Hey, so I know it's been literally over a year since I've updated this an I apologize. In that year I've managed to graduate with my Bachelor's though and have been focused on finding a Big Girl Job, with varying degrees of success. In addition to being busy finishing school, writer's block is definitely still a thing. This particular oneshot has been in the works for…probably that entire year and longer? Bits and pieces came together very slowly and I've finally managed to cobble most of the scenes together in a way that I don't hate. And since I know there are, miraculously, still readers to this story, I'm going to post it.

Seriously though, you amazing people that still read this thing after an entire freaking year are what got me to finish this. It was always a little crazy to get an email about a review, or see those view numbers continue to climb and it always gave me a little burst of motivation, so thank you! As always, guest reviews are a thing.

Mai: Thank you sweetheart! Your review was so sweet! I hope this chapter also brings a smile to your face.

Guest#1: Not gonna lie, a little curious why you felt the need to leave that review? I disagree on a few points. I do think Naruto loved Sakura, probably for a majority of the manga (although I've never read it and have stated previously these oneshots follow the anime closer than the manga) but I think NH had plenty of development as a relationship – although not always romantically. SS has literally no confirmed mutual feelings. We get a whole lot of Sakura pinning and a little bit of Sasuke being indifferent and that's about it. And as to whether NH or SS is the main pairing of the series…I don't really care? That's kind of exactly why I write fanfiction? So I can focus on whatever the hell I want.

Usa-chan: Thank you! As for the after Pein AU – the idea is that in the fallout after Pein attacks Konoha Danzo steals the Hokage seat while Tsunade is weak and…things go downhill. The brainchild for it actually originated from another fic entitled On Some Missions by therealesther, but that's all I'll say about it for now. I hope this chapter is as enjoyable as all of my other chapters.

Guest#2: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Guest#3: It's not that I reject SasuSaku. I just think it would be far more complicated than Sasuke just coming back to the village for them to work out the freaking mountain of problems they have. It would take time, and thought, and a hell of a lot of growth out of Sasuke. And since it is nowhere near my favorite ship (honestly I ship it, but only in a vague way that it makes sense as end game and that's as far as I care) or really even that interesting to me, I haven't put in the thought and effort it would take to write it believably. This chapter does make some progress in that direction however…kind of.

XXX

Naruto groaned as his muscles protested with every move. Dropping his bag by the couch and trying to massage the stiffness out of his neck he moved through the apartment in search of his wife. As he stepped through the bedroom door, Naruto was greeted with the beautiful sight of a mostly nude Hinata, clearly fresh from a shower. She was examining herself in the mirror, a finger fretfully tracing a stretch mark on her hip left over from her pregnancy. A small pout twisted her mouth into an absolutely adorable frown.

He leaned against the doorframe and took the opportunity to admire her gorgeous curves. It was one of the few times he had seen her body unclothed since they'd brought Jiraiya home from the hospital nearly three months ago and he was more than happy to take advantage of such a delightful opportunity. He was disappointed when Hinata didn't allow him to indulge for long.

"Hey Hime!" His voice startled her and her eyes jumped to his in the mirror for a moment before dropping her gaze to her toes and tugging her robe closed. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth and there was a bright blush on her cheeks as she turned to face him in what he could only describe as embarrassment. She wouldn't meet his eyes again, even when she spoke to him.

"I didn't expect you so early. Welcome home." Her hands tugged anxiously on the short hem of her robe, trying to pull it farther down her legs and Naruto frowned at her. Why was she feeling so shy? It wasn't like he'd never seen her naked before, and she definitely didn't need to be embarrassed about her magnificent body. He crossed to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his hands resting on her arms.

"You okay, 'Nata?"

"I'm fine. How was your training?" she asked instead. She was still looking at a spot somewhere around his collarbone rather than his face, but her hands had come to rest comfortably on his sides. She was probably just embarrassed I caught her checking herself out, he reasoned and decided to let the matter go.

"It was good. Lee is still as punishing as ever!" She still hadn't met his eyes so he tucked a finger under her chin, encouraging her to look at him. "Missed you though."

