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Patience.
Why does it always have to be patience?!
One of the things the great and powerful hero of the world has failed to master through and through.
He hates it. To wait, that is.
The 3 intense minutes between him and the ramen cup noodles to be ready? He hates it.
When the class went outside for the traditional shinobi sparring and Iruka sensei decided to go alphabetical for that day? He was bored to high heavens waiting for others to finish. So when Akimichi Choji refused to spar, he went ballistic. He just wants to kick the Uchiha brat and prove to him who’s really the underdog. Well… the only thing that got its ass kicked was the classroom door. He was thrown out of the shinobi sparring for the day after “accidentally” joining Kiba and Shino’s spar. So much for patience!
He was rarely assigned on stealth missions. That says a lot right?
He tried though. Mastering the big one.
Hinata was in her third trimester. She’s grumpy, swollen, and… well, she’s kinda scary. She was also on her nightly routine of cry spells.
“Naruto-kun…”
He hummed in acknowledgement as he flipped another page of the tax book Iruka sensei told him to study. He has a gist of what’s coming but he pretends he didn’t. For the fourth time.
When a minute had passed and he had not heard his wife’s voice, he looked up. A small figure lurked behind his office door.
“What is it now, Hina?”
Hinata never failed to notice a single change in her husband's demeanor ever since she decided to follow his nindo and she certainly did not fail to pick up the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice right now.
“I… I just want to say sorry…”
Naruto put the book down and stared at the looming figure of his pregnant wife.
“Okay. Go back to sleep.”
He looked back at the book and started taking down notes again. He can’t waste another hour of sweet coaxing. The assessment is tomorrow, no , actually, it’s today and he still hasn't finished studying the last two lessons.
He went home after a long meeting with the kages. Kakashi sensei thought it would be good for him to be exposed as early as possible to such kind of setting. When he got home, he was expecting for his wife to be asleep, only to be berated and accused of infidelity. Apparently, Hinata found the kunzite necklace given to him by a princess he escorted on one of his missions. In his defense, he only keeps it because it reminds him of his wife. Which seems to be the wrong option now. The small argument rapidly turned into wildfire. He was tired and she was grumpy.
“Why would I lie, Hinata? You know I’ll never do that!”
“Then, why haven’t you told me she gave you something? You’re hiding something from me!”
“Hinata, liste-”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now, Naruto-kun.”
He stepped out of the house to catch some fresh air. He tried knocking at their bedroom door but he’s tired and he has an assessment to prepare for. And he hasn't eaten dinner yet. Maybe a good bowl of ramen can fix this. Yeah. It definitely will. Besides, Hinata has been in bed rest for the past few days so there’s nothing much to eat at home.
“Tadaima!”
After a good hour outside, 3 bowls of ramen and small talk with Teuchi, Naruto decided it was time to make up with his wife. He made sure to bring home a bowl of ramen for Hinata, too. A peace offering, if you will.
“Naruto-kun…?”
Before he knew it, she was nestled between his arms.
“I will never do that to you, Hina. I love you so damn much. Don’t ever think of that again. Okay?”
He leaned in for a kiss. The remnants of her tears slightly brushed against his cheeks. He spent the next hour talking her to sleep.
She was down for a good 15 minutes when she woke up and sat beside him on the kitchen table. He was studying there because the couch in his office is too convincing. He set aside some scrolls and made tea for her. She asked him about his day, he asked her about the monthly check-up. It has been light conversations, some this and that, and little kisses every now and then until she said she’s ready to go to bed already… only to be back after 30 minutes.
I really need to study now, Hinata, he thought.
He guided her back to bed and lay beside her. Maybe this will work. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. Damn, he loves his wife so much. He decided to close his eyes for a while.
Maybe rest is what he needed, too.
He shot his eyes wide open. Damn it! He looked at the clock on their bedside table. It’s already 3 am. I slept for an hour! Naruto slowly detaches himself from Hinata, making sure he does not wake his sleeping wife as he carefully leaves their room. He went downstairs and immediately picked up where he left from.
