I got reviews! And favorites and such. There may not have been many but one person wanting me to continue this is enough for me. So I whipped up a plot that I hope all readers will enjoy. This particular chap doesn't have a lemon I know, so sad. However, there will be more so keep reading. Also, a special shout out to Jupitrie, nolanv3, Umayar, and ShepardsShadow. Thanks for your reviews and PMs you guys are the shining light in my dismal life. Glerb is eternally grateful for your encouraging words.

Damn, he was going to be late, again. Damn the council and all of their stupid old fart rules, regulations, and useless advice. Naruto had struggled all day to not rasengan the room into oblivion and escape the "lesson". Spending countless hours on end listening to old people prattle on about everything from standard mission assignment procedure to how long would be appropriate to wait to begin eating at a dinner with other high ranked individuals was a supreme waste of time.

Half the things they were teaching him were so completely useless that he wondered how anything ever got done with all the time spent on etiquette. They were shinobi damn it! Not ballerinas. It didn't matter if he was the first to enter a room or if he let a secretary in first, and who cares which table space he places his chopsticks on after he was finished eating? No one was going to be insulted if he placed them in his empty bowl!

Who was going to be angry with Naruto was his wife. He had said he would be home at a specific time tonight after she had gotten fed up with the hours he had been keeping.

He had been so busy and hadn't been paying much attention to how late he got home or how early he left. The closer they got to the official Hokage commencement ceremony the more stuff Naruto had to do and the less time he got to spend with Hinata. He had even less time to sleep. Tsunade promised that once he was actually Hokage he would have more time since the council wouldn't be able to but in with so much frivolous stuff like they were now.

Really stupid, waste of time, and fluff stuff, in Naruto's opinion at least.

Naruto looked up to the starry sky and frowned; the moon light cast a pallid cast on Naruto's face revealing dark circles under his tired eyes. He just wanted to be home already and wrapped up in his sheets cocooned around his perfect wife.

The thought made him pause. Maybe, if he sprinted, he could make it home on time. Naruto had said he would be there and he was nothing if not a man of his word. Plus a nice run on a cold night like this might invigorate him a bit; help shake the frustration and exhaustion away. He jumped up to a nearby rooftop and sped off in the direction of their house.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the brisk air whipping by at impossible speeds while allowing his feet to lead him to his love. In the hours they spent apart he had begun to miss her. He missed her soft eyes, encouraging smiles, gentle hands, silky voice. He often found himself day dreaming about running his hands through her beautiful long raven hair or over her now very obvious baby bump.

Whenever people saw her they immediately congratulated her, causing her to flush deliciously. His lovely Hinata.

Before he knew it he was at their front door, a dopey grin plastered onto his face and all of the day's anxieties and previous exhaustion entirely forgotten.

He threw the door open with a recalled vigor that he naturally assumed with his wife. He couldn't help himself around her.

"Hina, I'm home!" he exclaimed and laughed at himself.

His laughter was abruptly cut off when he spotted his wife's tense back seated hunched over at the kitchen table, her foot tapping on the wood flooring. She had been on edge for a while now; Naruto figured it was a mixture of the upcoming hokage ceremony and the whole baby thing. It was certainly enough to keep him on his toes.

She had struggled a bit with what she would do with herself at first. She refused to stop working and Naruto didn't want to make her. She began helping in the missions office when she could sneak in and even volunteering at the school. That had seemed to be helping with her unease but something must have happened. This was definitely a posture of agitation.

He gulped audibly and checked the clock.

He had made it home on time, barely, but on time.

He had made her breakfast and kissed her goodbye this morning; he had even wrapped up the leftovers and left them for her instead of taking them for his own lunch.

Was there something special today that he had forgotten?

No anniversary or birthday.

Was there a doctor appointment today? Naruto ticked off his fingers carefully, panicked a second, and then relaxed.

No the appointment was in two days, that was close.

