Title: An (almost) unhappy marriage
Rating: G
Pairing / characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata
Word count: 1755 words
Warnings: Nothing
Summary: It is a good match, a marriage that will unite the strongest clan with the most powerful man in Konoha
A/N: I didn't want to portray Naruto as a bastard or Hinata as weak, but I think this is more or less accurate…
Naruto and Hinata are married.
He is the Hokage, she, the Hyuuga heiress. It is a good match, a marriage that will unite the strongest clan with the most powerful man in Konoha. In a sense, Konoha's survival depends on it.
When they exchange vows, Naruto is busy, distracted, his mind occupied with his new duties to his village. Hinata does not mind; he does not notice her stammer as she agrees to become his wife, nor does he see the tears in her eyes.
Hinata does not know why she is crying.
In their second month of marriage, Hinata pleads with Neji to sneak her out of the house to see Tsunade. She is afraid that she is pregnant, and terrified that she is not. Naruto was gentle with her; being cruel goes against his very nature, and Hinata does not feel like he pressured her – in fact, it was she who came to him. Very few people know that the Hokage and his wife do not share a bed. Tsunade tells her that it is too early to determine the sex of her child, and asks if Hinata is happy. When she says that she is, it is not a lie. She has long since learned that happiness does not lie in freedom.
Naruto comes home to find the table set, and Hinata hovering in the background. He is tired, and grumpy, and wants nothing more than sake and a hot bath before he tries to sleep, but for Hinata's sake, he puts aside his own desires and sits at the table. Hinata is, once again, shy to the point of speechlessness, and Naruto forces down a sigh. For all that he tries not to make her nervous, it bothers him that she still can't talk to him. He wishes he could, she is his wife after all.
When Hinata eventually manages to tell him that she is pregnant, Naruto is so overwhelmed that he throws his arms around her and hugs her exuberantly.
It is their first contact since that night.
The day Naruto signs the peace treaty with Thunder country, he receives a message from Temari – Gaara is dead. No longer a jinchuuriki, his body has aged three times faster than normal shinobi. At twenty-seven, Gaara's body is that of a ninety year old man. Temari believes that his heart simply gave out in his sleep. Naruto mourns the loss of his old friend, but cannot allow himself the time to truly grieve. Konoha is still not at full strength, and he is spending most of his time training barely adequate shinobi to be jounin. Besides, Temari and Kankuro are on the run, and Sunagakure has declared war on Konoha.
For a moment, Naruto wishes things were simpler, but they are not. Kakashi is dead, Iruka has resigned his tenure, and Jiraiya is only a memory. He can sympathize with Tsunade now, not for all the paperwork, but for the tiredness.
Naruto is tired of everything.
That same day, Hinata kills two shinobi who attempt to assassinate her. Her baby is unharmed, her soul is not: both shinobi were Hyuuga. She tells Naruto later that night of the attempt on her life; it is hard to say who is more shocked at the anger he shows.
Only then does Hinata feel some hope for their future.
Hinata gives birth to their first child seven months later. It is an early baby, unsurprising for a firstborn. Her son has dark hair and bright blue eyes, and she chooses the name Minato. Without Naruto's knowledge, she went through the only records of his family. There was nothing there of course, but Tsunade told her his father's name the day she confirmed Hinata was carrying a boy. Minato is both her joy and her sorrow. As her firstborn, he will inherit the best – and the worst – of his clans. The Hyuuga will reject him because he lacks the byakugan, but they will be subject to his eventual rule. His life will no longer be his own, for there will always be those who will try and kidnap, or kill him. He will eventually follow in his father's footsteps and become a shinobi, and the rest of his life will be spent trying to be better than everyone else so he can stay alive.
Naruto is too happy to notice Hinata's sorrow. It is not the first time he has done this, and it probably won't be the last.
