Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim any ownership of Naruto. Is that even grammatically correct? It sounds so stuffy, I can't tell…
Note: I don't know if I've ever written it anywhere, but here's the 411: Ino's parents already know Naruto pretty well. I think I wrote somewhere about him going to the flower shop to hang out with her when they started becoming friends. During that time, he met her parents. Just FYI.
Taking the Next Step
Chapter Two: Part Two
Meeting the Parents
Yamanaka Himawari glared over at her pacing husband as she finished setting the table. "Either calm down or go somewhere else," she warned, placing a small vase of fresh flowers in the center of the table.
"Calm down? Calm down!? My little princess is bringing a boy home! Did you not hear her the other day? They've been dating!" Inoichi raged. He suddenly slumped into a chair. "Just how long have they been dating? Why did she just now tell us? Did she think we wouldn't approve because it's Naruto-san? Our daughter thinks we're cruel, ignorant fools!" he wailed.
Himawari eyed the pitcher of cool water sitting innocently on the countertop, contemplating whether or not spilling the water all over the table and floor would be worth the indignant spluttering and drenched, pouting face of her husband. "She doesn't have to tell us every detail of her life, you know. She's a woman now; she can handle her own affairs. Besides, I've told you time and again that there was something going on with those two. At their age, you don't hang out with a member of the opposite sex that much unless something's going on."
"She still should have told us. I mean, that's a pretty major detail," Inoichi whined. His wife smacked the back of his head with an agitated "Will you grow up already?" before stalking off to make sure that the rest of the house was tidy.
There was a knock at the door and Inoichi sprang up to answer it, but he was forcefully pushed back into his chair as Himawari passed by him on her way to the door. "I'll get it," she insisted.
Himawari opened the door to reveal two quietly bickering blonds at the doorstep. The moment they realized they were being watched, Naruto turned to Himawari with a friendly smile and held out a box to her. "I brought cake," he explained simply.
Ino rolled her eyes. They'd just turned onto her parents' street when Naruto had had an epiphany: if he brought dessert, her parents would instantly be in a good mood. So he'd run off to the nearest bakery to buy a chocolate cake. And now here they were: standing in the doorway of her parents' home with a fucking cake. Really, how stupid was he that he thought a cake would make a suitable peace offering? It didn't matter what he did to try and butter her parents up; the second they dropped the bomb, it was all going to go to Hell anyway.
Himawari smiled appreciatively and accepted the box. "Please, come in," she beseeched, stepping aside. "How have you been Naruto-san? It's been quite awhile."
"Ahaha," Naruto laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry. I've been real busy with missions, you know? But I'm doing great. How about you?"
"I suppose I shouldn't complain, so let's just leave it at I'm fine," she replied with an amused grin, leading them to the dining room/kitchen and motioning them to have a seat.
"Ino, Naruto-san," Inoichi nodded in greeting. Naruto nodded back and waved with a strained grin. Ino walked around the table and gave him a quick hug before sitting down.
"Well, now that we're all here, let's eat, shall we?" Himawari suggested. A chorus of "Itadakimasu" followed and they began to eat the various dishes set before them.
"So, Ino, how's life?" Inoichi asked to break the preceding silence.
"Pretty much the same as when I talked to you yesterday," she replied with a smirk.
"Good, good. And Naruto-san, how're you?" Inoichi continued.
"Great." For the time being. "You?"
"Well enough."
"And now that all those formalities are out of the way," Himawari interrupted smoothly, "To what do we owe your visit Ino?"
"What? A girl can't bring her boyfriend over for lunch with her parents anymore?" Ino asked evasively, bringing her glass of water to her lips.
"Of course she can, but she usually doesn't unless it's the initial meeting, a holiday, or there's some news," Himawari returned. "There's no approaching holiday and we've known Naruto-san for quite a while, which reminds me, you really should start stopping be the shop again, Naruto-san. It's always a fun day when you come to help arrange bouquets."
Naruto smiled sheepishly back. "I'll try." Ino's eyes were narrowed just barely as she looked at her mother.
"That's right," Inoichi jumped back in. "Why didn't you two tell us you were dating sooner? Just how long have you been together?"
"Uh, er, it's been nearly a year now, hasn't it?" Naruto stuttered nervously in Ino's direction. They hadn't actually discussed beforehand any of these details, so Naruto just went with what Tsunade had suggested—they'd been "dating" for as long as they'd been fooling around.
"Has it?" Ino returned, grinning wickedly. "It's seems like just the other day we were going on our first date," Ino mused with a mischievous spark in her eyes as she looked back at Naruto. Naruto managed to look only slightly horrified at the prospect of her not really playing along.
"That long? And you didn't tell us?" Inoichi looked rather distressed at this news.
"I'm sorry, Otousan," Ino consoled with a genuinely apologetic look. "We were just trying to keep it out of the spotlight, you know?" Naruto let out a relieved sigh.
"So why let the cat out of the bag now?" Himawari asked curiously. By this point, everyone had finished eating, so Himawari stood to clear the plates away and cut the cake that Naruto had brought.
"Well, we have news, as a matter of fact. And we wanted to be the ones to tell you," Ino admitted, frowning slightly at her mother. She had a sneaking suspicion that her mom already knew—damn woman's intuition.
"News? What kind of news?" Inoichi questioned, looking a little nervous. Don't tell me they're getting married. I just found out they're dating! I haven't prepared myself to give away my little princess!
"Well, me and Naruto have been together for a good while now, and we really care about each other…" Ino began, hesitating as her nerve began to falter. She had an idea of how her parents would react, and while she doubted that it would actually come down to serious violence, she wasn't one hundred percent sure that Inoichi wouldn't swing a punch Naruto's way. Plus, admitting that she was pregnant meant admitting that she was having sex. Now, sex was really nothing new to her, but her father didn't know that, and she would have preferred things stayed that way.
Himawari's brow furrowed. The way she was phrasing her words, it sounded as if they were—
"No! Absolutely not! You two aren't getting married!" Inoichi exploded, bolting out of his chair and sending it crashing to the floor.
"What? Otousan—" Ino began perplexedly, standing as well.
"You're too young! I won't allow it!"
"We're not—"
"Ah—Yamanaka-san—" Naruto cut in, "It's not what you think, really—" It's much worse.
"You!" Inoichi rounded on Naruto. "This is your fault! You're the one that talked my princess into this!"
"Otousan! We're not getting married!"
Inoichi had blocked out his daughter's shrieking though and was advancing toward a very scared looking Naruto.
"What the hell is it then?" Himawari demanded, grabbing her husband's arm to hold him back.
"I'm pregnant!" Ino exclaimed, throwing her chopsticks down on the table in her frustration.
Naruto squeaked. Himawari's grip went slack, along with her jaw. And Inoichi saw red.
A/N: Okay, so technically, it's Saturday now, but pfft. At least I updated. You have no idea just how much of a miracle that is. Now review! Please? Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
-mH
P.S. Regarding the threesome mentioned in the last part: it's actually in the works, but it's going to be like an extra side-story thing, 'cause it's actually not really relevant to the plot… I don't think I'm going to post it on either. When it's done, I'll put up a link in my profile. Until then, ciao!
