All the lonely people, where do they all belong?

- Eleanor Rigby

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He was feeling considerably pissed off by the time he made his way to his house.

It was a beautiful building, luxurious and comfortable; soothing dark hues painting the exterior and greenery adorning the outside which eventually led to the inner living spaces. He'd had it built in a traditional Japanese style. He had built it as a home.

One for him and Hinata; but that had been a really long time ago.

Sasuke quietly made his way inside the gate, nervousness building up inside him despite himself. He was the most feared man in Konoha; he was used to living life constantly surrounded by the threat of death and the people who would love to be the ones to see him off into the arms of the reaper, but the thought of facing his son was terrifying.

He nodded to the guards before entering the main living area, crossing the threshold. Sounds greeted him, coming from the living room.

"Ah, what a drag," Shikamaru seemed to be saying, but there was amusement lining his voice instead of the usual annoyance.

There was a shriek of laughter that signaled a child and Sasuke felt his breath become uneven. A memory hit him.

"And when we have children, I want them to love you too. Just like I do,"

Stop, he told himself. It doesn't matter.

He forced himself to turn the corner and walk into the living room.

The TV screen was on; a cartoon was playing at a medium volume, although no one seemed to be paying it any attention. Sitting on the couch with his back to Sasuke was Nara, his usual pineapple like ponytail looking saggy compared to his usual primness. He didn't turn at the sound of Sasuke's intentionally loud footsteps.

He seemed to be looking down to something- someone at his side. His face was lifted in a half smile.

Another happy squeal sounded from his side and he grinned wider before lifting his head and turning to look at Sasuke. "Ah," he said, "Look who's back,"

Sasuke walked the rest of the footsteps it took for him to round the couch and come to stand in front of the couch, a few feet away.

He felt the rest of the world fade as his gaze zeroed in on the little boy, who was laughing at the toy Nara was waving in front of his face periodically. He was sitting up, trying to take the toy from Shikamaru who always seemed to retract it just in time.

"...Daiki," Sasuke felt himself mutter with wonder in his tone. He wanted to tell himself to get a grip, but the sight of his son, real and in front of him and laughing made a lump rise in his throat.

The boy in question seemed to recognize his name and looked towards the source. His smile faded and he looked confused, no doubt trying to place him. Sasuke hesitantly took a step forward, his hands lifting from his sides uncertainly.

Daiki didn't protest as he came closer. He simply lifted his arms towards Sasuke.

"He wants to be held," Shikamaru instructed.

"I got that, thanks," the 28 year old muttered as he leaned down to pick up the kid.

Sasuke was worried the kid would be scared of him and start crying. He didn't want that. But he also didn't know how to put the kid at ease.

Daiki curiously held his tiny hands up and touched his face. Sasuke held his breath, too afraid to ruin the moment. The weight of this small human in his arms- in his bloody hands- felt fragile.

The child seemed to recognize him, his eyes didn't fill up with tears like Sasuke had expected. Instead his grinned wide and started talking.

"Dada," he babbled.

"What did you just say?" Sasuke gasped in surprise.

"Dada, dadadada," the little boy started babbling. "Dada's back,"

The embarrassing lump in his throat was back and his eyes burned, but it was like the rest of the world faded away as he looked down at the little kid with stars in his eyes. "You're home Daiki," he promised his son. "And I'm going to take care of you,"

Sasuke didn't know how the boy identified him. He didn't know what would happen after this. All he knew was, with his heart beating out of his chest at that moment: he would never let him go.

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Author note: Well, well, well...look who's back. I'm so sorry for the late update and for anyone still with me...thank you for the wait!  This chapter marks the end of Part 1 and now we're progressing to the past and present together in the next part. 

Let me know what you think of the chapter.