Chapter Text
Sasuke had owned his camera since middle school. It was an old-fashioned digital gray square with a handful of stickers that had since faded. It had been a present from his father and back then, he’d used it to take pictures of himself in the mirror with his long fringe covering half his face.
It ended up in a drawer, forgotten, until a spring cleaning years later. When Sasuke turned it on, the memory card was full of embarrassing teenage poses. Horrified, he deleted all of them and put the camera back where he found it.
For some reason though, he never threw it away. It went inside his bag years later when Sasuke fought with Fugaku. He packed as many belongings as he could fit and walked out the door, never to return to that house.
He picked it back up soon after when he moved on his own. His curiosity about his pregnancy got the best of him and Sasuke decided to use it again.
Sasuke was only a few weeks along but he didn’t feel much different. He stood in front of the mirror, raising his shirt to his chest and uncovering his stomach. It was still flat. Sasuke had always been thin, but he still went ahead and took a picture. He inspected it closely, seeing nothing special except for his tired face.
A couple of weeks and symptoms later, he recreated the same photo. There seemed to be no difference but when Sasuke compared the two, he noticed the tiniest of changes. It was barely there, it could easily pass as if he had eaten too much, but he knew it was his baby.
For the first time in a while, Sasuke smiled.
It became a habit. As the weeks passed, he would snap a picture to see how his body was changing. Soon enough, his flat stomach turned into a visible bump, and then into a much bigger bump, and lastly a lower bump.
He wasn’t going to take the camera to the hospital, but then…wouldn’t he want a picture of his son? If he didn’t take it, who would?
And Sasuke was thankful to have his camera when Sora was born. He had rosy cheeks and a head of black hair. Impossibly small with even smaller hands and fingers. Sasuke was fascinated. He wanted to remember every detail of it, so he took multiple pictures from different angles.
A nurse caught him snapping pictures and offered to take one of the two of them. It was the first picture of Sasuke and Sora.
The first few weeks of Sora’s life were the hardest for the omega. His baby cried all the time and Sasuke had to feed him constantly. His chest was sore and chafed and he had to eat big meals to keep up his milk supply. He settled into a routine of feeding, burping, cleaning, cooking, over and over again, all with a crying baby and little sleep.
And still, between the chaos, Sasuke snapped photos. Sora sleeping, nursing, on his tummy, dressed in little outfits. The camera was always kept handy to capture his baby’s growth.
Now Sora had passed the five month mark. He liked to be seated, he stretched out his little hands towards Sasuke, and he was getting increasingly interested in normal food.
The omega was getting ready for their night routine. He took Sora to the couch, letting him latch to his chest until he was satisfied. Then, he filled the bathtub, just enough to reach the baby’s tummy. He checked the water temperature before putting Sora down.
Sora loved water and he hit the surface excitedly, making it splash everywhere. Sasuke washed his hair, making bubbly foam with it. The baby looked up at him, gummy smile and shining black eyes. Sasuke cooed and reached for the camera, taking a quick photo of his beaming face.
He placed the camera on the edge of the tub. There was barely enough room for it and he should have known it was slippery. When he leaned in to grab Sora, his elbow knocked it.
The splash made his stomach drop.
Fuck.
Sasuke wrapped Sora in his dinosaur towel and pressed him to his chest, his free hand reaching for the camera. It was dripping wet and the screen had gone black. The omega tried turning it on only for the screen to light up, glitch, and then go dark again.
He didn’t have time to figure it out now, his baby would get cold. Sasuke dried him first and then put him in his pajamas, a tiny onesie with giraffes on it. By then, his son was getting drowsy. Sasuke held him close and started walking around the room, lulling him to sleep and humming to him. As soon as he put Sora down, he went back to check on the camera.
It didn’t turn on. It wasn’t recognized when he plugged it to his computer. Sasuke felt like an idiot for not saving the pictures somewhere else. If he couldn’t get it fixed, he’d lose every picture he had of Sora.
Sasuke frowned. If he couldn’t fix it, someone else might.
He grabbed his phone, once again cursing himself for choosing to use a camera instead, and searched for a repair shop. The ones around didn’t seem trustworthy but he found a place a few stops away with only 5 star reviews.
‘Uzumaki-san fixed my console after the djin told me I had to buy a new one. LIFESAVER!!’
