Together Forever

In the beginning, Naruto would have never thought that they would reach this point.

He never imagined he would love Hinata with all his being and soul. When they stood together in front of the whole village and were announced as husband and wife, he almost gave up on having a life with a woman that he truly loved.

Then he remembered how she confidently smiled at him and squeezed his hand, as if she knew everything was going to be ok.

His mind flashed back to the times where he now knew that he was falling for her - when he kissed her on a whim, when he got jealous, when she was all he could think about, and when he would make small gestures of affection just so he could touch her and be near her.

When he awoke, those were his first thoughts.

He smiled at the sight of her being the first thing he saw in the morning and coincidentally, her eyes fluttered open as well.

"...morning, Hinata." He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before she could even respond. When he broke away, he chuckled at her evident blushing and guessed that she was probably thinking about last night's event.

Hinata grasped the blanket a little tighter and pulled it up to cover her shoulders...she felt like she was going to die of embarrassment when she thought about how they were both naked right now.

Naruto couldn't help but adore her...it was honestly so cute how innocent she was. Last night, she was quite responsive to his touches and she sure didn't shy away from him, but now she wanted to act all timid.

"You don't have to be shy, Hinata. Round two?" He almost busted out laughing when she completely turned red.

"Naruto...!" Hinata protested and glared at him, half angry that he thought it was fun to tease her. Geez, how could he say such an embarrassing thing!

Naruto smirked. Though she was flustered, she didn't push him away when he pulled the blanket off slightly and hovered over her. Her breath hitched when he bent down to make small pecks on her neck and his fingers ever-so-gently traced down her curves.

"...N...Naruto...we should get up..." She stuttered and attempted to shove him off of her.

Knowing that she probably was uncomfortable right now, he did what she said and simply placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead before he took the blankets off himself and stood up from the bed.

Hinata was steaming by now and she nearly fainted when he stood there in all his naked glory.

"Naruto!"

Naruto grinned haughtily at her before walking away to get dressed.

Hinata just couldn't believe that he would be so willing to be that exposed around her. He was acting like it was a normal thing for them to be naked around each other after just one night of making love.

Well...maybe it was ok, but she still just felt so embarrassed thinking about it.

She let out a sigh and got up, also.

After they both got ready, they headed out to the Hokage headquarters.

As soon as Naruto opened the door to his office, he groaned seeing the usual pile of stacked papers. Hinata giggled lightly at his reaction and followed him to his desk.

"Hey...mind if I just leave a clone here for a day while we go spend some time together?" Naruto looked at her hopefully.

Hinata just shook her head at him. "We spend time together everyday, Naruto...and I'd rather your real self be in office, just for village security reasons. "

Naruto groaned again, knowing that she was right, but he just wanted to get away from all the work for at least a couple of hours. "Well, it doesn't have to be a whole day. Just for the next hour or two? It's still early, so Shikamaru's not gonna come and pester me yet. We can just go for a walk or have a dine-in breakfast for once. Please?"

Naruto grinned victoriously when Hinata let out a sigh, indicating that she gave in. He gave her quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you, you know?"

"I know."

"Actually, Hinata...I have an even better idea." Naruto smirked and Hinata felt weird because of the way he was looking at her. "...how about we just go back to bed? I'm serious about that second round."

"Na-ru-to!"

Here they were, nearly 10 years later.

Naruto sat at the dinner table that was once only occupied by him and his wife.

But now, he grinned at the sight of his son and daughter, who were eating Hinata's food as if they had been starving for a week.

"Mama, more!" Himawari lifted her plate up to Hinata, who smiled lovingly at her cute daughter and put some more fried rice onto the plate.

"Old man...are we gonna go training again today? Or are you busy?" Boruto asked, slightly avoiding eye contact with him.

Naruto let out a small sigh. He knew Boruto secretly wanted to spend time with him, but of course, wouldn't want to admit it. Boruto would always be angry at him for putting his Hokage duties before family time...but he couldn't help it, it was his duty to the village.