She peeked up at him through her lashes and at the sight of his smile a still somewhat bashful grin split her lips and she caught his hand and twisted her fingers through his. "You were only gone for a few hours," she reminded him and he pouted, making her laugh. "I missed you, too," she admitted in a soft whisper and pushed up on to her toes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. His fingers tightened around hers and his free arm looped around her back to pull her close, ready to kiss that charming blush back on to her cheeks when the boxy sound of a baby's cry came over the monitor and she pulled away.

"You should take a shower, you stink," she teased, wrinkling her nose as she slipped out of the room to get the baby.

Naruto watched her go with disappointment. The way that robe hinted at what he had glimpsed underneath should be illegal! Stepping in to the bathroom Naruto resigned himself to another cold shower. Jiraiya was nearly eleven weeks old now and Naruto had been suppressing his desire for his wife for months. But both Tsunade and Sakura had made it very very clear after Jiraiya's birth that Hinata would need time to heal from the labor and that under no circumstances was he to push her for sex before she was ready. But damn if it wasn't one of the hardest things he'd ever done!

Hinata had always been beautiful and her sweet nature and unbreakable spirit made her the most incredible person Naruto had ever known. The fact that he was completely head over heels in love with her and wildly attracted to her had never been a problem before because she had always returned those feelings in kind. Throughout her pregnancy his feelings had grown exponentially. He knew there had been times Hinata had worried that her changing figure would make him find her unattractive but it had in fact done the opposite.

Seeing her fit body grow heavy with his child had been an exhilarating experience and he'd had no small amount of trouble reserving his affections for when they were in private. Far from becoming unattractive to him, Naruto now viewed his wife as a goddess! She had given him a son, a family! And he wasn't sure he would ever be able to adequately express in words what that meant to him. She was beautiful and strong and powerful and kind and so so good he often found himself wondering what he had ever done to deserve her. The one thing he knew for certain was that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

Although none of that helped him with his current problem and in fact thinking about her only made it worse. As he stepped under the cold stream from the showerhead Naruto realized he was going to have to think of something other than his wife for a little bit or his problem wouldn't be going anywhere.

XXX

A single finger tapped on the tabletop and Sasuke sighed admitting defeat. He simply couldn't focus on anything today. Correction: He couldn't focus on anything that didn't have to do with Sakura today.

It had taken him longer than it should have to identify that he missed Sakura. It took even longer and a few hours of irritated shifting as he ineffectively tried to read the same lines of a jutsu scroll over and over again to admit that he missed her. And wanted to see her. And then even longer as he tried to decide what to do about it.

Part of the reason for that was because it hadn't been that long since he'd seen her last. Team 7 had met just a few days ago to train. He'd gone for years without seeing her and hadn't given it a second thought. The idea that he would have an irritatingly powerful urge to see her after only a few days apart was… unexpected. It was also unexpected to realize it had become an increasingly common desire since his return to the village over a year and a half before. And it irritated him.

He wasn't accustomed to being distracted. Certainly not by something like Sakura. He had barely even thought of her in the years he had been away from the village. It was true he'd had more to distract him then, with his burning desire to destroy Itachi and his search for power. But it wasn't as if he didn't have things to do here. He was an ANBU captain now and he took regular missions that would take him out of the village for weeks at a time. And when he wasn't away on missions he was preparing for missions. He was no less busy than he had ever been during his time with Orochimaru, and yet his mind could not seem to focus. Cherry blossoms and jade seemed to fill his thoughts at the most unexpected moments.

It could be while he was staking out a target. He would see the cherry blossoms filling the river and think about how much Sakura would enjoy the sight. Or it could be during an infiltration that he would find himself thinking that this mission would be over that much sooner if only Sakura was there to punch through the walls. He'd even caught himself considering the heavier kunai she preferred when he was replacing his equipment one day. She was in everything!

And it was pissing him off.

Sasuke had always been in control of himself. It was something he prided himself on. He had mastered the art that many other shinobi struggled with of locking his thoughts and emotions away to focus on a task. He didn't let sentimental things like feelings get in the way of accomplishing an objective. Where others might hesitate with the darker aspects of mission critical goals and how they effected others, Sasuke was able to turn off the part of him that cared. He rarely turned it back on.

