NARUHINA ONESHOTS

☪ | loving boruto

' loving boruto '

naruhina oneshot 08.

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Years ago, loving was a foreign concept to Uzumaki Naruto.

He loved ramen and he loved the sunsets. He loved the cool breeze that played with his hair when he sat atop the stone carvings as a child. He loved the idea of being a ninja, he loved dreaming of wearing the hat of the Hokage and having everyone look up to him.

But loving people? He hadn't a clue how to do that.

In order to love, you had to be loved. And for the longest time, Naruto didn't have that. No one cared for him like the other children, no one came to pick him up at the playgrounds when the sky grew dark and the shadows loomed. No one showed him how to find the best deals at the market (it was a talent he'd picked up on his own) and no one touched him with only good intentions.

But then, suddenly, he did have people.

He had Iruka-sensei, and his few friends at the Academy, and he had Team 7. And then he had Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baachan and little Konohamaru.

And then he had Hinata.

Hinata was a different kind of love, but he picked it up quickly. With her, it wasn't hard. He got used to being cared for and loved and he learned to reciprocate it. Love was a familiar thing, after a while.

Then came Boruto.

His son. And this one was exceptionally different. The concept baffled him at first, but instincts kicked in as they usually did––love. Just love, and he did. Naruto saw his son for the first time and he definitely cried because now he had someone new to love.

Love was good. He needed love. He wouldn't be alive without love.

But sometimes love caused pain. Love was not a word used lightly, and rightfully so. It stuck, and stuck and stuck and stuck until you couldn't escape it no matter what. No matter the distance, no matter the goal. Love made you feel, and sometimes feeling got in the way.

As a Hokage-in-training, loving Boruto was proving difficult.

Naruto didn't want to leave even for a second. He wanted to constantly see his son, care for his son, love his son. And that was natural, right? Hinata said it was.

So he went to Hinata. Because he had a mission——a long one, one that was too far away——and she knew feelings better than anyone. She knew his feelings better than anyone.

"What do they want you to do?" she asked, expertly shutting the door behind them with an almost inaudible click. Her voice was low and careful——putting Boruto to bed proved harder than Naruto could've ever imagined.

He sighed, tilting his head. "They want me to work with some ANBU firsthand for the experience. . .I said working with Kakashi-sensei should count, since he was ANBU, but apparently I've got to see things more intimately from the inside." Naruto waved his hand. "I wanted to do it here in the village, but. . ."

"It's alright, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled gently. She didn't want him to leave, she never did, but his dream was hers and she knew what it was going to take. "We'll be just fine. The Sixth is right, you'll learn a lot."

"But. . ." He shook his head. "It's too long, Hinata. I'm a father now, I've got to be here for all his firsts, y'know? I've gotta be with you."

She pressed her eyes closed and gave herself only a moment to think and accept. When she blinked and he was in view again, Hinata reached out to touch his hand with delicate fingers. "Let that be motivation. Come back for him, come back for us. As long as you come back, it will be alright."

He took her hand in his. "Of course I'll come back. Of course. It's just before that that I'm worried about. I know you'll take great care of him—better than I could—but I don't know if I'll be able to focus."

"You must," she said, loud enough for only him to hear. "A Hokage can always focus when the time comes." Hinata pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, standing on the tip of her toes to do so. "You don't have to forget to focus. Just don't let your thoughts distract you——they can motivate you, instead."

He breathed out as she withdrew, reveling in the lingering tingle on his cheek where her lips had touched and the tickling sensation where her eyelashes swiped by in her retreat.

"Yeah. You're right." The hint of a grin captured his lips. "As always."

Hinata laughed, an airy, melodious sound that caressed his ears, before she took a step back and folded her hands in front of her. "Please be careful, though, Naruto-kun. Now's when you have to be more careful than ever."

"I know," he said. "I'll come back for sure. You can't worry too much either."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "No promises."

Naruto set his hands on his lips, a full grin stretching his whiskers now. "Uh-uh, Hinata. You promise, I'll promise. I've gotta focus on my mission, you've gotta focus on Boruto and yourself. You're a mom now, yeah? We've got to work together."

She brought a hand to her mouth as she laughed. "I can try. That's all I can promise."

His grin settled into a milder smile. "Me too."

They left Boruto to sleep peacefully then, walking silently (sometimes shinobi skills came in handy with a baby) to the kitchen with as much caution as they could muster in such tired states.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad we have a son."

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꒰ 🌓 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟa / n

hiii i updated :0

i've been wanting to write something about them being parents, and hopefully there'll be more of that soon. so much potential in the practically blank period of boruto and hima being born and naruto's journey to hokage, and i intend to fill it.

is anyone still reading this lolll

okay, sayonara!