Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Naruto characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. But their babies are mine! -evil laugh-
Author's Note - None. :)
A twenty-two year old Aburame Shino was wearing his usual clothes; a black tee-shirt, blue pants, blue shoes, a large white collared jacket and his large dark green overcoat. His goggles sat snugly against his eyes. He sat in the healing-nin's delivery room, holding hands with his twenty-one year old wife. Uzumaki Sakura, the healing-nin, was intently focused on getting the newborn out safely. But Shino payed no attention to Sakura. At the moment, Shino was watching his wife's face. Rage, pain, and passion were all twisted into her features.
And people think she isn't a fighter. He thought to himself.
He clutched her fingers, upset by the torture she was obviously going through. Beads of sweat dripped from her midnight-black hairline and down her face, her mouth was pulled into a grimace. Her lavender eyes were shut tightly, and her nose was scrunched up as she exerted all of her energy into delivering the child.
And this was, technically and entirely, his fault.
The severe discomfort disappeared from her face. Sakura pulled out the tiny human, which was covered in bodily fluids, and cut the umbilical cord. She took the baby to a table for a few moments to remove the remains of its connection to its mother.
"Are you all right?" He asked her, feeling awful. He hated seeing her in pain.
All she could do was nod, smiling faintly at him.
Sakura returned with the baby. The infant was wrapped in a pink blanket; face red and tiny mouth open in a high-pitched wail.
"Aburame Shino-kun and Aburame Hinata-chan, it's a girl." The pink-haired girl announced. Her green eyes sparkled as she gently rested the baby in Shino's arms. He turned to Hinata so she could see the baby, but she had passed out after delivering the afterbirth.
"I'll take care of Hinata-chan." Sakura told him, turning back to the table and sorting through some medications.
Shino looked down at the baby. Her skin was pale, like his. A thin layer of Hyuuga black hair covered her head. Pulling back the blanket to look at her collarbone, and noticed a birthmark the shape of a butterfly on her smooth skin. He had one as well, and in the same spot. It was larger and fainter that the baby's, but definitely there. His kikai bugs thrummed under his skin.
She would be a bug wielder.
Sakura had been washing Hinata with a cool washcloth, and Hinata had come to. Sakura left the room, smiling.
Hinata was watching her husband admire their child. "What should we name her, Shino-kun?" She asked him.
Shino turned to look at her through his sunglasses. "Aburame Miraye." After his mother. She had died giving birth to Shino. All he knew of her was drawn from her name and the stories his father told him.
He had been scared to death for Hinata. He wanted to be the father of her children more than anything, but he did not want her to suffer the same fate as his mother. He was relived down to his very bones that she was okay.
"Hinata-chan, I love you." He told her in a heartfelt manner, looking away from the baby and into her eyes. She smiled sweetly at him, irises lit like lavender candles.
"I love you too Shino-kun. As well as you, baby Miraye." She cooed.
A wave of happiness crashed over Shino. This was his and Hinata's baby. A combination of them both, made real by the love they shared. Even to this day, he was amazed that he was married to her and was the father of her child.
And Shino sat there, in the healing-nin's room, with the two most precious things in his life.
A few days later, the Aburames returned to their house. It was a medium-sized cottage with four bedrooms, fit to raise a family in. Hinata carried a bundled up Miraye in her arms, while Shino opened the door for her.
Inside, they found visitors.
Kiba and his wife, Ino, were on the floor, leaning against Akamaru. His brunette hair was gelled down, which Shino knew wasn't his idea. Kiba sat there, pouting at the platinum blonde woman beside him. Their four-year-old son was bouncing around the room, screeching at the top as his lungs. His hair was the same shade as his mother's and his eyes the same puppy dog brown as his father's.
"Karasu!" Shino called to the boisterous toddler.
Karasu turned and noticed the bug-nin walk through the door. "Uncle Shino!" He shrieked, flying at the Aburame. Karasu gave Shino's leg a thorough snuggle. "Where's the baby?" He asked the man who wasn't really his uncle, eyes shining with excitement.
"Aunt Hinata is holding her. If you sit still, the baby can sit in your lap." Shino told him.
Karasu didn't have to be told twice. He leapt onto a white couch, wriggling slightly as Hinata set the baby in his lap. He gasped as he examined her with his eyes. "What is her name?" He asked.
"Miraye." Shino told him softly.
Kiba, being Shino's best friend, recognized the name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful child." He told his friend, approaching him and slapping him on the back. "Congratulations." And then, leaning in closer to Shino, he wiggled his eyebrows. "I didn't think you two had been getting busy last winter." He winked.
Ino, who was standing behind Kiba, smacked him in the side of the head with the back of her head. "What did I tell you, Kiba? Not in front of Karasu!" She hissed in his ear.
Shino laughed as Kiba's face turned the shade of a bing cherry. It was clear to Shino who the dominant one in their marriage was. Kiba had always been boastful and a bit full of himself, trying to overthrow Shino back when they were a team to become the alpha male. But Shino always ended up beating him. And clearly, Kiba was losing the battle for dominance once again.
Hinata turned away from the baby and spoke to Ino. "The Uzumaki, Hyuuga, and Nara families are coming over to welcome our little one."
Ino smiled. "Shikamaru and Temari are in town?" The two lived in the Village Hidden by the Sand, Temari's hometown.