"Hinata?" called Naruto and he saw her shoulders relax slightly and her foot stop tapping, "babe, is there something wrong?"

She immediately winced and her hand went to her stomach; Naruto tripped forward in instant worry.

The Baby.

"Honey, is it the baby? Are you feeling all right?" he rushed over and around the table so he could see her face, "Sakura or Tsunade could be here in fifty five seconds and I could get you to the hospital in a second, love."

When he had rounded her chair she had lowered her head allowing her bangs cover the majority of her face. Naruto was in full blown panic mode and he hadn't really noticed her demeanor past the wincing and hunched shoulders. He was too busy thinking of everything that could have gone terribly terribly wrong.

"Oh God," Naruto gasped, "Are you going into labor? Seven months! Wait, no. It's okay, they say if you are early that it's better for the baby to come during the seventh rather than the eighth. Some development issues with the eighth. Just breathe, babe, I will go get the bag."

Naruto's voice was fluctuating between high pitched to low and he was speaking a mile a minute one second, to complete. Pause. Stop. Breathe. Speak. the next.

Hinata's eyes flew wide as she witnessed her husband going completely unhinged before her solely based off of her one moment of silence and a wince.

She had had a bad day but not nearly as bad as Naruto was thinking. The poor man was so high strung lately that Hinata was sure he was going to have a heart attack; now she only felt worse for adding to his stress. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Naruto," she said calmly and he continued off to their bedroom to get her labor bag that he had so lovingly over packed with the most ridiculous and unnecessary items. They wouldn't be going on vacation for a month when the baby came.

"Naruto!" she shouted more forcefully stopping her harried hubby in his tracks, "honey, everything is fine. I had just zoned out for a second. Please come back, I made dinner."

Naruto slowly turned and noticed for the first time that there was in fact a spread of delicious foods fit for a king on the table before his wife.

Then he looked up at her and saw the small reassuring smile on her lips but she wasn't looking him in the eyes. In fact, her bangs were still hanging over them, blocking her pretty lavender eyes from his gaze.

"Are you sure?" he asked cautiously.

She sighed.

"I am positive that I am not going into labor," she added quietly.

He was blushing a bit at his own reaction. Perhaps he should tone it down a bit.

He frowned but sat down at the table across from her. He was desperate to know what was bothering her yet he wanted her to be comfortable when she told him. He knew how she worked, the longer she agonized over it the more she would want to tell him, and by the looks of the extensive dinner she had been agonizing over this one quite a bit.

Naruto lifted the serving spoon and looked over to Hinata.

"How much do you want?" he asked softly.

"Oh no!" she huffed turning pink, "let me serve it. You look exhausted, it isn't right to make you serve dinner."

She placed her hand over his on the spoon handle. Naruto chuckled at her and held onto the spoon tighter reveling in their first contact since he had gotten home.

"It's fine," he said and she relinquished her grip with a sigh, "you made us a delicious meal and I would like to at least serve you."

"Alright then," she pouted, "just a bit of this. Some of that, there. Oh, uh, one more."

She blushed adorably as Naruto put extra meat on her plate. She hadn't been really big on meat before the pregnancy but she had become simply carnivorous since getting knocked up. Something Naruto loved immensely; it meant more meat for him too and he got some weird satisfaction from over feeding his wife. He didn't ponder it too much.

He served himself and thanked Hinata again for making the meal.

"Itadakimas!" he smiled and tore at the food with his chopsticks. They prayed that their child didn't have an appetite like Naruto. All of Konoha wouldn't be capable of sustaining the two of them.

Now that Naruto had calmed down he took the moment to really feel out the atmosphere. When Naruto wanted to, he could be the most observant shinobi in all of fire country. The war had proven that. Every one of his senses was more astute thanks to his mastery of Kyuubi and thanks to his Sage training, auras and atmospheres were particularly easy to read.