‘They found discontinued parts for my vintage camera. Love their service!’
‘Amazing work 5/5’
‘Best place to go to for game releases. Guy who works there is super hot’
Well, Sasuke didn’t know how that was relevant but the rest of them convinced him. He shot a quick text to his neighbor, who agreed to watch Sora for a couple of hours the next day. He’d finish work and head out. He just hoped that letting the camera sit overnight didn’t make it unfixable.
The next day, he went through his normal routine. Sasuke woke up when Sora cried, changed his diaper, nursed him, and put him down on his playpen. He made himself some coffee and got started on work. Sasuke had hundreds of pages to read and correct, his current project would take him weeks but he was trying to get a head start on it so he simply tried to focus, occasionally wincing when he remembered his camera.
He had to take a few pauses to care for Sora. When he finally finished for the day, he packed a diaper bag and headed to his neighbour’s apartment.
She was a beta named Takami. They met when she knocked on his door and offered to help on one particularly challenging day when Sasuke couldn’t make Sora stop crying. Sasuke was near tears himself and despite his distrust, he accepted.
She explained she had grandchildren of her own and very patiently tended to Sora until he calmed down. Takami took a single look at Sasuke and told him to go to sleep while she kept an eye out for the baby.
Ever since that day, they’d grown closer and Sasuke asked her to watch Sora when he had to go out. Sometimes he had to hire sitters but he preferred to pay the beta as he trusted her more.
Now alone, Sasuke took the train to the repair shop. No one bothered him. It was impossible to know he was an omega from looking at him since he had no smell anymore. It was for the better, he thought. Even if it hurt that his little boy had never known his mother’s omega scent.
He hurried through the streets until he found the repair shop. Inside, the walls were lined with consoles, video games, computers, and some things he didn’t know what they were. The alpha behind the counter looked to be a teenager. He smiled politely at Sasuke and said, “Welcome. How can I help you?”
“Hi, um, I was wondering if you could fix this?” Sasuke replied, handing him the camera. “It won’t turn on.”
“Did something happen?”
“I dropped it in water,” the omega confessed.
The man, Konohamaru, based on his name tag, took a look at it and said, “It’s an old model. Might be hard finding parts for it.”
“It’s okay if it can’t be fixed, I just want the pictures,” Sasuke explained.
Konohamaru nodded. “My boss will take a look at it. Here,” he handed him a form. “Fill in your information and we will reach out when we have an update.”
Sasuke thanked him. He got a receipt for it and left the store, thinking he would hate himself for the rest of his life if he couldn’t get his pictures back.
*
Naruto was in the back of his shop, fixing a cooling fan. It was a new gen console, Naruto had one of his own, the customer shared was running too slow and the alpha caught the cause soon enough. It was just overheating.
“Hey boss,” Konohamaru called.
“Got anything for me?”
“Yup. Broken camera, fell in water,” Konohamaru said, putting it on his workstation. “The guy who brought it told me getting the pictures out was more important than fixing it.”
Naruto hummed, adjusting his glasses. “I’ll take a look later.”
He did not get a chance to work on it until the next day. He had too much work queued up and orders to place but Naruto did not mind. In fact, he liked his job. When he was a kid, he was good at breaking things. With time, he also became skilled at putting them back together and he developed a liking for it. That, paired with his love for video games and electronics, made opening the shop his obvious choice for a career.
Naruto took apart the camera. It was still wet on the inside. Some parts were burned, likely from trying to use it while wet. He worked mechanically, making mental notes of things he had to do.
It wasn’t too bad. Just change a few cables and do some soldering. He put it back together and boom, it turned on. Naruto connected it to his PC. There were no previews for the pictures, just rows of numbers for names. He clicked on a random one to check that the files weren’t corrupted.
It was a picture taken from above of a young man with dark hair holding a baby in a carrier.
Naruto’s mouth dropped. Was that…?
No way.
He zoomed in on the photo. He hadn’t seen him since they were kids but that had to be Sasuke Uchiha. He would recognize those dark eyes and slight frown anywhere. He looked even more handsome now, as if that was possible.
They met in elementary school. Naruto never understood why, but the other kids didn’t like him much. He remembered being excluded and how much it had hurt him but he also remembered a small omega approaching him at recess and sharing his snacks with him.
