
“That’s all right. It’s fun to chew on things; it means you trust me to keep you from putting anything dangerous into your mouth. And Neji says that I chew on it too. Oh, I hope that isn’t a problem, cause I kinda drool a lot, and oh, never mind.” He realized the baby was watching him with a funny look on his face and so stopped rambling on.
“You really are a cute baby, Gaar-chan. I think this will be fun.”


Neji looked around the small apartment and sighed.
Now he wished that they had been given the option of the clone-child, as the place was incredibly empty with out their third roommate.
Shikamaru walked up to the Hyuuga and wrapped arms around his waist, pulling him close. “What is it Neji? Why are you so sad? We will see him, and we can spend more time together now. Have to let the little birds out of the nest sometimes.”
“Don’t start. I just miss having someone to care for. God, Shika! I have become my mother. Bring me back.” Shikamaru laughed and pulled his lover closer.
“You have empty nest syndrome. It won’t last forever. My mother still calls me, though.” He finished thoughtfully. “I always wished she’d had another child so she wouldn’t smother me so.”
“And just what does this have to do with me?” Neji said, eyeing his mate suspiciously.


Their group of friends was changing with the years, and Neji wasn’t the only one experiencing some issues of growth.
Lee had finally overcome his insecurities, (yeah, right *Good guy pose* ) and proposed to Sakura, who enthusiastically agreed. (About knocked him over when Inner Sakura glomped him so hard he toppled back)
They planned a small wedding for the following summer, just something intimate.
Kiba would soon envy them, as the Hyuuga family would hear nothing of this and presented them with a grand traditional wedding that even overshadowed the epic of The Shiranui/Yamanaka Event.
Neji had forgotten his feelings of loss as he helped his family with the preparations and kept up with the extra missions that would be left to the remaining ninjas while Kiba was on his honeymoon.
Hinata and Kiba spent two full weeks in the Village of the Hidden Falls as Houki’s guest.
While Neji was on a mission with Gai and Hijiri Tsumon, Shikamaru visited Naruto and Sasuke.
“We heard from Gaara last week. Choji is going to stay another three months. How is Neji?” Naruto asked, leaning across the table and handing the Nara man some tea as Sasuke cleared the remains of a project he had been working on and took them to the upstairs bedroom.
“He seems fine. I was worried at first, he seemed to miss Choji more than me, but I had only gone for a three-day mission. I wanted to ask Sasuke something, but I don’t know where to begin.”
“With Sasuke that is a problem.” Naruto conceded.
“What is a problem with me?” the brunet asked upon returning. Naruto smiled, and Shikamaru gaped as the Uchiha entered the room and crossed to the open seat between the two. Dressed in a deep green off shoulder sweater and a pair of tight sweatpants, Sasuke was still one of the sexiest women in town. Naruto had gotten used to the periodic and spontaneous changes but the reaction of the shadow ninja was something to savor.
“Shikamaru wanted to know something and I guess you are the only good source of information. But you can be a little unreachable you know?” The blond informed his mate.
“I am not unreachable. What is it you wanted to know, Shikamaru?” and the Nara Jounin shook off his shock and broached the subject. He had already gotten some information from Tsunade, but was still unsure if he was ready to talk to the Hyuuga man about it.

Neji waved good-bye to the two Jounins and headed for home. He was tired and his time on this mission had been frustrating.
How was he supposed to deal with his frustrations if Tsumon spent the entire time they were out, talking about his precious daughter and son, and the new baby that was even now entering its second trimester in Ayame’s womb?
Neji had quietly congratulated them and agreed reluctantly to baby-sit the two older children when Ayame went into labor. It had become common knowledge in the village that he and Sasuke were fairly good with small children. Something that didn’t help the Hyuuga man deal with the loss of his sometimes full-time charge.
As he entered their home, he found Shikamaru out and went to shower and drop into the welcome warmth of their bed.
Shikamaru came home around an hour later and when he located his lover he curled up around the naked Hyuuga and joined him for a long nights sleep.

Naruto rushed in and looked around the small kitchen. A pot was boiling and there were vegetable on the counter spread across the cutting board where they were being cut into pieces for some recipe that Sasuke was trying.
But the Uchiha was nowhere to be found.
“Sasuke.” Naruto growled out. “Where are you, Teme?”
The brunet in question was currently leaning over the edge of the railing on the balcony of the upstairs bedroom looking down at the odd assortment of poles and structures filling the back of their home. He didn’t know when Naruto had begun this but it was obvious that he had put a great deal of time into it. Now if he could just figure out what it was.
“Sasuke. Oh, there you are. Come on, the baby is coming, early.” And the blond grabbed his hand and dragged him from the rail and through their home.


When the two young men reached the hospital they were a little breathless and very excited.
Sakura saw them and motioned them to follow. Inside of the room a nurse, they knew only as Kaori, was holding a small bundle and smiling at them.
Naruto stepped forward and lifted the bundle from the woman’s arms, turning to Sasuke and peeling back the blanket.
The tiny child was definitely a mirror replica of Orochimaru as a baby. His face was long and tapered and the bridge of his nose was nearly nonexistent. But, as all babies are, he was adorable and Sasuke smiled down at him.
“What will we call him, Sasuke-chan?” Naruto crooned.
“Koibito.” Sasuke responded, “Uchiha Koibito.”
“Uzumaki-Uchiha Koibito.” Naruto corrected, “He’s my son, too.”
And Sasuke smirked as he lifted the baby out of the blond’s arms.
“Well, he won’t be able to say it for forever, but that’s not important. Come on, Koibito. Let’s go home.”

:::Hope that wasn’t too scattered and fast. I needed to cover a great deal of distance in a short space.
I am enjoying the comments on the possible M-preg. And I have thrown another Christian to the lions. What say you now???

Marielle – Oh the voice of wisdom. I agree that the idea of M-preg usually goes to Naruto in this heading though I wouldn’t call it overdone. Not like Jounouchi in the Yu-gi-oh! Files. That is why I wrote the Born of Shadows story. To give someone else a chance to worship the porcelain god and loose track of his shoes.
As for That, I think I will take it slow with the sandman and the meat tank. They need to get to know each other. Okay??

Vashta – glad you were able to gain our pace. I had trouble with the site and figured it might give others difficulty also. Don’t expect my Sasuke to stay male just because he isn’t pregnant. He likes his new clothes too much. Just kidding. It’s the theme of this fic, and I couldn’t drop it that fast. I created a cross dressing Sasuke and now I have a monster on my hands.

I am still interested in any other opinions about possible pairings or M-pregs. Feel free to voice them and I may start another story after this has run its course.
I have ended the Ino Blink of the Eye and am thinking of continuing it as a sequel. Just to keep up with the other things going on in the story.
I wonder who’s POV I should work with. I have these pairs set up:
Genma/Ino
Lee/Sakura
Kiba/Hinata
Jiraiya/Tsunade
Asuma/Kurenai
Kotetsu/Izumo
And of course Kakashi/Iruka - how could I go any other way?????


Next Chapter: Accepting the Truth and Changing It