He did try his best to be there whenever he could, though. His real self, that is. Often, it would only be a clone with them during family outings and training.

"I have an hour of free time today after a meeting. Two o'clock, at the training grounds. How does that sound?" Naruto nearly laughed at the sudden flicker in Boruto's eyes and could see a slight tint of blushing on Boruto's cheeks, indicating that he was probably overjoyed right now. He always did that expression when he was happy, but didn't want to show it.

Hinata couldn't help but chuckle softly at her husband and son's relationship. She knew Boruto loved Naruto a lot, and he was fussy whenever Naruto had to spend time away due to other priorities. Though it was hard to fit in family time in Naruto's schedule, she was glad that he at least made an effort to be there when he could. She glanced at the time and stood up to clean up the table.

"8 o'clock, it's time you guys go to the academy. Boruto, pay attention this time during Taijutsu session, do you hear me? I don't need another notice from the jounins teaching there about your behavior." She lightly scolded. Boruto was like an exact copy of Naruto when Naruto was younger...always so mischievous and making trouble.

"Yea, yea..." Boruto waved his hand, as if dismissing what she said and walked over to the door to grab his backpack. "Well, we'll be home by noon. Come on, Himawari!"

Himawari hopped off her seat and gave both her parents a kiss goodbye before she also grabbed her bag and went out the door with Boruto.

Naruto got up and walked over to Hinata, who was beginning to wash the dishes, and embraced her from behind. "I wish we had more time alone...like back then."

Hinata smiled and just shook her head. "I know. But I wouldn't trade those two for the world."

Naruto grinned, agreeing with her. Though his kids were a handful and he and Hinata barely had time together alone, he wouldn't have had it any other way. He kissed the top of her head and then buried his face into the nape of her neck. "I'm glad it's you, Hinata...I'm glad that I chose you."

"I'm glad you chose me too, Naruto..." Hinata finished washing the dishes. She turned off the water and then turned around to face him. "Can we go get the kids today? Together?"

"Eh...?" Naruto blinked. "Why? I have a meeting-,"

"Can you leave a clone to attend the meeting, and you go out with us? I wanted to take the kids out on a picnic today after they come home."

Naruto scratched his head and thought for a few moments. "Ummm...well...I guess it won't hurt." He flashed a smile at her and then nodded. "I'll go."

"Mama!" Himawari ran towards Hinata and Naruto. "Eh! Dad is here too!" She jumped into Naruto's arms. Naruto laughed and pinched one side her cheeks.

Boruto walked out of the academy doors and he evidently almost froze when he saw Naruto. "Um, I thought we weren't going training until 2...?"

Naruto just gave him a thumbs up. "Good news! Your mom convinced me to spend the day with you guys. We're gonna go on a picnic, on top of the Hokage monuments."

Boruto's eyebrows rose up in amusement, but he quickly looked away and stuck his nose up in the air. "Heh, a picnic? That's so lame!"

Hinata let out a small sigh and just shook her head at her son. She knew he definitely was super happy right now. She raised up the lunch basket she was holding and urged him to come along.

"I got hamburgers, Boruto." She bribed.

Boruto's ears perked and he simply walked past them, in the direction where the monuments were. "I guess I am hungry, though..." He muttered.

Naruto and Hinata just looked at each other and laughed quietly. "What's so funny? I want to know, too!" Himawari chirped curiously.

"Ah, your brother just wants us to hurry to the picnic." Hinata replied as they followed after Boruto.

The three of them watched as Himawari chased after a butterfly and jumped gleefully around them.

Hinata ended up scolding Boruto for stuffing himself with two hamburgers already.

"Just one more, mom!" Boruto reached for a third one, but Naruto swooped in and grabbed it. "Oi! That was mine! Mom, that's not fair!"

Hinata glared at Naruto. "You already had three, so you can't do that to him, Naruto."