Being unable to keep control of his thoughts and emotions as far as Sakura was concerned was a problem that he had yet to find a solution to.

He had tried training harder, with more intensity and ferocity to no effect. When he had taken time to analyze the progress he had made he had found himself contriving how his training would best synergize with Sakura's technique. He had tried simply avoiding her, taking an extended mission out of the village that had taken four months and steering clear of the places she frequented when he was in the village. Instead he had found himself window shopping in his downtime on his mission and noting things that Sakura might have liked.

Sitting at his table Sasuke considered the one option he hadn't tried yet. Perhaps this itch to see Sakura wasn't something that would go away with neglect. Perhaps it was an itch that simply needed to be scratched and once it had it would finally disappear.

He mulled the idea over for a moment before deciding and rising from his kitchen table, the jutsu scroll left in a heap. He would master this jutsu, and then he would go to see Sakura.

XXX

Naruto was making a valiant effort to pay attention to whatever the hell was playing on the television but she was making it impossible! The two had wanted to enjoy their evening together and had curled up together on the couch and with Hinata pressed along his front like that he was vividly aware of her curves against him. And she just wouldn't stop moving! Every shift she made, every breath was a divine torture as he tried to reign in his ardor. Eventually she rolled over to face him and he had to try very hard to school his face to casual inattention. She was staring at his face and against his better judgement he met her eyes, lifting an eyebrow in question.

"Everything ok, Hime?" he asked, his hand carefully placed in the middle of her back so it wouldn't start roaming out of bounds.

She heaved a sigh, her breasts swelling against his chest cruelly, and shook her head before pressing her face into the crook of his neck and snuggling closer. Her nose brushed that place on his neck that drove him wild and he had to bite his cheek to keep from groaning. 'This is torture!' he thought as her arm looped around his waist and one of her knees wedged between his. Her fingers were toying with the hem of his sweater absently and when she lifted her head again he knew she was going to kiss him.

A pre-emptive strike was his only course of action if he was going to keep any sort of grasp on his quickly fleeing wits. So instead of bending to meet her lips, like he longed to do, he pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

Immediately her demeanor changed. Instead of pressing against him like sin and turning his brain to mud she tensed. Her fingers fisted in the hem of his sweater and a scowl wrinkled her brow as she pulled away enough to look at him.

"Why won't you kiss me!" she demanded, her mouth twisted in a pout that made him ache to do just that.

"What are you talking about?" he hedged, "I just did!"

She huffed testily and stared at him until he gave up pretending to misunderstand her. "You haven't kissed me in a week, Naruto."

'Ten days' his brain corrected automatically.

"Do you not want to kiss me?" she asked and although she hid it well there was a hint of anxiety in her face.

"Not want to?! Of course, I want to kiss you, Hinata! That's the whole problem. I want to kiss you and I don't want to stop."

"Then why don't you?" She softened against him now, all of the tension slipping out of her as she pressed against him and he had to look anywhere else but at her to keep himself from losing it. She was beyond tempting and when she pressed against him like this, all softness and warmth, it took nothing short of godly discipline to keep from ravishing her!

"Because if I start kissing you I'll have to stop." Her eyebrows scrunched together again, but this time because she didn't understand and he sighed, moving his hand on her back to gently knead into her side. "I just know we can't have sex yet, and sometimes it's really hard to just kiss you."

Hinata frowned at him in confusion. "Why can't we have sex?" she asked, absolutely bewildered.

"Because Granny Tsunade and Sakura both threatened me with great bodily harm if I tried to push you before you were ready! You needed to heal from the birth and I didn't want to pressure you before you were ready." He finally met her eyes as she suddenly laughed.

"Naruto, I've been trying to drop hints that I was ready for almost two weeks now! I thought you… maybe didn't want to because..." she clammed up suddenly, picking at a piece of lint on the front of his sweater bashfully. "Well, my body has changed a lot since Jiraiya was born and you haven't seemed very interested."