He has a son. Someone to carry not only his name, but his soul. Someone he can watch grow, someone he can protect, someone he can teach. Naruto sees beyond this moment into the future, imagining being able to teach his son to throw a shuriken or a kunai, his first day at the Academy, the day he puts on his hitae-ate. He pretends that Minato will have a bright, happy future, and that he will grow up secure, and loved by both his parents. It is a lie of course, there are no guarantees of anything in a shinobi village, and Naruto thinks he understands why no one ever told him his father had been Hokage. If he has the choice, it will be the same for his son.
It has been just about a year since he and Hinata were married.
Naruto is on the frontlines, fighting for his village when he hears that Hiashi is dead. Hinata is now the leader of the Hyuuga, and will have to make the decisions that could build or destroy her clan. Her marriage to Naruto is not a factor in these decisions, but her children are. Minato is two years older than his brother, and part of the main family. He does not have the byakugan, and prefers reading to fighting. Hiro is four years old, and a branch family member. Already he can wield a kunai, and is as accurate as a genin when throwing one. Hiro possesses his mother's silver eyes, and is blissfully unaware that she will soon mark him with the cursed seal, changing his life forever. Naruto doesn't think of this, only of the next line of enemies, and the next, and the next. His hands are covered in blood, most of which is his own, and he has been wounded more times than he cares to admit. His chakra is desperately low, but he fights on, knowing that it is his power alone that can turn the tide of the battle. His children are out of the village, spirited away by Iruka and Tsunade. There is no question of either of them fighting, for if he should die, they will be needed to keep his flesh and blood alive.
Hinata is also on the frontlines. Her village is being destroyed around her, consumed by flame and jutsu, but she cannot, will not think of it. They have been at war before, they will move on with their lives soon enough. She has been preparing for this moment her whole life – behind her are the Hyuuga, and she will have to order them into battle. She knows two things: her skills will be watched, and judged, and her clan could disobey her. She cannot afford to lose their fragile respect for her, nor can she afford to be generous to her enemies. Her village, her life, depends on it.
Minato, Hiro, cursed seals… they are the last thing on her mind as she screams a battle cry into the wind. She must be strong, must not fail. The Hyuuga follow her into battle, and she will never know whether they chose to do so out of respect for her, or out of fear.
She has the power to kill them, and they know it.
It has been six years since she and Naruto were married.
Hinata is lying in bed when she hears footsteps outside the bedroom door. The war has been over for three months, but Naruto still seeks her company every night. He has nightmares, but like so much in their strange lives, he does not discuss them with her. Instead, he lies in her arms like a child, and cries for the lives he was forced to take. Hinata holds him close, ashamed that she feels joy when her husband is grieving. It has taken a war to bring them closer, and she feels that she can at last give him the love she has been hiding.
In the light of day Naruto does not talk about his sorrows, or of the nights he spends with Hinata. Instead, he goes out to Yamanaka flowers and buys every flower he can afford and brings them to his wife. For the first time in months, years, Hinata laughs, and he is surprised at the sweetness of the sound. At thirty three years old, he suddenly thinks he's found what he's been looking for his whole life.
It is a cause for celebration for Hinata and Naruto when Minato graduates from the academy, and dons the hitae-ate for the first time. When Hiro announces that he too, will graduate as fast as his brother, Minato laughs and ruffles his hair. Neither of the boys wear the cursed seal.
They walk home together, the four of them, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. When they turn down the main road towards the Hokage Mansion, Naruto reaches for Hinata's hand. The time has long passed when he cares what people think of him. He does not know if he will ever be able to give Hinata the love she deserves, but he tries to protect her, and is affectionate in his own way.
Hinata is not unhappy with her life. She smiles when he takes her hand, because she knows it is not just a showy display, but a true gesture of affection. She loves her husband deeply, it has been like that for most of her life. She will never be a proper wife to him, but she has given him two children, and her whole heart.
It has been fifteen years since they were married.
Hinata and Naruto are married.
It is a good match, for despite everything, the years have been kind to them both. Naruto does not love her, but he is kind, and does not mistreat her. Hinata is still timid, but it is a quirk of her personality, rather than a flaw, and she is loyal to her small family.
They will grow old together, and that is enough.