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what a cute kid—
6
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There was always this annoying habit of it getting so busy just before his shift was over. Naruto didn't really mind, really! He liked people and he liked chatting with them and it was probably his personality and his smile that made them leave behind a pretty good tip in his name.
It was just that he had so much dishes to wash before leaving. And despite what people would think because of his awesome ability to bring out multiple plates at a time, Naruto was actually pretty clumsy.
In other words, he always ended up with the entire front of his shirt wet and it left behind a rash that he hated.
So of course, when he heard the continuous ding! of his cellphone going off and notifying he had messages when he was with customers, Naruto's usually bright tanned face darkened into a deep scowl.
"Hey, tell me if the manager's coming," he called to one of the cooks as he walked into the kitchen and towards the corner by the sink where the camera didn't reach. He pulled his cellphone out of his apron's pocket and glared at the screen.
Crying Baby on a Plane
Fucking Sasuke, he hissed in his head, swiping his finger across the screen and tapping in his passcode. His chat with his idiot best friend opened and he waited to see what annoyingly, well spelt passive aggressive comment Sasuke had to say now. But there was no text, just four gray boxes in place of pictures as his phone took its sweet time to load.
Naruto looked up and observed the cooks move around, ringing the little bell and not waiting to look as the plates disappeared as the other waiters took them away.
Looking back down, Naruto was about ready to obnoxiously remind Sasuke that he had a warning on phone usage during his shift but... His brow unfurrowed and his lips softened into a neutral line before it lazily stretched into a smile.
There were four pictures in place of the four gray boxes.
Each one was of Hotaru.
The first had her dozing off in the center of Sasuke's bed, curled up and on her side with her chubby hands curled into fists.
The second had her standing up with the help of the couch. Her hands gripped the edge, fingers curled and digging into the cheap material and Naruto could see the way her knees were slightly bent, like she was struggling to keep her balance.
The third was a straight shot of her face. A little too close and only slightly blurry. She was smiling a toothless smile, Sasuke's hair half in her mouth. Her eyes were squinted and just almost closed shut and she looked so adorable, Naruto wanted to make those weird noises Ino would make when she was over and they were all watching a movie that just happened to have some romance in it.
And the fourth was a shot of her pressed against Sasuke's chest, fast asleep and with his shirt in her tight grip.
Naruto looked up at his coworkers one last time before replying with a series of emojis to express just how much these pictures brightened his day. Seriously, what had life been before Hotaru? She made everything so much better and he just... He just really wanted to keep her in his pocket.
His little pocket girl, cinnamon roll, too good and too pure for this world.
With that, Naruto put his phone away and got back to work.
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Neji had the busiest schedule of all of them, what with him being a semester and a half away from his degree and all. Work was calm and easy, despite having to deal with such outrageously uncultured, idiotic and disrespectful idiots. He liked work; it helped his brain to unwind enough after a lecture so everything soaked in and stuck. He liked that it gave him a chance to think about things and sort them all out to make life, in general, much easier.
And when work was a little too much and he was in the foulest mood, nerves all knotted and mind filled with ill thoughts, he would always drive towards the mall to have a nice cup of coffee from his favorite little shop. Once, Tenten had commented how hilarious it was for a barista to leave a coffee shop just to go drink coffee at another coffee shop. Neji insisted that once you work at a place for so long, you get tired of everything within it.
Today happened to be one of those days where all he wanted to do was watch the world burn. He was zig-zagging through the parked cars towards the entrance of the mall. His hair was up in a very messy bun with strands of hair falling out and framing his face. His jacket was left in the car, sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and shoulders far more tense than normal.
He walked passed his favorite coffee shop and continued to walk around, moving out of the way and ignoring the people around him.
He looked at the different shops and only managed to stop in front of one that had the most adorable toys he'd ever seen. Of course, Neji would never really admit they were adorable. It was just that they made him think of a certain little girl that managed to wake him up at least once with her shrilly cries in the middle of the night.
Neji looked around and then stepped right in.
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"Y'know..." Suigetsu took a bite off his pizza. "I was thinkin'..."
"That's never a good sign," Sasuke drawled, moving his knee in an up and down motion to gratify his daughter. And, to his calm satisfaction, she was as pleased as can be. Hotaru clapped her hands and did little oohs and aahs just to listen to the way her voice went funny at his movements. She was so easily entertained, it always made Sasuke smile.
"M'serious!"