"Not interested?!" he exclaimed, his arms locking around her to hold her closer. The fact that she could think, for even a second, that he wasn't wildly attracted to her was mindboggling. "Believe me, Hinata, I am the exact opposite of 'not interested'. I stopped looking at you because every time I do I want to push you against the nearest surface and screw you senseless!"

Her blush came back but it was no longer because of shame. She was pleased now and her arms snaked around his neck. "Then why haven't you?" she asked coyly, although he knew she wasn't trying to be coy.

"You're still healing aren't you? Sakura made me promise not to push you and I swore I wouldn't," he repeated firmly. Her smile turned regretful and a hand pressed to his chest right over his heart.

"Oh Naruto, this is my fault. Sakura said I was all right at my last appointment. But with the way my body has changed…I was nervous you wouldn't want me and every time I tried to give you hints you turned away."

"Because you're so damn sexy I didn't think they were hints! I thought it was just you being you and me being horny!" His exaggeration earned a peal of laughter from her and he couldn't help but laugh with her. "You kind of married a dumbass, Hinata. I need a little more than hints."

Still laughing a little, Hinata twisted her fingers in the short hair at the nape of his neck. "How's this for a hint?" she whispered before sealing her lips over his.

XXX

Sasuke had forced himself to focus on his training for several hours. And although he had not had as much success as he would have liked, he had succeeded with that new jutsu. Now sweaty, tired, and hungry he would indulge for an hour and have dinner with Sakura. Perhaps seeing her would scratch that metaphorical itch that had been plaguing him.

Just as he lifted his hand to knock on her door, it opened. Sakura paused, surprised to see him and he was too caught up in staring at her to say hello. She was wearing a pretty black dress with long sleeves and a short hemline that looked stunning on her. Her short hair was curled softly and her eyes seemed to shimmer more than usual. He couldn't recall ever seeing her so dressed up. As her eyes gave him a once-over he remembered that he was fresh from training and looked nowhere near as polished. The clothes he used for training were torn and stained from hours of work, his hair had been messily combed through with his fingers to push it out of his eyes, but that was all. He had never felt self-conscious in front of Sakura before and he quickly arranged his face into an aloof expression.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" Her surprise to see him stung more than he had expected. They were friends, she was one of a very select group that held that honor for him. It shouldn't surprise her that he would want to see her. He conveniently forgot that he had been avoiding her for months. Not wanting to let her on to the fact however, he buried his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"I was wondering if you would like to get dinner with me." She seemed speechless for a moment, before her features set into a disappointed frown.

"I'd love to Sasuke, but I can't. I've got a date," She said, stepping outside and closing her door.

"A date?" he echoed, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Her shoulders slouched and she puffed out an annoyed sigh as she locked the door before turning to him, the disappointment on her face replaced with an annoyed scowl.

"Yes, Sasuke. A date," she snapped. "You know, one of those things you were always painfully mindful of reminding me we never did?" She was putting sparkling earrings in as she brushed passed him and headed down the hall. He was still reeling a bit from her sudden shift from surprised to see him to irritated with him and he had to take a couple of quick strides to catch up with her.

"Who are you going on a date with?" He asked incredulously as he turned to follow her down the stairs.

"A civilian. You don't know him." She yanked the door of her building open and motioned for him to proceed her outside before turning to scowl at him again. "What, Sasuke? Is it so hard to believe that anyone could want something that you didn't? You know, someone out there might actually see what a great catch I really am." When he just stared at her she rolled her eyes and huffed, turning down the street. "I don't know why I even bother. Whatever, I'm going to be late if I don't get moving. I'll see you around."

Sasuke found he could only stare after her. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to follow her, demand that she spend time with him, and perhaps before the war he might have done just that. He'd grown up always getting what he wanted, whether it was by someone presenting it to him or by taking it himself.

But Sakura had always been a special case. She had once offered him everything, she had been willing to follow him anywhere in the world, to give up everything and everyone important to her except him, and he had refused her. Time and again he had turned her away and spurned her affection and now he couldn't bring himself to simply demand her attention.

