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Kurenai stood in her kitchen, bag packed, forehead protector on, and scroll in hand. To Shikamaru’s eyes, she looked the very picture of a modern Konoha ninja, if only she didn’t seem so reluctant to leave.
“Are you sure the two of you will be okay?” she asked him, for what must have been the tenth time that morning.
“Relax. We will be fine. You need to get back to taking missions, and I promised Asuma that I would help,” assured Shikamaru, with far more confidence than he felt.
“The containers of food are labeled and in the fridge, there should be plenty of milk stored, you have his schedule already, and I set up everything you need to change him already...” started Kurenai, but she caught herself, “but you already know this and I’m running late.”
“Yes,” agreed Shikamaru.
She walked back to the table to where the baby sat in a high chair and lifted her up for a hug and clasped her over her shoulder. She then walked to the front door, Shikamaru following her.
“Okay. Thank you. I think I’m ready now,” she said, and opened the door.
She stepped out, and turned around. “Take care of her,” she said and placed the baby in Shikamaru’s arms.
Kurenai turned back and waved a few times as she walked away, but eventually, she disappeared off to her mission, leaving Shikamaru alone with the baby. He walked back to the kitchen and placed her back in her chair.
As if on cue, the baby yawned. Shikamaru glanced at the schedule Kurenai had written down on a pad on the table, which confirmed that it was, indeed, naptime. He wondered if this was coincidence, or Kurenai had begun raising what might indeed be a very formidable ninja.
Shikamaru put the baby down for her nap. Deciding to be productive, he started going through a backlog of mission reports to review while she slept.
When it was time to wake the baby up for her next feeding, she was a bit less cooperative. She fussed while he prepared the bottle and regurgitated all over herself about halfway through the feeding. He changed her clothes, grateful Kurenai had prepared for this.
Afterwards, the baby stared at him. Shikamaru stared back. The baby continued to stare. Shikamaru broke the eye contact, and immediately felt sheepish when the baby smiled as if she was happy at her victory. “I’m not scared of you,” he said, somewhat foolishly.
The baby started to cry.
“Crap,” announced Shikamaru.
Shikamaru had tried distracting the baby with toys, with milk, with food, with singing, with shadows, and with silly antics, but eventually, he lifted the baby up and she quieted down, though whether she found it comforting or she was just exhausted, he wasn’t sure.
He looked back at the schedule and decided that “playtime” seemed far too ominous a word, at least now that he was alone in the house with the baby. Far better to teach the ninja-in-training to be flexible, he decided. Just a couple hours after he assured Kurenai he could handle things, he put on the baby carrier and set her in it, grabbed the “go bag” Kurenai had packed and a cooler bag from the refrigerator, and headed out.
Shikamaru did not have a particular destination in mind when he set out, only wanting to find someone else to share the responsibility. Inevitably, his feet took him to the Hyuuga compound, where he hoped to find Neji.
He climbed up the wall, only somewhat encumbered by his cargo, and would have landed silently and smoothly, had Hanabi not appeared out of nowhere right in his landing spot. He dodged to the side mid leap, landing somewhat awkwardly, but not enough to startle the baby into yelping, he noted gratefully. Hanabi glared at him, arms akimbo, and he wondered why he seemed to be stuck with midgets today.
“What is that?” she demanded.
Shikamaru wondered once again how Neji and Hinata could be so polite and Hanabi so… Hanabi. “This would be a baby,” he replied. He might have added something in about the Hyuuga standards slipping or her being a bit old not to know about the basic facts of life, but he didn’t actually want to antagonize someone who was almost as bad about pranks as Naruto and Kiba used to be. “Do you know where Neji is?” he asked.
“Library, I think. Why do you have a baby?” she asked, refusing to be sidetracked.
“Thank you,” replied Shikamaru, ignoring her second question, and he walked towards the Hyuuga clan library. He assumed she was trying to glare holes into his back, but luckily, since laser eye beams weren’t one of the Hyuuga secret techniques, he would be safe enough for now.