However, what Naruto still lacked was the ability to understand was women, chiefly the marvelous female specimen in front of him.

Well she was angry, hurt, confused, and guilty, but mostly angry. Naruto was certain that the anger wasn't directed at him. Just in case though, he made sure to eat animatedly so his wife wouldn't catch him reading her. She didn't appreciate it when he did that; she said it was cheating.

He frowned at the collection of negative feelings. He wanted nothing more than to know what had caused them and make her forget all about it. He had just the idea.

Naruto smiled evilly to himself and began making outrageous noises of appreciation over her marvelous cooking, causing Hinata to giggle at her plate. So far so good, plan make Hina pee with laughter working.

"Oh, Hina," he moaned around a mouthful of food and made groaning noises in his throat, "you are wonderful, spectacular, heavenly!"

"stop that," she admonished him for sounding so obscene during dinner, "you are at the dinner table."

"Mmm, I can hardly take it," he continued groaning as his eyes rolled back in his head and he panted exaggeratedly, "sweet lord, Hina!"

Her hand was at her mouth as she tried to contain her giggling and sound demanding.

"Naruto," she hissed around her hand, "this is inappropriate."

"Hmmm," he swallowed the mouthful of food, "I remember us doing much worse at this table; you didn't seem to mind too much then."

"Naruto!" she exclaimed looking up from her food and finally meeting Naruto's eyes. Her eyes were wide with shock and mirth and Naruto let himself feel a moment of pride before anger and desperation gripped his very soul.

Her cheeks were blotchy and her eyes bloodshot. The delicate skin around them was puffy and an angry pink. Naruto tried not to let his appearance shift to reveal his own turmoil; she looked away immediately knowing she had been caught.

Naruto's hands fisted in place and he had to hold back every urge within him so that he stayed calm and didn't push her for an explanation or make her feel worse. He really really wanted to ask what was wrong, but he knew she would tell him when she was ready. So he continued eating until his plate was empty; he had seconds and he placed his chopsticks next to his plate just like the council had told him was appropriate when one was done with their meal.

"I can do the dishes tonight," he said quietly and watched as Hinata worried her lip.

"Let's do them together," she appeased before grabbing the empty plates and standing. She walked over to the sink with her head down and Naruto couldn't help himself. He was up and behind her in an instant. He grabbed the plates out of her hands and reached over her to place them in the sink before wrapping his arms around her protectively.

He towered over her small frame, his chin on top of her head, and his hands resting over hers on her belly.

He closed his eyes and gave her a gentle and comforting squeeze.

"I miss you," he whispered into her hair and her breath hitched at his broken hearted tone, "I wish I could stay with you in this house forever. That we never had to go outside and that I could have you all to myself always."

"No you don't," said Hinata softly before her tone became harsh, "you need to be there for all of Konoha. That's what you've always wanted."

Naruto froze at the sudden anger in her tone. This had been one of his worst nightmares. How could he be a husband, father and Hokage? How could Naruto do all of those things right? Apparently he was failing already.

"I-I am so sorry," he buried his head in her hair, "I will do better, I promise. I will be home earlier and we will eat all our meals together as a family and whenever you need me I promise to be there—"

"Oh god no, Naruto," She spun around in his grasp and gripped his face firmly, forcing him to look her in the eye, "that's not what I meant. Of course I don't doubt you at all. You are a perfect husband, you're going to be a wonderful father, and I know you will surpass all the kage. It's just that, oh Naruto."

"What?" he asked, wide eyed and curious as to what she had meant and what had been bothering her so much.

"It's just that there are people, even in Konoha, who still doubt you," she said quietly and with such sorrow that Naruto's own heart clenched painfully, "after all that they've put you through and that you've done for them! There are people in Konoha! that think—they think, Oh Naruto! How dare they?!"

She was shaking and there were tears in her pretty lavender eyes making them look like diamonds. No they were brighter than diamonds, they looked like twin stars burning a hole through Naruto's soul with their sincerity and intensity.