Perhaps it was because she had always been there, so constant in her affection for him, if not always her faith, that he had begun to mark it as a focal point of his world. The sun rose in the east, Naruto was his best friend, and Sakura loved him.

His own feelings on the matter were harder to decipher. He hadn't always had trouble expressing his feelings. In fact he had a fairly distinct memory of his father commenting to his mother that he used to wear his heart on his sleeve. The massacre had changed everything though. After that night he'd had so many emotions and feelings constantly rolling around in him it had become impossible to distinguish anything except for the anger, betrayal and hate. Those emotions had driven him through his formative years. Being the only emotions he needed to motivate his quest for revenge he had never bothered to parse anything else out of the tangled mess that had become his feelings towards anything. Now that those emotions weren't fueling his every thought, he found he didn't really know where to start with the rest.

Something she had said bothered him though. That he didn't know how good she was. He acknowledged her strength. She was the most skilled medic nin in the world. She had saved his life with her skill. She had saved Naruto and countless other lives during the war. She was a splendid kunoichi and he knew it.

His temper was beginning to rise but he didn't want to try to parse out exactly why. But with irritation came an anxious energy that filled his limbs and made him want to smash something. If Sakura wouldn't give him the time of day at least he could always count on Naruto. He'd been spoiling for a match anyways.

XXX

Oh he'd missed this! His wonderfully responsive wife wrapped around him as he pressed her into the couch felt absolutely divine! Her fingers tangled in his hair as his hands explored the soft expanse of her belly and waist, each trying to kiss the other senseless first. How had he survived so long without this, without her? He felt like he could finally breathe again! Except totally not because her kiss felt like she was trying to suck his very soul out of him!

She mewled softly when he moved his kisses to her neck for a bit of respite. He was gently trying to suck a mark onto the skin just under her ear as his fingers moved for the clasp of her bra. He couldn't help smirking at the breathless noises she was making as her fingers began working on his belt. Oh yes, he had definitely missed this!

With no warning the front door slammed open accompanied by an annoyed shout of his name.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled, startling so badly he nearly fell off the couch. Hinata's hand bracing him was the only thing that saved him and, scrambling to cover his wife, Naruto twisted over his shoulder to see just who the hell thought they had the right to come bursting through his front door.

He should have known.

Sasuke stood in the doorway, still as stone. For a moment, no one moved, trapped by shock, and then a soft baby's cry from the back room broke the spell. Or at least, it snapped Naruto and Hinata out of their daze. Sasuke was still in the doorway, one hand resting on the knob as he stared at them like he couldn't quite wrap his mind around what his eyes were seeing.

"Get out, Teme!" Naruto shouted, tucking Hinata against his chest to shield her, even if it was futile. The shout seemed to finally snap Sasuke to attention and without a word, he turned on his heel and walked out, quietly latching the door behind him. "What the hell was that?" he asked, quietly but with feeling, as he turned back to his wife.

Hinata was covering her face with both hands but, even so, he could see her blush went all the way to her hairline. "Hinata?" he said gently, praying she wouldn't hide from him, and slowly she peeked at him through her fingers a moment before she dissolved into helpless giggles. Unable to resist her adorable laugh, and half relieved that she was able to find humor in the situation, his face split into a grin and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You'd better go see what he wants," she finally said with a smile still pulling at her lips. "I'm going to see if I can get Jiraiya back to sleep." With a quick peck on the lips, Hinata slipped out from under him, picking up her shirt and slipping it on.

"What?! No, Hinata!" he whined, trying to catch her, but she deftly evaded his hands and shooed him towards the front door as she walked back to the nursery. Just before she turned the corner she scooped his discarded shirt from the floor and tossed it at his head.

Naruto collapsed into the cushions, facedown, shirt still draped over his face where it had landed, and growled. 'I'm going to kill him' Naruto thought. And the sooner he did that, the sooner he could come back to Hinata. Resolutely, he pushed himself up, yanked his shirt back on, and stepped out of the front door.

XXX

"What the hell do you want?" Naruto demanded. Sasuke pointedly did not look at him when he spoke.