It was going well. Although, he only has 7 hours or so to study. Maybe if he uses a clone he could finish this early. But he tried doing that and the stupid clone just ended up having a better sleep than he does. A slap to the cheek and one to the other. No . The Jounin exam is near. If he fails this assessment, Iruka sensei might postpone his recommendation again.
“Naruto-kun…”
Oh, God. He turned around and saw Hinata standing beside the kitchen counter.
“Hina, baby, you know it’ll be bad for Bolt if you don’t get enough sleep, right?”
Her nose scrunches and her fingers fidgets the hem of his shirt. Yes. His. She had taken up the hobby of wearing his clothes nowadays. She said it was more comfortable than all the other pregnancy clothes Hanabi bought for her.
“I… I just thought you left me because I made you mad tonight… I'm s-sorry, Naruto-kun...”
He let out a small sigh before standing up.
“I’m not mad anymore. Please, go to sleep now.”
“Can you stay with me for a while?”
He looked back at his book and then back to his wife. His clones already had a good nap. Maybe he can make the clones do the job later. He stood up and he could see how his wife’s eyes glimmered. He smiled and kissed her forehead. Anything for her. He had punched a fucking alien prince for her. Another trip to the bedroom is nothing.
“Sure, baby.”
He made sure to quietly sneak out for the second time. All these stunts and he might be able to beat the best shinobis on a stealth mission already. He decided to move to his home office. It’s almost 4 am and he hasn't done any significant progress.
And yet, here she is again. For the fourth time.
“Are you sure you are not mad at me?”
“No. Go back to sleep.”
“But you… you sound mad.”
“Well, I’m not! I got things to do, Hina! Can you please just leave me alone?!”
He saw her lips quivered, her hands fisted, covering her mouth. A soft sniff linger in the air before she’s gone, running away from the office and slamming the bedroom door. He rubbed his temple with both his hands.
Uzumaki Naruto still has a lot to learn about patience.
He heard it. The soft coos travelling in the cold air. His senses have never been this sharp. Even without his sage mode, he knows. He just knows. He can feel him. Whenever, wherever. He opened his eyes and was welcomed with the sight of a princess in quiet slumber. He knows how Hinata hates the way she looks when she sleeps. She said it was too unlady-like or whatever the hell that means. He definitely loved the way her mouth opened a bit. Or how her hair sticks on the side of her face. He loved it when she hogs the blanket from him or when she talks in her sleep. How come his wife does everything a hundred times prettier? He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips before quietly hopping out of bed.
It was already 4 in the morning. Normally, Hinata would be awake by now but she has been busy helping in the Hokage office because Shikamaru has to stay in Suna for a while and he has been in endless meetings and interviews. It was almost 10 when they both knocked on the Hyuga compound so they could fetch their son and thank Hiashi and Hanabi for taking care of Boruto. Naruto suggested they just go home and go see Boruto in the morning instead but Hinata is Hinata and she insists she will sleep better when Boruto is home with them. It took them an hour to make Boruto go back to sleep before he completely awakened the whole village with his black volt crying.
Naruto quietly opened the door to his son’s room. Immediately recognizing someone’s presence in the room, Boruto lifted his little hands and his legs shifted in either excitement or who knows. This baby is a one rollercoaster of emotion. He can never read his son the way her mom used to.
“Hey, Bolt. Why are you awake?”
Boruto’s nose scrunches. Just like how her mom does. His son may have picked up his blonde hair, his whiskers and his blue eyes but every little idiosyncrasies came from Hinata.
“I thought I heard you crying? Are you having a bad dream?”
He said as he carefully rearranged the pillows around his son. As if on cue, Boruto’s lips turned into a frown and the sound of a crying baby resonated in the Uzumaki household. Naruto immediately took Boruto in his arms with his head resting on the crook of his neck. He has gotten way better at picking his son up. The first few times he did, he almost gave Hiashi a heart attack. After a pattern of sniffs and a little bit of sways here and there, Boruto fell asleep again. His son definitely has a penchant for his neck just like his mom.