"That's never a good sign either," Sasuke continued, expression impassive even as he reached for the crust of his pizza and took a bite.
Suigetsu glared at him, vacuuming his food up. "Ha. Ha. Real funny, ya jackass. Anyway. Like, I was thinkin' how we don't know when Hotaru's birthday is!"
Sasuke looked away from his idiot friend and back to the screen where Peter Pan was playing. This was something Sasuke had thought about a lot since Hotaru arrived almost three months ago. The guys had made it light, they'd celebrated on the date Hotaru became a part of the family, with homemade cupcakes and milk because they were all abstaining for the sake of taking better care of her.
But... When exactly was Hotaru's birthday?
This would be immensely easier if he had a way of contacting Kin. The least she could have done was hand him a paper with these kinds of details.
"Oi!"
Sasuke blinked and looked back towards Suigetsu.
"Did ya hear anything I said?"
"Not really"
"Tch! Yer such a little bitch, I swear."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, wondering how the hell Karin could even date someone like this fool. "Just repeat it or something."
"I asked how do you find out stuff like that?"
"Asking the mother."
"Well, like, yea', but you don't talk to whatsherface so..."
"It's fine," Sasuke sighed, leaning back in his seat and letting Hotaru push her way up his chest. "She has a doctor's appointment next week. I'll get clued in with things then."
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The following day, Sasuke walked up the walkway to his parents' house.
His mother had made it clear that she wanted Hotaru over at least once a week, not counting the times she would drop by at their place to check up on how he was handling things there. Sasuke kept trying to reassure her that everything was surprisingly under control.
The guys, stupid and annoying and pathetic and obnoxious and ridiculous as they were, helped around a lot. Suigetsu would bring in diapers and wipes from the mall, Kiba would bring all her favorite baby food, Naruto kept her things organized and Neji... filled her up with toys.
His mother managed to witness all this but... Well... Mikoto Uchiha wouldn't really be Mikoto Uchiha if she wasn't just a bit overbearing and a worrier.
So Sasuke walked up the steps to the front porch and, just as he was going to reach for the doorknob and open the door, it was opened for him. His older brother stood right in front of him, his hair pulled back and his clothes prim and proper and his eyes... set on Hotaru.
Oh.
That's right.
Itachi's been busier than normal for the past few months. What 'busier than normal' consisted of, his parents or his siblings had not event he slightest idea. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him and nearly yelped (much to his horror) when Itachi plucked Hotaru out of his arms.
"So this is my little niece," he said, holding her in front of him, with enough space between them so Hotaru could be unable to pull at his hair. "Hmmm, I thought Mom was exaggerating on the cuteness level. Seems like she still manages to be spot on."
"Are you calling my daughter cute?"
"Is that a bad thing, little brother?" Itachi blinked and looked at him from over Hotaru's head.
"No..." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "It's just weird to hear you say the word 'cute'."
"I'm sure there will be a time for me to mention how beautiful my niece is," Itachi drawled, blinking when Hotaru made fussy noises that alerted them she was going to get ready to cry. "For now," he went on, shifting her so she was close against his chest. "She is cute."
"Right... Yeah. Okay. So... Where's Mom?"
"Inside."
"Well, fuck, I didn't think of that."
Itachi looked away from his and Hotaru's staring match and looked at him. "That's alright. We all know you aren't the brightest of people. Considering, you're a single father and you're only twenty-two."
"Piss off, asshole," Sasuke sneered.
There was light laughter, next door, and they both turned and watched as two girls moved down the stairs of their porch and down the walkway. Sasuke observed them for a second, the dirty-blond girl he'd seen the last time he was here and another one... With pink hair.
He blinked for a second before turning back. "Right. So, you can hand my kid back so I can go and make Mom's life easier as I hand her over."
"Allow me," Itachi simply said and turned around.
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Hotaru is sassy baby, Mikoto has come to know.
She is just like her youngest son and her daughter; filled with attitude and constantly demanding attention. But she was so cute when she was given what she wanted. Always giving off a show to keep eyes on her, cooing and puckering her lips up. She squealed and shrieked and downright screamed. She sang and clapped her hands and reached for her toes and she was trying so hard to stand still before dropping down on her diapered butt.
All in all, Mikoto decided as she gardened with Hotaru on her lap, she was irrevocably in love with her granddaughter.
Oh, and she was so loved.
She had such a big family that just concentrated and radiated all their adoration towards her. She was so spoiled!