"Where's Hinata?"

"Putting Jiraiya back to sleep because you came slamming through the front door, yelling. But I'm gonna guess you weren't here to see her, since you were yelling my name." Naruto crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the railing of the walkway expectantly.

"I wanted to spar."

Naruto stared at him like he wasn't sure he was serious before glaring fiercely. "Go home!" he snapped before turning back to his apartment.

"What? Why?" Naruto whipped back around at his questions.

"Because I love my wife very much and I enjoy spending time with her," He said, making Sasuke grimace and look the other way, but he wasn't getting off that easily. "And you just interrupted the first chance I have gotten even close to getting laid since before Jiraiya was born! So unless you have a damn good reason for wanting to spar out of the blue, I'm going back inside to try to seduce my wife."

For a moment a shockingly intense wave of jealousy overtook Sasuke. As a child, if someone had once told him that dead last Naruto would one day be married to a beautiful wife with a new son and a bright future ahead, and that he, a son of the Uchiha Clan would be alone and struggling to find his purpose he probably would have questioned just how much saki they'd had that morning. It was true Naruto had always known where he was going and what he wanted from life, and that Sasuke hadn't had a clue since Itachi's death, but actually thinking about the fact that the village pariah when they were kids understood people and their emotions, particularly Sasuke's, better than he did caused more envy than he had ever felt. The feeling upset him and he said the first thing that came to his mind as a distraction.

"I wanted to get my mind off of Sakura." Naruto made a face and raised his hands as if to say where did that come from? He buried his face in his hands for a moment and grumbled something Sasuke couldn't quite catch, but that sounded suspiciously like a prayer for patience and strength, before heaving a sigh.

"Why? What did Sakura do?" he asked in defeat with an air of longsuffering resignation.

"Nothing." Sasuke tried not to look away, but when Naruto pursed his lips and raised one skeptical eyebrow he felt an uncharacteristic need to explain better. "She's on a date."

"Oh, that," Naruto said, shrugging as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I thought you two had gotten into a fight or something."

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew. She's doubling with Sai and Ino because it's their first date and Ino asked her to." Naruto said, shrugging again. "Ino wanted Hinata and I to go, but Jiraiya's only a couple months old and Hinata doesn't like leaving him alone for long."

"Do you know who he is?"

Naruto shrugged. "A civilian, I don't think we know him. Sakura said he volunteers at the hospital a lot, works in the pediatric ward. Sounds like a nice guy."

Sasuke didn't have anything to say to that, but his usual silence seemed to annoy Naruto.

"Do you have a problem with it?" he asked testily, watching Sasuke closely with a dark frown.

"Why should I? There was never any kind of understanding between her and I," Sasuke answered, trying to appear as if the whole affair wasn't tying his already tangled emotions into a veritable Gordian knot.

Naruto, on the other hand, laughed and raised a hand as if to stop him. "Oh, no, I'm not saying you have any sort of right to be upset about it! Sakura deserves the world and I'm glad she's finally cutting herself a break. But just because you don't have a right to be upset doesn't mean you aren't."

"What makes you think I'm upset?" Sasuke snapped, annoyed by just how quickly Naruto had parsed out his feelings.

Naruto sighed and buried his face in his hands for a moment, leaning on the railing. He didn't look at Sasuke when he raised his face, instead choosing to watch the Konoha skyline, but his question made Sasuke tense.

"You wouldn't have come to me if you weren't upset. Why don't you just tell her how you feel already?"

"What are you talking about, Dobe?" Sasuke refused to look at Naruto, certain that if he did Naruto would be able to read his mind once again. It seemed Naruto could do it anyway.

"This. This is what I'm talking about," Naruto said, gesturing vaguely to Sasuke in his entirety. "You have feelings for her, strong feelings! And I'd be willing to put money on the fact that they just might be romantic. But for whatever reason, you can't admit it. Not to her, not to me, probably not even to yourself."

"What does it matter how I feel about her?" Sasuke growled back. His temper was rising again although he couldn't say why. It wasn't like Naruto was saying anything untrue. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time Naruto had explained Sasuke's own feelings to him.