Shikamaru found Neji in the library, seated at a table with several scrolls laid out in front of him.
“Are you researching that Iwa mission or is this more Hyuuga-clan-stuff-that-is-not-to-be-discussed?” asked Shikamaru.
“Hello, Shikamaru. The second, unfortunately. Give me a bit to finish up,” said Neji.
Shikamaru stood quietly and watched Neji. He was deliberate, with a grace to his movements, even with with as banal appearing task as taking notes on old scrolls. It was a kata, one that infused power down the length of his arm and into the strokes on the paper.
When Shikamaru finally yanked his focus away from the distraction that was Hyuuga Neji at close quarters, he realized the baby was fussing. He checked the diaper, but it seemed clean enough, and unless he spent more time entranced by Neji than was likely, it wasn’t feeding time yet. He tried soothing the baby by patting its back and then by taking it into his arms, but as before, she didn’t seem particularly responsive to him.
Neji stood up and walked over to him. He gathered chakra into his hand and produced a sparkling ball of lights. The child was entranced and started giggling and reaching out towards Neji.
“Hinata used to use this to distract Hanabi,” Neji explained.
“Got any other tricks?” asked Shikamaru.
Eventually, Shikamaru, Neji, and the baby moved out to the courtyard. Part of Shikamaru felt guilty for distracting Neji from his work, but most of him revelled in the rare opportunity to just relax around each other.
Shikamaru had set the baby on top of a blanket, with some toys scattered across. She gnawed on a rattle happily. Shikamaru felt as content as the baby looked. He leaned his side against Neji’s, and Neji rested his hand on Shikamaru’s.
“She’s cute,” said Shikamaru as he watched her.
“I hope you’re not getting any ideas,” Neji replied.
Shikamaru sat up straighter and faced Neji. “Would that be so bad?” he asked.
“I have never wanted children,” said Neji.
Shikamaru’s eyes flicked to where Neji’s forehead protector hid his brow. “Any children, or just Hyuuga children?” Shikamaru asked.
“I definitely do not want biological children, but even in general, having children has never appealed to me,” answered Neji.
Shikamaru considered what he said. He could understand that Neji would want to avoid the complicated situation of the Hyuuga Branch clan in his children, even as Neji himself seemed to have found peace with it. For Shikamaru, while he had never seriously thought about it, when he imagined his future, it felt only natural to include children to carry on his name and legacy. It seemed that to Neji, it had been natural to assume the opposite.
“It is far too soon to worry about this,” Shikamaru said at last.
“I will think about it,” said Neji.
“As will I. I think it’s time for her lunch,” said Shikamaru, changing the subject. He took out the cooler bag with the baby’s meal, pureed rice porridge, spinach, and fish, along with some adult-versions of the food, which Kurenai had generously prepared.
Neji was surprisingly adept at coaxing the baby to eat, especially in the light of his stated uninterest in children. Some of the surprise must have shown on Shikamaru's face, because as Neji continued to feed the baby, he explained, "I don't dislike children. While I have never planned on being a father, I have always expected to be an uncle.”
Shikamaru felt relieved. Perhaps they would be able to find common ground eventually. He leaned over to Neji and whispered in his ear, “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“Perhaps not in front of the baby. Or Hanabi. She’s been spying on us through the walls all day,” responded Neji.
“There is a very simple solution for that,” said Shikamaru. He turned the baby around to face away from them, and then took out an explosive tag from his belt pouch and attached it to a rock.
Neji smiled. “Okay,” Neji agreed.
Shikamaru lobbed the rock far up in the air and detonated it at its peak. He gave Neji a quick peck on the lips and then started to draw back. Neji wrapped a hand around his head, and they started kissing again.
“I thought you were worried about Hanabi,” said Shikamaru.
“Serves her right for spying,” said Neji, and then started to kiss him again.