Naruto stood dumbfounded. He had always had a hard time understanding this aspect of Hinata, although it was one of his favorite things about her. No one had ever expressed such a deep seated anger and concern on behalf of Naruto in all of his life. Certainly people had cared and they had helped Naruto become stronger so that he could take care of himself, stand up, and overcome the many horrors of his life.

Hinata had been different.

She had jumped head first into Naruto's battle with Pain. She had risked her life and nearly died for him. She stood up for him when they were young and no one else would, back when she could barely stand up for herself. She saw in him a potential that he struggled sometimes to see in himself.

Where others urged Naruto to become strong enough to be alone she had made herself strong enough to stand beside him and help him endure.

She had halved his troubles and doubled his joys.

"Shh," he said holding her head to his chest, "you don't worry about them, love. It's not a hokage's job to be liked; there will always be doubt it's my job to protect all of our people no matter their opinion. Just because we won doesn't mean everythings going to be a fairy tale now. Rebuilding ourselves from the floor up is hard work."

She rubbed her teary face on his jacket and looked up at him.

"It's not right, what they said, Naruto," she sniffled, "that you are a monster. That there never would have been a war if it weren't for you. They blame you for the war. They even say that without the Kyuubi you wouldn't be strong, and that, that our child—our baby isn't right."

"Our baby?" Naruto had just been nodding his head in understanding until Hinata mentioned the baby. Now his voice was eerie with a calm intensity that bellied an anger both unnatural and terrifying, "someone told you that our baby, that you and I having a baby was wrong?"

"Oh, umm. It was just some silly civilians," Hinata tried backing up a little in his arms and was stopped by his grip, "they didn't know I was there. They were saying—"

"Saying that our unborn baby is a monster fathered by a demon that massacred our village once then was the catalyst of a full scale shinobi war. That it shouldn't be allowed near their children, in their schools or playgrounds or hospitals in the village. That it would be better off if it wasn't born at all," his voice was dripping now with barely restrained anger, "Who? Where?"

"N-Naruto!" she shouted in shock, "don't! Don't ever say those things no matter what!" she was both scared and angry. She had seen Naruto in pain and angry. She had seen him lose control and she had seen him kill. She had never witnessed the look he now had in his eyes though. It was a look that terrified her.

"Who, Hinata?" he shouted and shook her shoulders, "who said that about our baby?!"

Her hand whipped through the air with a speed that only a kunoichi could manage and it came in contact with his cheek harshly with a resounding crack. He immediately released his hold on her as his once steel blue eyes softened and his face went slack. She huffed, tearing herself from his slack grip, and rushed to their bedroom without looking back.

Their bedroom door slammed and Naruto stood there in shocked silence as the smack to his face and the door hitting the frame echoed together with a hallow resonance in his ears.

He was scared.

Terrified actually. He had never thought that his child would have to go through the type of isolation and pain that the stigma of the demon had forced him through. He never imagined that people would look at or treat his baby differently because of Kyuubi.

He figured that being the child of the hokage was going to be hard enough. He remembered how troubled Konohamaru had been with it when he was little, and the whole honorable grandson identity had haunted him. Now he was going to add being the child of a demon on top of that.

He didn't move for several minutes until the sting finally reached his face. He brought a hand up to his cheek. It was warmer were Hinata had slapped him.

She had slapped him.

His wife had slapped him in the face and he had deserved it. No, he had needed it.

Naruto sucked in a large gulp of air. Oh shit. What the fuck had he done? What was he going to do now? How did he fix this?

Not knowing what to do and needing time to think, he walked over to the sink and began to wash the dishes mechanically.

He had shouted at her, he had trapped her. Trapped her, shook her in his arms, and shouted at her. She had already been upset, crying her eyes out, and he had yelled at her.