"Because Sakura deserves to be happy, you bastard! And if you could pull your head out of your ass for five minutes, I think you could probably make her happy. But you only view emotions and feelings as a weakness and do everything in your power to make people believe you don't have them."

Naruto let him mull over that. The silence in tandem with Naruto's hard glare and his already boiling and confused emotions forced the words out of him.

"The last time I allowed myself to care about something, Itachi killed it," he admitted quietly. There was a painful lump forming in his throat but the words kept coming. "And after I thought I couldn't feel anything but hatred, Itachi left me too."

"I get that it's hard to allow yourself to care about someone," Naruto told him after a pause. "And I know that it's uncomfortable, don't think I don't. Maybe I didn't grow up with a family, but I found one." Naruto's voice changed, it softened and became just a little bit vulnerable and Sasuke couldn't not look at him." And then you left. So I found others to fill in the gaps. And it was hard! I'd spent my entire life believing an entire village wished I was dead. And when I found out about the Fox… when I found out what I was, I kinda wished I was a dead too. But Iruka was there and he… I don't know, he made it better. And it gave me just enough courage to keep going. Cause I found out it's better to care about someone and risk getting hurt than it is to spend your whole life alone.

"And every time after that, when I felt like running away and hiding and never letting anyone hurt me ever again, I remembered that. I remembered how…incredibly amazing it was to learn that someone cared about me and wanted to know how I was feeling and what I was thinking and what I wanted to do. So I started opening up to other people. And I started to try to understand them because I wanted everyone around me to feel how that felt. And yeah, that means it hurts a hell of a lot more if you lose them. But the only reason it hurts more is because you're so much happier with them."

"How did you do it? With Hinata, I mean." Sasuke wasn't entirely sure why he asked. The things Naruto was talking about reminded him more of Naruto's relationship with the Sanin Jiraiya that of his marriage. But maybe there was a parallel he was unconsciously ignoring here.

Naruto huffed a breath that could be considered a laugh. "I took a shot. I hadn't spoken to her in over a year. I had no idea how she felt about me, if her feelings had changed, I mean. But I had been a total jackass and I couldn't just roll up to her and demand the world from her. She had risked everything for me. She had nearly died for me! And if I wasn't willing to do the same, to risk everything, I knew I'd never deserve her. And I realized I didn't want to live in a world where I didn't have her. So I followed her example and I put myself at her mercy. I stopped protecting my heart and my pride and my emotions. I opened up to her, and I told her things I've never told anyone else. I told her about my biggest fears, and my scariest moments and my deepest secrets and my wildest dreams-"

"Telling her you want to be Hokage isn't a secret or a wild dream-" Sasuke scoffed. Everyone knew of Naruto's dream and that he was well on his way to achieving it, but Naruto frowned at him and shook his head.

"I'm not talking about being Hokage. I told her I wanted a family, a real one, with a mom and a dad and kids." With Naruto staring him straight in the eye it was impossible for Sasuke to misunderstand him. "I never knew my parents. I didn't have siblings. I was alone. For so long! And yeah, I made friends, and don't get me wrong, I love every one of them, every bond is important but… it's just not the same. I was used to doing everything on my own, to only relying on myself. I had convinced myself that I would always be able to do that, and that I would always have to. Because for a long time I didn't think I would ever have a family. No one wanted me until I was this big hero and that meant that nobody really wanted me. They just wanted the hero. Except for her. So I sucked it up and I talked to her."

"And that was it?" Sasuke wouldn't have believed it if they were talking about anyone other than Naruto's soft-spoken wife, but she had been in love with Naruto for forever, so it wouldn't have been the most far-fetched idea in the world. Naruto obviously didn't agree though because he snorted and shook his head.

"Hell no, that wasn't it! I didn't get a free pass with Hinata just because she loved me already. Because when we got together I didn't know if I loved her. I was open with her about it, so she was willing to give me shot, but… If I didn't love her, and I'd still asked her to marry me, she would have said no."

It was Sasuke's turn to snort and he shook his head, turning back to the skyline as he leaned against the railing. Naruto shoved him.