Sasuke was his first friend. They lost touch after Sasuke moved but Naruto never forgot about him.
He took another look at the picture and wondered about the baby. Was he Sasuke’s?
He clicked on the next picture. It was a picture of the baby and aww, he was dressed in a tiny bear suit. That was cute but it gave him nothing. The next picture was a blurry image of the same baby and the next one was just a chubby little hand holding a leaf. Naruto clicked out and scrolled to the earlier pictures, choosing a random one to open.
It was Sasuke in front of a mirror with his shirt raised, showing his clearly pregnant stomach.
Well, that answered his question. The baby was Sasuke’s.
That should have been all. He shouldn’t pry, he knew that. But…Naruto was curious. Who did Sasuke mate? The baby had a father, right?
So he saw the next picture, and the one after that, and the following one. Sasuke had photographed the progression of his pregnancy but other than that, he didn’t have any pictures of himself. There was a single picture of Sasuke and the baby at the hospital, clearly when the little one was born. Most were pictures of his son, seemingly taken by Sasuke. A few mirror pictures of the two of them, and a handful of selfies- all with the kid.
There was no alpha in any photo. In fact, there wasn’t anyone else in the pictures. He would assume the father would be there, at least on the day the baby was born, right? Naruto knew it was none of his business, but…was Sasuke single?
Maybe he was one of those progressive omegas that had babies on their own? Sasuke was still young and Naruto never imagined he would want a kid at all. If he hadn’t seen him pregnant, he would assume the baby was Sasuke’s nephew.
And where was Itachi? Wouldn’t he be in the pictures?
Naruto leaned back in his chair. Sasuke Uchiha, with a baby. He really wanted to know what the omega had been up to all these years. Naruto would often tell his friends that his first love was an omega in the first grade who was mean to everyone but him. The alpha desperately wanted to see him again.
Suddenly, it struck him. Sasuke would come back for his camera.
Naruto rushed to the counter. He found Sasuke’s information and reached for the shop’s phone to send him a message.
‘Hi, this is from the repair shop. Your camera is ready for pick up.’
The response came a few minutes later:
‘Thank you. I will be there later.’
Naruto’s heart started racing. “Konohamaru, go home.”
“But I have closing shift-”
“I’ll pay you! Just leave, okay? I’ll close myself.”
Konohamaru grinned. “Whatever you say, boss.”
Once he was alone, he sat behind the counter and waited. Of course, maybe Sasuke did have an alpha and they would be the one to pick it up but if the pictures were anything to go by, that was not the case.
And anyway, just seeing Sasuke’s pretty face would be worth it.
*
Sasuke didn’t know if the text meant that his camera was fixed. Maybe it was broken and they didn’t say it up front just to make sure he went back and paid.
He sighed. Whatever, he had to go pick it up anyway.
This time, he took Sora with him. He put the baby in a striped shirt and overalls paired with red sneakers. Of course, they were merely decorative since he didn’t walk yet but they looked cute anyway.
Sasuke kissed his chubby cheeks and strapped him to his carrier before heading out. Sora was normally an easy kid and the omega was endlessly grateful for it. They took the train together and reached the station for the shop. The entire time, Sora was curiously looking around.
The shop clerk had his back turned to him and he was arranging some boxes in the upper shelf. It was impossible not to notice his muscled arms and alpha scent. Even someone like him, who had given up on alphas, had to admit this one smelled good.
Sasuke cleared his throat. “I’m here to pick up my camera.”
The alpha turned. It dawned on Sasuke that he knew those blue eyes.
“Naruto?” he asked.
“Hey, Sasuke. Long time no see,” Naruto replied, smiling.
Sasuke was dumbfounded. The last time he’d seen him, he was a kid. Not the toned, handsome alpha in front of him.
“Hi, little guy,” Naruto waved at the baby. “Is he yours?”
Sasuke snapped out of it. “Yes. This is Sora.”
“Nice to meet you, Sora,” The alpha replied. “He is really cute, looks just like his mom.”
Sasuke felt his face warm up. He didn’t think Naruto understood what he’d just implied.
“Thanks. I uh, I’m here to pick up my camera?” he repeated.
“Oh yes,” Naruto said, reaching for it and placing it over the counter. “You should be all set.”
“Does it work?”
“Yup. Memory is intact, too. Just be careful around water.”
