Winter's Fate

Chapter 36

Chapter 36  (A Slow Parade by A.A Bondy)

"Ouch."  Naruto hunched over and Itachi stepped into his reach.  "I'm not ready ...  We're not ready."  Naruto breathing heavily the words sounding tethered in the blonde's throat as he took in a sharp breath, nails digging into Itachi's pale skin harder then intended when the pain intensified. 

Itachi wiped away the tears that were falling down the tan cheeks.  The Uchiha hated this. There was nothing he could do to help ease the pain.  He felt starnded and utterly useless. 

"I'm here baby. Deep breath in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth."  The raven repeats the repetitions like they practice in class listening as the latter struggles to follow his instructions.  There was no doubt that Naruto was in active labor and the pain was basically in his back.  Breakfast and lunch had passed and with the exceptional contraction here and there Naruto was doing fine up until an hour ago. 

They were now swaying back and forth in the bedroom trying to deal with a particularly painful one. His waters hadn't broken yet and he was feeling lots of pressure bearing down on his hips and spine.  "Itachi...," his hands tightened onto the older's shoulders, desperately trying to bite back the unbidden tears, never in his life had he thought it possible to have to endure pain so intense that he felt paralyzed.  "Nngh."

"Okay, tell me what you want to do."  The paler asked gently rocking them side to side with Naruto's stomach pressed against him, barely room from how full it is from their twins' full term growth making them ready for the world. He cupped his hands underneath the swollen belly and lifted, holding the weight off of the blonde's hips.  Itachi found himself doing this over the past week to help give Naruto a moment's reprieve.

"I...don't...I don't know." Naruto pants, "Nothing we do...is helping." He sucked in a breath, letting out a shaky one, trying to focus on the task at hand as he was being swept away in the contraction, drawing in another shallow breath and levering himself against the wall with one hand, a sheen of sweat was visible on his forehead.  "Ah!" Hissing loudly from the stitch in his side where the babies' feet were pushing out causing his belly to misshapen.  "Uhhhf."  Gritting his teeth before throwing his head back, panting softly as he straighten his body with a grimace his hands now caressing the asymmetrical curve, "Nnghh!"

"I can't do this." No longer burying his cries, breath hitching. 

Breathe," Itachi reminds him as he counts. Itachi moves his hands from underneath the dome so he can hold the laboring man's waist to keep him steady while pressing his fingers deeper along the muscles of his spine.  He rubbed his thumbs in circles over the blonde's hips to let him know that he was still there. Comforting the latter as much as possible was helping himself not to panic inside.

"I can't do this." Naruto snips more so at the pain opening his eyes once he gained control of his breathing. He had no longer wanted to be in the bedroom upstairs so they had moved downstairs to their bedroom.  In addition he reasoned that being downstairs he could walk around the living room and the music room as a change of scenery. "I need to lay down."

Itachi nods moving them slowly to the other side of the room.  Naruto gingerly sagging back to brace himself having to pant through whimpers as he sat down on the bed, cringing all the while when his body tenses up, his spine feeling like it's being squeezed in a vice grip.

"I don't like this." Itachi admitted his thoughts speak out loud when seeing the wince warp in the tan features.  "You're in too much pain."

"She...she said to expect this", Naruto pants heavy, "I just didn't know it would be this bad." Confessing in a strained voice when his bottom came in contact with the mattress.