"I'm pregnant"

They were words that he knew existed apart from each other. He used 'I'm' practically every hour. And pregnant was something that was tossed around him, but he would rarely say it.

But for his wife to be standing in front of him, saying those two words to him were something he would have never imagined even in his loneliest days.

But sure enough, she said them.

And sure enough, he started to cry.

His tears were joyous as he hugged her. Embracing her tiny frame, which he knew would start growing very soon, he kept whispering words of thanks and some questions. Well, more than some, actually he whispered a lot of questions. But at the end of the day he couldn't keep his hands away from her tummy.

Of course, that was five months ago.

Five months seemed like a long time, but it just went by so fast. Between teaching nunjutsu at the academy and going on elite missions, they just seemed like a blur.

He was glad it was Sunday. No school, and no missions means he could do what he always loved doing, watering plants.

He knew the flowers he had. Daisies, tulips, and marigolds. Hinata had bought them to decorate the front of their house, but she would have never done so without his guidance. Nothing to give away his secret, but a few "it looks really bare here" or "the house would look good with something in the front, flowers could work." weren't uncommon things for him to say.

And with Hinata gone for the late morning, it was the perfect window for him to water them.

"See, you all are looking prettier every day." He smiled at the group of tulips perking up towards the sun. "And your buddies over there just can't keep up" He pointed to the marigolds.

He loved to water the plants because with just water it was so easy for them to live and thrive. They were easy to take care of, yet the results of their care were phenomenal.

"I hope a baby will be as easy to take care of as you all are." He chuckled slightly. Moving the stems of the daisies over to water the soil directly.

"I mean, are they? I've never even held o-"

His voice caught in his throat.

He had never held a baby. Never in his life had he held something so fragile in his hands, and he was expected to make sure it survives? How would he do that? He could barely care for himself until Hinata came along, how could he-

"Ah! What the?" He jerked his foot back as he felt something wet roll over it. He looked around and followed the trail to the daisies that were clearly over watered. He looked at his watering can and found it completely empty.

"Oh, sorry! Here... I'm going to go get some more water, okay?" He stood up, still surprised that his thoughts could take him so far away from his surroundings.

As he walked over to the water faucet on the side of the house, his mind continued. What would he make for food? How long do babies sleep? When do they start walking? When is it okay for them to eat ramen? What about shots? Or... or what about them being lonely? He didn't want his child to ever feel lonely, but how was he going to take care of two children if he wasn't even sure he could take care of one?

Walking back to the marigolds, he continued his work with watering them.

"You guys have it easy, ya know? Water is all it takes for you to be happy and healthy. People require more than just water. They need clothes and food and medicine and constant supervision and baths and and vitamins and exercise..."

"... how am I supposed to be able to do this?" He said quietly, setting the can on the ground next to him. He ran his hand through his hair, wiping some beads of sweat off his forehead.

"How can I be... a fa-"

"A father?"

Naruto jolted straight up, dropping his watering can in the process. The water spilling onto the ground almost matched what his eyes wanted to do. His muscles relaxed when the sweetness of the voice worked its way through his mind. He quickly wiped his face and turned around to face his wife.

"Hinata! You're home!" He exclaimed, walking towards her with his arms open. She met him halfway and snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing back so soon?" He asked, pulling away to look at her face.

"What do you mean? I said I'd be back from my father's at 2. It's 2:30. I'm surprised you didn't have swats of ANBU looking for me!" She joked, poking at his chest with her index finger.

"Oh! Sorry, I got lost in thought I guess." He tried to shake it off, scratching the back of his head. But Hinata wasn't buying it.

"You must have been in some real deep thoughts, because I've been standing here for a good while." She said more solemn.

Naruto's smile faded, and he look away from her gaze, almost like he was ashamed.

"Sweetheart," She cupped his face. "I didn't know you were so worried about this."

He brought his eyes back to hers. "It's not like I don't want this, trust me, I really want this!" He gripped her shoulders. "But I'm just..." He shook his head to the side.

"Terrified?"

Naruto knew he wanted to say that, but the word didn't leave his mouth.

"Hinata?" He looked up at her and he swore
She looked like a complete angel, looking at him with complete empathy, and with such endearing.

"Naruto, sweetheart, I feel the exact same." She said with a shaky smile. "I mean, my mother died when I was so young, I don't have any clue really what I'm doing." She gave a lighthearted laugh.

"Y-you're kidding, right? You're always so composed and excited and happy and so well organized!" He stated, looking at her in complete shock.

"That's only because of one thing." She said.

Naruto tilted his head.

"What's that?"

She gave a sly smile and took his hand, leading him inside.

"Here, sit down." She said, pointing to the living room chair. She continued walking towards the hall closet.

"Hina, you should be sitting, not me. "He said while ignoring her statement.

"No no sit down, I have to find it." She said, opening the closet and rummaging through a box.

Naruto cautiously sat on the couch, (it had a better view of his wife) keeping his eyes on her, making sure nothing happened.

"Here it is!" She said, pulling out a white book, about 3 inches thick. Closing the closet, she walked over to her husband, taking a seat next to him, handing him the book.

"Open it."

Naruto opened the book to the first page, which was blank. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but then he flipped one more.

And there was a flower.

His eyes widened at the unexpectancy of it, giving his wife a stare but she motioned for him to continue.

As he flipped, the pages got more colorful with the variety of flowers. In the beginning they were more wrinkled and less organized, but they grew to be more diverse and more patterned as he went, until he got to the middle page.

It was filled with so many different colors and types of flowers, his eyes couldn't focus on anything. He sat there for who knows how long, just staring at it.

"These are so well taken care of, Hina, did you do these?" He looked off the pages towards her.

"Yep! I've pressed flowers since I was a Genin. The first page was the first one I did, and the page you're on I completed about a month ago." She said, pride in her voice.

"It's absolutely stunning sweetheart...
But what does this..."

"Have to do with my one thing?" She finished.

"Well, yeah." He stated a bit blunter than he would like.

"Simple. You always want your flowers to turn out like this, don't you?" She said pointing to the page.

"You mean, like big a colorful and healthy?"

"Yeah! And how you take care of them every day to make sure they don't wilt or get dehydrated?"

"Well I don't do it everyd-"

"Naruto, you can't fool me, I know you love watering plants."

"... okay yes, I water them every day to make sure they grow strong."

"Then that's it." She said so simply, it almost made him jealous.

"What do you mean, I'm still lost?" He shamefully admitted.

"Easy. You would do everything to make these plants healthy and happy." She took his hand and placed it on her obviously rounded stomach.

"I know you will do the same for him."

Naruto didn't know what to say. He just was still, keeping his hand where his wife left it. Suddenly there was a slight nudge from her stomach and his question just blurted out.

"H... him?"

Hinata raised a hand to his face, directing his attention to her own.

"Him. I found out on my way back, which was why I was a bit late." Her smile never fading as she spoke.

There was a beat, and then Naruto broke it.

"I... I get it." He whispered, his hand grabbing her own. "I love him already, and as long as I do..."

"Then he will grow just as strong and healthy
As those flowers."

Naruto knew she always was good at finishing his sentences.