“It was an accident,” Sasuke sighed. “Thanks anyway. How much do I owe you?”
“C’mon. How could I charge an old friend? It’s just a favor,” The alpha replied.
“I can’t do that…”
“Sure can!” Naruto said. “Maybe you’d like to grab some coffee with me? Y’know, to catch up?”
Sasuke didn’t like leaving Sora unless he had to. “It’s a little hard for me to get a sitter-”
“He can come,” Naruto said. He paused for a moment, then, “Unless…your alpha minds?”
Sasuke shook his head. “It’s just the two of us.”
“I see,” Naruto said. If the omega didn’t know any better, he’d think he sounded relieved. “Well, I’d love to see you and the little dude again if you have time.”
A brief glance told him that Naruto had no ring on and no bite. Sasuke reprimanded himself for even noticing. The alpha was just being friendly, maybe a little curious. That was all.
“You have my number,” Sasuke said.
“Oh, right,” Naruto laughed. “I’ll text you!”
“Bye.”
“Bye, Sasuke. Bye, Sora!”
Sora babbled, as if saying goodbye.
Sasuke left, heading straight for the train. He was grateful for the camera, but already regretted not declining. He had to admit he was curious about the alpha’s life too but he wasn’t too eager to talk about himself.
He wasn’t embarrassed. He loved Sora more than anything, but he was single and unmated and he had a very young child. The omega knew how people saw him, what they thought of him. It didn’t matter to Sasuke but he didn’t want to expose Sora to it.
Sasuke pushed the thought away and reached his hand to pat his son through the carrier.
He was getting ahead of himself. Maybe Naruto would not even text him at all.
They made it home. The baby needed a diaper change so Sasuke took to his changing table. Sora stopped being a baby and turned into an octopus whenever he tried to put on a new diaper so the omega had to distract him and move quickly to get it done.
“You were so good today,” Sasuke said, blowing raspberries on Sora’s tummy and making him laugh. “So good, my little Sora.”
With his baby clean, Sasuke started making dinner. He put Sora down on his playpen along with some toys to distract him. It gave him enough time to put something together before his baby started whining.
“Coming,” Sasuke told him.
He finished dinner holding Sora on his hip. Sora kept following his movements, clearly interested in what he was cooking. Sasuke only kissed his head and said, “Not yet. We are almost there.”
Some people believed 5 months was old enough to start on solids but Sasuke was the careful type. Even if it made his heart shrink every time Sora tried to reach for his plate. Finally, he took the little one to bed. Sasuke planned every feeding strategically to match his own schedule. Now he was trying to put Sora to sleep.
He adjusted his shirt and let him latch. Sasuke picked up his phone and saw he had a message from an unknown number.
‘Hey, this is Naruto. Did you guys make it home safe? I’m happy I saw you today!’
Sasuke opened his profile photo. It was a mirror picture of Naruto at the gym, sitting on a bench. Naruto was wearing a sleeveless shirt with some cartoon print and gym shorts. He was grinning as he flexed his arm. Once again, the omega was surprised by his body. His legs were also thick and muscled. His abs were probably toned too…
Sasuke shuddered. He did not need the mental image.
‘Hi. Yes, we did thank you. I was happy to see you too.’
Almost immediately, he got a response.
‘What a coincidence huh? Do you have time tomorrow?’
Another message.
‘I found this place!’ A link. ‘The little dude can have some fun too :) What do you think?’
He opened the link to find a cafe. It was a kid-friendly place with comments praising the drinks. Most of the areas were for older kids but Sasuke knew that Sora would still enjoy the colors and the toys. The omega looked down to see his baby suckling, already drifting off.
“Little dude, huh?” Sasuked asked him. “What do you say, Sora? Want to go?”
Sora blinked his black eyes at him. Sasuke wanted to say no. He did. But even he had to accept that the place looked good and that it was the kind of thing Sora enjoyed…
Maybe he was thinking too much about it. It wasn’t a date or anything. It was just friends catching up, right? He watched he screen for far too long before typing a quick message and locking his phone. Sasuke turned back to Sora, as if wanting confirmation, but his baby was already asleep.
Sasuke closed his eyes, hoping he had done the right thing.
*
Across the city, Naruto’s phone lit up with the notification.
‘Sure. What time?’