“You are so alike… You and your mom, you know that…”
He whispered to his son who is now fisting his shirt, which is also a quirk Hinata unconsciously does when she’s sleeping or when she’s nervous. He was about to put him down when a shocking weep reverberated on his ears.
“I thought you were sleeping, Bolt.”
Boruto only cries harder and Naruto has no other choice but keep him in his arms.
“You know your mom has been really working hard, we don’t want her waking up now, don’t we? And dad is kinda tired, too.”
Boruto sniffs and cries again. He definitely passed down his mulish gene to his first child. He checked his diaper for the haunted treasure. Innocent as he can be, his son is also a level 89 poop monster. Seriously. He only eats soft foods and drinks milk, where does all of that stuff come from?! He let out a sigh of relief when he found it clean. Last thing he wanted to do is create more mess by attempting to clean his little poop machine.
Oh wait.
Maybe he’s hungry.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go downstairs and have some nom-noms, a’right?”
Naruto set him down on his high chair. Boruto immediately stopped crying. Yeah, maybe he is just hungry.
Everything was going well. Boruto finished his food. Naruto cleaned him up. They even play a little, you know, just to tire the little boy out. He often forgets how his bloodline takes great pride in their stamina. Times like this make him remember why the jonins hated him when he was a scrawny kid. Naruto let out a small laugh. Iruka sensei must've had a hard time with him back then, huh. Boruto let out a small yawn. Yes! Finally!
“Alright, let’s put you to bed again, Mister.”
Heaven must have been testing him again because right when they were about to enter Boruto’s room, the little boy came crying and kicking. With the fear of waking up his wife, Naruto went downstairs again.
The sun is slowly rising. Few more hours and it’s time to work again. He barely had any sleep. He looked at his son whose face now colors a tinge of red with puffy eyes glistening with tears. Heavy-eyed and exhausted, Naruto sat down on the couch with her son sitting on his lap.
“Bolt, what do you want?”
He’s looking at his son with pleading eyes hoping he can somehow, though impossible, get the message. Boruto, with his disheveled hair, eyes and cheeks red from his outburst, only looks back at him with a blank face. If he wasn’t tired, he might’ve laughed from his son’s sudden pondering look, as if he really understood his question.
“We already ate and played. Why don’t you want to go back to sleep? Daddy is really , really tired now. I don’t know what else to do.”
He saw his lips quivered, his hands fisting his shirt. A soft sniff came out.
And then another.
He smiled to himself.
This looks too familiar.
“You are really so much like your mom.”
Naruto wiped the tears off his son’s face before standing up and slowly settling Boruto in his arms. He kissed his forehead, and then his cheeks.
Music, he remembered.
He turned on the speaker and played one of Hinata’s playlist. Hinata loves to play classical music before she sleeps or when she works. It calms me , she said. Just as expected, Boruto dozed off before he even knew it.
“So much like your mom…”
Warm hands circled his waist. He turned around and found his wife in his nightgown, her eyes closed, her face softly resting on his arms, smiling like an angel she is.
“Hey…”
Hinata murmured. She saw the dark bags under her husband’s eyes. They must’ve been up for hours now, she thought.
“Did we wake you?”
“No… It’s almost morning. Did you even sleep, Naruto-kun?”
His deep sigh and the small smile plastered in his face while looking at their son is a good enough answer.
“Thank you, Hinata.”
The warmth on his shoulder was gone as Hinata moved to face him and their son, still sleeping in between his arms. She lightly traced his son’s cheek and smiled at Naruto.
“For what?”
“For everything… For loving me. For giving me a family. For being with me even if I'm unbearable.”
“Or unreasonable. Or always burning food. Or always messing up the closet.”
Naruto looked back at Hinata with a pout.
“Yeaaaah... and that.”
Hinata chuckled softly as she cupped her husband’s face. Naruto kissed her palm.
“Thank you for teaching me patience.”
Hinata reached out for her husband, standing on her toes to kiss him. It's been awhile since they share such intimate moment.
Boruto let out a loud sigh as he comfortably shifted in his father’s arm, still sleeping. Naruto and Hinata shared a look before laughing.
“I love you, Naruto-kun…”
“Happy Birthday.”