"I'm serious! Hinata loved me, but she wasn't going to settle for only part of me. If I wasn't willing to go all in, to love her completely, to be absolutely honest and open and vulnerable with her about everything, she didn't want anything to do with me. And she had every right to demand that of me. She's an incredible person. She's beautiful and gentle and the kindest person you're ever going to meet. She believes in people, in the goodness inside them and she never ever gives up. She hates to upset people, but if she believes in something she won't be beaten. She loves with her whole being. And she'll never accept a half-assed attempt at something, especially not something as important to her as our relationship. That's what I love about Hinata. That's why I love her. And it's why I do everything I can to make her happy. Because she deserves nothing but the very best.

"And I think you feel the same way about Sakura. You just won't open yourself up to admit it. And until you're willing to be as open and as vulnerable in front of her as she's been in front of you – countless times – you won't have her. Because as much as Sakura loves you, she's learned to stand on her own and she's learned what she's worth. And she won't have only part of you."

Naruto clapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a small smile. "It's all in there, Sasuke. Everything you think and feel and try to deny. Maybe it's time you stopped running. You came back to Konoha. Now it's time to come home." Naruto's fingers constricted around Sasuke's bicep gently, for just a moment, and then he turned and went back inside.

Sasuke didn't much feel like lurking outside Naruto's door when he had strong suspicions as to what his best friend would be getting up to so he leapt to the rooftops and headed towards his apartment, his mind working through everything Naruto had said. For the first time since he was six years old, he allowed himself to think about the last time he'd been home. It had been in the Uchiha Compound. But it wasn't the place that was home. It had been when he was trying to hide that he was crying because Itachi hadn't had time for him again and his mother had asked him why he was crying. Home had been when he'd told her.

XXX

Naruto found Hinata curled up in her rocking chair in the nursery. Jiraiya was asleep in her arms as she hummed a lullaby to him. When she spotted Naruto she smiled and rose to put the infant in the crib before sneaking out of the room. She caught his hand and laced their fingers together as she gently shut the door behind them. He couldn't resist smiling back at her when she turned to look at him.

"What did Sasuke want?" she asked as they moved to their bedroom.

Naruto shrugged and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. "He was just moping about Sakura. I don't understand why he can't just tell her how he feels when it's so obvious!"

Hinata's head tilted to the side as she looked up at him with a fond smile, her arms wrapped around his neck. "You wear your heart on your sleeve, Naruto. It's not as easy for everyone as it is for you. It can be difficult to confess things like that to another person." Naruto smirked at her and leaned back to lift her off her feet.

"No, some people decide it's a good idea to tell a person they love them on a battlefield," he teased. She pursed her lips but he could tell by the way her arms held him closer that she wasn't really annoyed. He stretched his neck to kiss her but she leaned away, a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"And yet, for some people, mustering up all of that courage isn't enough to even be remembered." He groaned and Hinata didn't smirk, because Hinata never smirked, but she came pretty damn close before dissolving into laughter. Naruto pressed a sloppy kiss into her cheek and set her back on her feet, but he didn't let her go. Talking with Sasuke had made him think about a lot of things that he knew but didn't consciously ponder very often. Hinata was such an integral part of his life now he rarely thought about it at all. Loving her was like breathing – something he never thought about, but if he stopped he would definitely die. Cheesy maybe, but that didn't make it any less true. He was beyond grateful to have her and his conversation with Sasuke had reminded him to appreciate the fact.

She was still laughing just a little but she let him kiss her this time. And after, he bumped his nose against hers, just happy to be with her.

XXX

I apologize for any typos or grammatical mistakes. Not gonna lie, I'm really excited to post this and probably didn't proofread as closely as I should have. Some parts of this have been reviewed and reworked for the better part of a year…some of it I literally wrote today when I got home from work. But I'm getting antsy and really want to post it.

I hope you've enjoyed it! I hope you'll let me know what you think. What parts did you enjoy? Are there any parts that seem grossly out of character? Was there a particular line you really liked?

Please let me know! And with all of my love,

Happy reading! Tenneyshoes