Was she going to forgive him? Could she still look at him the same after seeing him be so very ugly? Hinata had seen everything from him already, absolutely every part of him.

That was new though; new, different, and terrifying. He had been angry and scared. He had wanted to lash out and make those people suffer. So destructive, something he had never wanted to feel. He no longer had the excuse of the Kyuubi, he was in complete control of it. All the malice was his own. In his mind though, they had threatened his child.

He remembered his own childhood, something he had let go. The looks people would give him were torture. But there were things worse than the looks. People had wanted to hurt him, to kill him. Many had tried; some had succeeded in hurting him.

He remembered how Mizuki had used him and planned to kill him. Had tried to kill him; had tried to kill Iruka-sensei for protecting him. There were others who had tried to hurt him.

There were certain parts of town Naruto couldn't go in when he was young and he couldn't be out much after dark, especially not near the bars which were unfortunately close to his dingy apartment. There were days, like his birthday, when going out would have been a death wish. He was no longer angry or hurt about these things. He had accepted and relinquished all the darkness inside of him. But suddenly—

If anyone treated Hinata or the baby that way Naruto would—what? What would he do? His immediate reaction was so strong and terrible that he wondered if it was really his own emotion or if it was something from Kyuubi. But even Kyuubi couldn't make Naruto feel that way.

He dried the dishes one by one and put them away. He pulled the stopper in the sink and watched the suds spiral before disappearing.

What was Naruto to do? What was right? How did he protect his family from this?

Were people really going to treat Hinata differently? Like a traitor, the wife of a demon? They had dealt with the Hyuuga clan when they got married. He had expected issues then, especially with the elders. It hadn't been as difficult as he thought it would be. The war had just ended, Hinata had proven herself a worthy heiress during that battle, and had garnered the respect of many. Naruto had defeated an army of undead and saved his people along with the rest of the allied forces, and world.

That had certainly helped their case, not to mention the fact that Naruto was the next hokage. Now, time had passed; doubt, fear, and hate apparently, had crept into the hearts of some.

Naruto had grown used to people doubting him, fearing, or even hating him. He wasn't afraid of proving himself and he definitely didn't want to continue a cycle of hate. His life had been geared towards breaking them.

Just now though, he had felt it. Hate. He was appalled and confused. He had scared his wife. Hurt her?

He needed to talk to somebody. He needed advice. He missed Jariya, wished he could ask his mother or father, talk to Bee about it, or go see Iruka.

He couldn't do any off those things though.

The person he was most afraid of talking to right now was the person he absolutely had to.

He had to go talk to his wife, his other, better half. That is if she would see him. He wouldn't be surprised if she locked their bedroom door. He had never had to sleep on the couch before. He didn't want to break that record now.

He walked over to their door on wooden legs and stood outside their bedroom for a long moment, he felt like he was about to walk before a firing squad after being rightly condemned. The sound of the slamming door resurfaced in his mind like a gong declaring him the loser. It was a mental lock keeping him from turning the door knob. He breathed deeply before he took the plunge.

He opened the door slowly thanking the heavens it wasn't locked and took a single step inside his head down and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I am sorry," he whispered to the floor and was met with silence, "so so so sorry."

Silence.

He slowly lifted his head and faced a wide eyed Hinata. She was in her night clothes and her face was even more blotchy and red. She just stared at him in what seemed to be shock.

"Please, forgive me," he whispered and slowly walked over to where she sat on their bed. She was staring at him in silence.

He moved between her legs which hung over the bed and he kneeled before her. His face inches before her large pregnant belly.

"please forgive me, love," he whispered placing his hands on opposite sides of her stomach and placing his forehead against it, "it's my fault and I am sorry."

"Naruto," she breathed and placed a hand on top of his head, "my poor, Naruto. It's not your fault."

"It is," he whispered, "I am an idiot. I never thought that people would think those things about you or the baby because of me, at least not after the war. How can I let them hurt you and the baby? What can I do? What's the right thing?"