Hinata nodded. "Along with their brood." Both being twenty-four years old, Shikamaru and Temari had gotten a head start on everybody else, child-wise. They already had three little ones.
Shino sat on the couch next to Karasu, who was cuddling Miraye. Shino watched his daughter. She was so fragile, so small. And he knew she would grow to be strong one day.
Her tiny eyes opened.
"Her eyes! They're open!" He called to everyone else in the room.
Everyone huddled around Miraye. Her eyes were night black, like his. He couldn't tell where the pupil ended and the iris began.
Hinata gasped. "They're like yours, Shino-kun."
Kiba and Ino looked curiously at Shino. They had never seen his eyes before.
Shino sighed. He brought a hand up to his face and slid the goggles down so his eyes were esposed. His eyes were the same as little Miraye's; like dark pools of black water, full of exasperation and happiness.
"Wow, no wonder Hinata thinks you're sexy." Kiba laughed. This was followed by a thump; Ino's fist connecting with the top of his head.
Shino put his goggles back on.
A half an hour passed at the two families caught up. Hinata prepared four cups of tea, and then claimed Miraye back from Karasu. With the permission of their guests and a slight blush, Hinata proceeded to breast-feed the newborn. At that time, the doorbell rang.
Shino stood to answer it. He opened the door to the faces of Neji and Tenten. Neji wore a grin on his face, and Tenten was smiling as well. Their two-year old daughter was on Neji's shoulders, drooling onto his hat. Shino decided it would be best not to tell him.
"Welcome, Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Tenten, and Hyuuga Shukumei." He greeted them formally.
Neji bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for inviting us into your home." Shukumei smiled, her mouth toothless.
Next, Shino welcomed in Shikamaru and Temari. Two six-year-olds were holding Temari's hands, twin girls. Shikamaru held a three-year-old boy in his arms. He nodded politely to Shino before he walked in, and Temari stepped in behind him.
Shino noticed something protruding from her belly.
Another child?
"Temari!" Ino squealed. "You're pregnant again?"
Temari nodded, smirking. She leaned towards Ino, saying loudly. "I can't keep Shikamaru's hands off me. Even when I'm pregnant, I'm not safe." She told her.
All the adults, including Shino, laughed.
The twin girls were both golden blonde with brown eyes. One wore her hair down and was wearing a white and pink floral dress. This was Tanrei. She was shy and gentle, and loved animals. Tanrei immediately found Akamaru and began scratching behind his ears. He licked her, enjoying a little attention.
The other twin was dressed in a gray jumpsuit. Her blonde tresses were tied back in a ponytail. Her name was Kaze. She was outgoing, and very loud. She approached Inuzuka Karasu, and soon they were off to hide under the kitchen table and planning diabolical schemes.
Shikamaru set Suna, his son, down on the floor next to Hyuuga Shukumei. Suna cried out in delight and Shukumei clapped her hands.
And, last but not least, the Uzumaki family arrived.
Naruto was holding onto a blonde-haired three-year-old girl and redhead five-year-old boy his arms. Sakura carried in a container of food. The smell of rice balls filled the air.
"Sakura-chan!" Exclaimed Hinata. "You didn't have to…"
"But I did." Sakura told Hinata merrily, taking the food to the kitchen.
Shino smiled. When they were younger, Sakura and Hinata barely knew each other. Hinata saw Sakura as her rival for a mate – Naruto. But when Hinata realized that Shino was the one she was meant for, the friendship between her and Sakura blossomed. Friendship bloomed as well between Shino and the loudmouth when Naruto and Sakura started dating, several months after Sasuke's funeral.
When Hinata was done feeding Miraye, the room exploded into conversation. The women all surrounded Hinata, cooing about how beautiful the baby was.
They had no idea. Shino thought.
The kikaichuu buzzed, telling him that somebody was behind him. He turned. There stood Kiba. He was smiling. "Is Miraye going to be a bug-freak like you?" He teased his former teammate.
"Yeah." Shino told him, voice tinted a bit with darkness. "I'm worried for her." He didn't want her to suffer the pain he did as a child; the other children calling her names or thinking she was a freak.
"Don't worry." Kiba assured him. "She will grow up knowing Karasu, Shukumei, Aijou, and Teisei." Kiba's son. Neji's daughter. Naruto's children.
"This is true." Shino agreed.
"They will be there for her, like Hinata and I were for you." He told him.
A ghost of a smile made the ends of Shino's lips turn up. "Thank you, dog-breath."
"No problem, bug-freak." The canine boy told him.
The reunion continued for a few hours, with laughter and cheery sips of wine.
Eventually, it was time for everyone to go home. Finally, the last child and parent left.
Hinata was walking down the stairs. She had put Miraye into her crib. She lay herself down on the couch, exhausted.
Shino joined her, putting his goggles on his head and lying down on top of her. His body fit perfectly into her curves for the first time in a while. He breathed on her face, teasing her as he kissed her nose softly. He brought his hand up to her head and caressed her soft hair.
"I'm glad we started a family." She told him, smiling up at him with her mouth and eyes.
Shino agreed.
"Kiba-kun was right." She muttered.
He looked at her questioningly.
"Your eyes are very sexy." And she pulled him in to kiss her.