"Oh!" Mikoto looked down, unknowingly giving Hotaru a bigger chance to yank at her hair. "You really like to do that, don't you?"
Hotaru looked at her, eyes big and black and so bright the way Sasuke's were when he was this exact age. She brought the ends of Mikoto's dark hair into her mouth and began to suck. Despite herself, Mikoto laughed.
"Are you recognizing who I am, sweetpea?"
Hotaru gurgled.
"Yes, yes I did change your daddy's diapers."
Hotaru pulled away from her hair to give a delighted squeal, her thin lips set in a crooked smile.
"I know," Mikoto cooed. "I always tell him he should appreciate that more! Why can't he be like you, Hotaru?" She leaned down and gave her an eskimo kiss, laughing just as Hotaru let out her own, shrilly laughter.
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The sun was setting when Sasuke made his way towards his car, Hotaru half asleep in his arms. It was a warm evening so the breeze was close to nonexistent and, in its place, humidity settled. He'd already taken off Hotaru's socks and she was down to just the upper half of her little outfit.
The thing about his daughter was that she sweated a lot and she grew too warm on warm weather. His mother advised him to try his best to keep her cool and that this was completely normal for a growing baby. And then she'd go on telling him how Itachi had been the exact way and that he was such a fussy baby. Cried so much and when he was teething-
At this part, Sasuke would tune out, already knowing all the stories by memory.
He was moving to the passenger's side of the car to slip into the backseat and set Hotaru into her carseat when he paused at the neighbors opening the door again. He looked over his shoulder and watched as the pink haired girl from earlier stood just outside the door, head turned to look over her shoulder as whoever was inside finished talking.
She laughed, turning to the front so she could bend over and rest a hand on her knee to laugh.
"Alright," she gasped, straightening and waving her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow! I swear if you wake up late..."
The door closed and she hopped down the steps of the front porch. She turned her attention to him just as she was passing his car and Sasuke was going to look away and continue to ignore her existence but she had the... palest green eyes he'd ever seen...
She smiled at him and gave him a messy wave. "Cute baby!"
Sasuke turned just as she continued to walk, mumbling a quick, "Thanks..."
He stood there for a second longer, even after she got into her car and looked at herself in the rearview mirror. He only came to when Hotaru shifted in his arms, reminding him he had to get her inside and drive back home.
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Hotaru was in tears when he opened the front door of their house. The lights to the living room and the kitchen were on and the rest of his douchebag friends were loitering around. There were boxes of pizza on the counter and Sasuke eyed them for a second before he turned to the others.
Kiba appeared through the basement door, walking over to him and taking Hotaru into his arms.
"Aw, c'mon, kiddo! What're all those tears for?" He lifted her up over his head, bending his spine back and bringing her down enough so their foreheads touched but her little legs were up in the air. He brought her down and, a second later, repeated the movements. "See? That's better. No one likes a crying baby, Hotaru. Shhh."
"Why are we eating pizza again?"
"Because it's greasy ass hell and it's fuckin' delicious!" Kiba looked at him, shifting Hotaru to one of his arms and reaching over to backhand Sasuke's chest. "So dig in, douchenozzle, and shut yer trap."
"Yeah!" Suigetsu agreed from the couch, before asking Naruto to please bring him two more slices.
Naruto paused behind Kiba and leaned closer to press the tip of his nose to Hotaru's. "Where were you all day, little lady? It's late, did you know that?"
Hotaru gurgled, her nose still red from her crying and her cheeks still wet.
Laughing, Naruto continued to make his way into the kitchen. Neji came down the stairs, a DVD case in his hands. "Found it."
"Aw yeah!"
"Fucking lucky, man!"
"Dude you had better coz I have a mighty need."
"What the hell are watching?" Sasuke asked, moving to the box of pizza and reaching for a slice around Naruto's side.
"Dragon Ball Z, man!" Suigetsu called, shifting so he was in a more seated position than the slouch he'd been in. "We watched two of the movies while yer ass was out. Neji said he had this one n' we were gunna raid your room for the other ones."
Sasuke sat on the couch and spared Kiba a glance as he continued to play with Hotaru before taking his seat. She was still so sleepy, she was just fighting it. No doubt she was going to fall asleep before the opening to the movie.
"Alright, let's let movie night keep going!" Naruto cheered as he hit play.
They got comfortable, plates loaded with slices of pizza at their reach and caffeinated drinks at their sides and a sleepy baby dozing off just as Shenron the dragon appeared with the half Saiyans on his head.