"Naruto," she said quietly making him look up and face her, "you are not an idiot. You are a strong and brave man. The right thing—the only thing you can do is love us and be there for us and keep being who you are. You are exactly what we need. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," Naruto said quickly, "please, always tell me. Don't ever not tell me when something is bothering you. I always want to know."

Hinata sighed and ran a hand through his long blonde spikes.

"I-I'm sorry for slapping you," she whispered, "It's just. Never say those things about our family. And y-you scared me."

Naruto looked up with the most distraught face his features were capable of. His forehead was scrunched, forcing his eyebrows to hook over his stormy blue eyes. His nose was slightly flared and his lips betrayed an anxious tremor. His features were always striking and here he looked the picture of contrite.

"I will never do anything like that again," he croaked, "and if I scare you. Ever. Slap me. A thousand times if you want."

She nodded her head solemnly; she didn't think she would ever have to do that again.

"What was that?" she asked hesitantly, but she wanted to know what was going on in his head to make him react so harshly. She had been upset when she had heard those things but he had seemed ready to kill.

His head bowed again, breaking their intense eye contact.

"No," Hinata said gently, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her like he was a misbehaving child, "you always want to know what is bothering me. It's only fair you always tell me what is bothering you."

His clear blue eyes searched hers for a moment while he tried to find the right words. He must have seen what he was looking for because he began to speak.

"I know what people are capable of when they are scared, confused, angry, and directing all that hate at you," he started slowly, "I know that when people feel that way that it builds up until saying hurtful things isn't enough."

His hand ran up his face and fisted into his own hair.

"I never want you are the baby to be hurt, especially not because of me. If anyone ever hurt you or the baby—I would, I," he was stumbling with his words unable to express the confusion he was feeling. This new part of him was struggling with who he was and what he was capable of.

"That's not my Naruto," Hinata said reproachfully.

Naruto sighed in defeat his hand falling limply at his sides.

"I don't know what I would do," he said quietly, "I just never want to see you hurt."

Hinata smiled and pulled on his shoulders for him to stand. He stood up and she began unzipping his jacket and pushing it off of his shoulders.

"You didn't have a mother or father to protect you and guide you then, our child does," she said after pulling his jacket sleeves all the way off and tossing it on the floor, "Our baby has the strongest father in the world, a man who, when I married him, wouldn't have worried one second about what he would do to a person who had hurt the ones he cared for. He would have sworn to never let someone hurt them in the first place. He believed he could protect all of Konoha, fire country, and the world and he had been right."

She was pulling his shirt over his head and he was only moving around enough to allow her to undress him like a sleepy child while she spoke in a lulling tone like a mother telling a bedtime story of imaginary heroic tales and the men in them. It stunned Naruto to think that what she was saying was true and about him.

"Now take off your shoes and come to bed," she urged him, "even the strongest man in the world needs to sleep every now and then."

"How?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.

"How what?"

"How did I ever manage to convince you to marry me? How did I get so lucky?" Naruto was truly amazed by her as usual.

She pulled him into a gentle hug placing her head just over his heart. He automatically wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace; his hands began slowly kneading her back.

"You promised me anything and I believed you," she whispered into his chest with a smile.

He squeezed her to him and kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"You make me capable of anything," he whispered, "I love you, so much."

AN So this is how I celebrate the end of midterms. Yay! Freedom and the end of suicidal sleepless study sessions! Back to wasting my time with things I actually enjoy but are going to get me nowhere in life. Like reading the Naruto Manga! I am soooo behind(so don't spoil it). This chap didn't really have much forward motion but it was necessary. Don't you just love lover's quarrels? Ah, the freshly wed are so sweet and delusional. Stay tuned because eventually the plot will thicken.

-Glerb

(pssst. Pssst. You! Yeah, you. I know you want to review. Just do it. Who's it gonna hurt? Say anything, anything at all.)