Of Marriage and Babies
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It was another ordinary day at the Hokage's office, meaning it was another day of Shikamaru filing paperwork and Naruto blabbering about his married life.
"So Hinata made the tastiest vegetable ramen yesterday", he said gleefully, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk. Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes as he filled out documents.
"And you know what else?" Naruto continued. "She still calls me Naruto kun just like before and it is the cutest thing ever."
Shikamaru didn respond. He didn't have to. This had been going on ever since Naruto took Hinata as his wife. Most of the stories were repetitive and Shikamaru even told him off on more than one occasion, but Naruto never listened. Not that shikamaru was in any way affected by his happily married life. He was very much satisfied with his own love life, or whatever it was called. He had been seeing more of Temari lately, as her visits to Konoha became quite frequent. They weren't very public about their relationship, but every single person he knew was well aware that he was whipped. Temari had even bought a permanent apartment in Konoha, so they could have more privacy than they did in hotel rooms.
"Oh and her hands on my face is the best feeling in the world", Naruto's voice broke Shikamaru out of his reverie. "And her hands on my-" but he was interrupted by a messenger entering the office. He bowed in front of the Hokage's desk and spoke.
"Hokage sama, I have excellent news! The Lady of Konoha is expecting a child." Shikamaru jerked his head up from his paperwork. Meanwhile Naruto stared at the messenger, his mouth hanging open. Then he shot up from his chair sending it flying till it crashed against the wall.
"Thank you my good man!" he exclaimed, shaking the messenger's hand vigorously, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Shikamaru!" he addressed him. "Give everyone the rest of the day off! That's an order!" Shikamaru looked at him incredulously, but eventually obliged. Since he was given the day off as well, he decided to head home and take a nice long nap.
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During Hinata's pregnancy, Naruto didn't come to the office regularly, which gave Shikamaru some peaceful alone time. However, everytime Naruto was at the office, he wouldn't stop talking about how radiant Hinata looked even though she weighed a tonne, or how he was taking such good care of her. There were more than one instances when the Hokage's advisor felt like pulling his own hair out.
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When the baby finally arrived, the whole village celebrated. It was a boy the blessed parents had named Haru. He had Naruto's eyes and Hinata's dark hair. Shikamaru admitted the baby was adorable, and when he first saw him sleeping peacefully in Hinata's arms, his insides warmed up. The miracle of life was something he had witnessed twice; the first time regarding Asuma's baby. Sometimes he wished that this miracle would take place in his own life, but he would then shove the thought in the very back cabinets of his mind. Him and Temari were independent, and he was very happy with the way their relationship was. He wasn't able to enjoy this blissful feeling of becoming an uncle again for long, for Naruto had started telling a multitude of baby stories at the office. Even Sakura, who visited sometimes for important business, would whack him on the head, for she was struggling with her own relationship with Sasuke. It seemed as if Naruto's happiness was plaguing everyone else's love life.
"He made a sound yesterday", gushed Naruto twirling his chair,"and I think he was trying to say 'dada'. Can you believe it Shikamaru?" The veins in Shikamaru's temples visibly throbbed. There was only so much he could bear. As he wrote in his scrawny handwriting, his pen suddenly snapped and so did he. He got up from his seat and walked out of the office without a word. He strolled along the streets with his hands folded behind his back. He quickened his pace when Temari's apartment came into view. He knocked on the door. She was staying in Konoha that week for official business. She answered, a little surprised to see him unexpectedly, but smiled and ushered him to come in. He didn't say anything. He didn't even greet her. He took his shoes off at the door, while she seated herself on the couch and expected him to do the same. He had too many thoughts racing in his head and had absolutely no idea what he was thinking when he blurted: "That's it! I can't take it anymore! We're getting married and having babies!" His face turned crimson almost immediately after he said those words. Temari just stared at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. After finally registering his words, she said with her eyebrow twitching: "Excuse me?!"