Not you, too!

7. Bath time is a New Mother’s Playtime.

“When do we give them these baths?” Sasuke asked as he watched Neji cooing at the little boy on the bed. “You two really take this thing seriously, don’t you?” he added.
“Baths are just before bed, after dinner, and yes, it is very serious to us. But that is none of your business.” Neji responded.
“Like hell it isn’t. If We are going on this mission, I am not going uninformed. How did this get started? And Why?” Sasuke said, placing Naruto-chan on his lap and sitting next to the baby on the bed.
“It was before I started dating Shika. I really shouldn’t tell you. But, Choji was distraught after his mother died. It started then. He needs it and we take care of him. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Sometimes,” and the words stopped.
“I guess we all have our issues, eh Neji? So, you and Shikamaru are the mommy and daddy for Choji’s bouts of babyhood. If it works for you." he shrugged. "And Naruto learned this with his usual enthusiasm. Now, why did he learn it? Because I know he knew it before this mission came up.”
Neji smiled at the Uchiha, and Sasuke glared at him.
“Okay, that was a suggestion that I made once. I mentioned that having a baby to care for would have a definite affect on your attitude. You have to admit you are an Iceberg sometimes” Neji said, picking up Choji-chan and sitting next to the other.
“My attitude? So, this was a trick to mellow me out? I have got to stop making friends; they are too dangerous. My attitude is mellowing all by itself, thanks to a certain blond in regular mode, don’t try to speed it up, okay?”
“You used the Seidan on Kankurou today, didn’t you?” Neji asked. Sasuke nodded, leaning his chin on the little blond head below it. “It scares me.” Neji admitted.
“Scares me, too. If I can’t stop Itachi before he finds out about the others, I will lose him. If he had all three, he would be invincible, too.” And the baby in his arms squirmed around to climb up and wrap tiny arms around the Uchiha’s neck patting lightly at the sight of the long gone curse seal. Sasuke held the baby and dropped his face into its tiny neck. Neji stood and took Choji-chan to see if their dinner was nearly ready.

The tub was filled and the two little boys sat in the water splashing happily. Sasuke stood back and watched as Neji bathed the little brunet and offered him toys to amuse him and keep the water from ending up on the floor and his clothing. “If the baby wants to play, it is easier to give them something less messy to play with. I am not going to keep Choji from enjoying his bath time; but I don’t care to come away wetter than he is. Usually we just bath him with us, but I doubt you want to go to that extreme.” The older brunet explained.
“And you would be right about that.” Sasuke said, eyeing the little blond that was staring at him oddly. “Are you sure he doesn’t know what’s going on?” he asked.
“Sasuke, he’s thirteen months old. He can walk a little, garble some words, and feed himself finger foods. I know you have been alone since you were little, but didn’t you ever play with a baby?” Neji asked, lifting Choji-chan from the water and wrapping him in a towel.
“I was the youngest child, and my parents wanted me to grow up and become a ninja, not a mommy. I only played with Itachi.” He stated matter-of-factly. Neji sighed.
“That’s too bad. But now you have a chance to make up for it. Play!” he said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Sasuke stared at the blond who was still watching him from the bath.
“If you splash me, I will dunk you under, clear?” he said, crossing and kneeling next to the tub.
The baby smiled up at him and swirled the water around him with his hands. Sasuke handed him a toy boat as he lifted the washcloth and squirted some soap onto it. Naruto reached for the boat and it floated out of his reach. He sat back and glared at it. Sasuke was just rubbing at his tummy when he made another try for the toy, and the Uchiha’s hand held him back. Naruto missed the boat and looked up at the woman washing him, his eyes hard. He reached for the boat again and found himself restrained once more. The child was determined and pushed the hands away while making one more attempt, overbalancing and landing face first in the water.
As he was lifted up, he sputtered and spit out a mouthful of the stuff, before releasing a wail that split Sasuke’s ears.
“Here.” Sasuke said, picking him the boat and shaking it before the baby. Naruto stared at it a second before grabbing it and throwing it across the room. Sasuke stared at the happy blond and shook his head. He quickly completed the task and lifted the baby out of the water but not before Naruto had one last giggling splash that covered his caretaker’s face.
“That is it. Bath time is over.” And the Uchiha grabbed a towel and quickly dried the small blond who was wriggling in his grasp. He rushed from the room and laid the baby on the changing table, wrapped a diaper around him and placed him on the floor while he dried his face and searched for the new sleeper he had bought.
It was a strange thing to find in a town where he was the only surviving family member, and for that reason he had bought it, but mainly he had just wanted to see the blond wearing a dark blue sleeper with the words ‘I wish I was an Uchiha’ written across a poor reproduction of his family's fan.
If Neji was right, Naruto would never remember it but the others would, and that was enough. He also knew that the clothing the baby wore when returning to adulthood were lost permanently, so Naruto would never see it, either.
He smiled at the small blond as he held it up in front of him. “Does little Naruto-chan like his new sleeper? Do you want me to put it on you?” he said in an exaggerated baby talk to the little ninja.
Naruto-chan just giggled and reached for the brightly colored piece of cloth. Sasuke smiled and lifted him back to the changing table and worked the sleeper onto his little body.
Sasuke entered the living room and deposited the baby in Shikamaru’s lap.
“There make sure I did it right.” He said as he climbed on a high stool and crossed his legs.
Shikamaru looked Naruto over and smiled at the giggling little boy. “Did Sasuru take good care of you, Naruto-chan? Was she a good Mommy? Good.” He said, and Sasuke nearly barfed.


ChealseaRorec - Okay, this question has come up before. Hmmm, Do I plan to pair Sasuke with Kankurou? Well, I hate to disappoint anyone, but the truth is, oiqwjrj slfd klajsfk djjkszh dfi Okay? Any other questions??? Oh, and yes, I loved the pictures in the show of the baby Naruto, and he was just soo cuddly. I had to have one of my own. And I am sharing him with all of you.

Next chapter is Morning of the mission.
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