"Eh? But you said he-,"

They were both taken by surprise when Hinata snatched it from Naruto and took a bite out of it. Geez, sometimes she felt like she two sons instead of one.

"Here, eat some fruits." She took out some grapes and strawberries from the basket and set it in front of them. They both sighed disappointingly and each grabbed a strawberry, munching on it with miserable expressions.

Himawari ran over to Boruto and pulled his sleeve. "Come help me, please? I can't catch it..." She begged him with her eyes.

Boruto nodded at her and then got up. "Well, you have to wait until it stops flying first. And you have to be careful not to scare it...you can't just keep running and chasing it."

Hinata and Naruto watched as Boruto held Himawari's held and dragged her along with him, teaching her how to catch the butterfly. They couldn't help but smile lovingly at how his demeanor changed when he was with his little sister. He loved Himawari so much, and contrary to how he acted towards them, he wasn't afraid to show affection towards her.

Hinata reached over and held Naruto's hand. "I could just watch them like this all day."

He squeezed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "Me too...thank you for giving us such beautiful children." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Hinata blushed faintly. He was saying it as if she did all the work; he contributed as much as she did into raising them to how they were now. "Naruto, you are a good father. Don't ever doubt that."

Naruto's eyes stayed glued on his children. "I could be better, though. My whole life, I've always wanted to be Hokage. I wanted to be respected...I didn't want others to see me as a monster and an outcast anymore. But now that I've reached my life-long dream, I can't believe I'm missing out on my own kids." He felt a bit disappointed, and utterly torn. He did love being Hokage and he loved protecting his village, but at the same time, it took his time away from the people he treasured the most.

Hinata leaned in to give him a side hug and nestled her head into the nape of his neck. "Trust me, Naruto, they understand. Even though Boruto acts like that and Himawari seems too young, they understand in their own ways that you hold more than one life in your hands. You are their father, but you are also a father to everyone else in the village. Don't be too hard on yourself, ok?"

God, what would he do without this woman. She always knew what to say to him, and she was always right. Even after 10 years of marriage and two children, she still made his heart race and his body fill with warmth and comfort just like the first moments that he fell in love with her.

"Thank you, Hinata. For loving me, for loving Boruto and Himawari...for loving our village...for everything."

Hinata gazed at him with loving eyes and sneaked in a quick kiss before Himawari came running back to them. "Mama, look, look! Boruto caught it!" She pointed excitedly over to Boruto, who stood frozen as the butterfly rested on his nose.

"Come on, come look at it! Papa, you too!" Himawari pulled on Naruto's sleeve twice before she went back to Boruto.

Hinata chuckled lightly at her cute daughter and walked over to join them.

Naruto sat still for a few moments, staring in awe and adoration at his little family. Simple moments like these seemed to be the most precious. Boruto would grow up to be a great ninja, no doubt...probably even greater than he was. And he was going to do his best to teach Boruto everything he knew. Himawari would also surpass Hinata. She already awakened her Byakugan at such an early age, so who knew who else she would awaken before she even became a Chuunin. And Hinata...he was glad that she would be standing right beside him, just as she always did. She was his anchor, his rock.

He could say now, with no fears and hesitation, that he was content with his life. He achieved his dreams. He was a respected shinobi among all nations. He had the love of his life. He had two incredible children.

"Naruto, hurry before it flies away." Hinata waved at him.

He nodded and got up. As he joined his little family, he was overwhelmed with an epiphany that hit him in that instant.

This was it.

This was all that he ever wanted...he couldn't be any more happier. And if he had to do it all over again...he would choose Hinata in a heartbeat.

End.

Thank you all SO much for reading this story. I can no doubt say that this is one of the stories that I am most proud of, especially because of both Naruto and Hinata's character development and their growing relationship with each other throughout the chapters.

I appreciate you all for sticking with me this long, even through the super long updates...please review! Much love :)