Ah yes, Today is actual Hinata's birthday, and here's the chapter to celebrate… Hinata's birthday…

Totally planned.

…

She was staring at herself in the mirror, playing with the layers of her dress to make them lay right.

It was mostly red, the warmest red you could imagine. A deep rosewood red color, that matched rather well with her complexion and hair. The top was velvet, so every time she rubbed her arms for warmth the fabric would look disturbed in that one area. She had to remind herself to also be smoothing it out. It dropped down lower than most of her dresses, to the middle of her sternum. The back dropped in between her shoulder blades, about the same cut as the front.

Like all her dresses did now, it changed right under her chest to something not as form-fitting. There was a gold ribbon that shimmered with her movement tied underneath her chest, forming a large bow on her back. After that, the dress sprayed out in layers of tulle that matched the color on top. She had grown used to the style, but still thought that she looked like a cupcake from certain angles.

Finally, her hair. Her bangs were fluffed out more than normal, but didn't change much of their appearance. The front of her hair still hung down, straight, next to her face. The rest was pulled back, a pin with two stars and small curls held in place on the left. Once it all met on the back of her head, it cascaded down the rest of the way, raised up a few inches from its normal length.

And at the very top was her crown.

She had gotten used to the difference in size compared to her old one, but she still wasn't used to wearing it. She never had many opportunities to. She wore it not even monthly. Only few ceremonies and occasions called for it, and this so happens to be one.

It's not like every day was her birthday.

"Quit looking at yourself, you look fine." Naruto told her, coming to stand next to her in the small mirror of the waiting room.

She smiled at him, admiring how regal he looked. No matter what he would tell anyone, he always pulled off whatever clothing 'he had to wear.' Mostly fancy jackets and uncomfortable shoes. The vest always had to match as well. They were wearing matching colors, red and gold. On his head as his own crown, a much different shape than hers was. The queens were simple, elegant, one precise shape. His was complicated, sharp, and even jagged. It looked like silver diamonds of alternating sizes were put together- large, small, large, small, large, small- with blue gems inside the middle of each one. He wore it back on his head more than Hiashi did, and it just seemed to suit him so well.

If you ever said such a thing to him, he would argue the complete opposite for hours.

He took her hand in his own, letting out a content sigh as they continued to stare at each other's reflections.

"I think we both look nice." She stated confidently.

Naruto turned in, looking at the real her instead of her reflection, smiling at her.

"It's not hard for you." Naruto told her.

He put a foot forward to close the space in between them, wanting to kiss her forehead, but he ran into something else first.

He hit her stomach before he could kiss her forehead.

He still made sure to kiss her before commenting on it, not missing the chance.

"That's a first." He commented with a laugh.

"Yeah… sorry about that." She laughed lightheartedly. He just shook his head with a smile, putting a hand on the bump he had run into, patting her dress down.

"You know you're going to have to hive her back one day." He commented.

Hinata laughed at his antics before placing her own kiss on him.

…

"Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru turned his head towards whoever was calling for him. He was surprised he heard it through the crowds of people gathered in the ballroom, each having their own conversations. Different people from all walks of life were laughing, bellowing, catching up on times they were apart, anything they could think of. He was trying to catch up to Hanabi. This was her first formal party and he wanted to make sure she didn't mess anything up.

But now Shikamaru's attention was solely on the girl that was trying to weasel her way through the crowds towards him.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" He asked as she got closer to him.

He had known Sakura from training, but never talked to her outside of that. Hinata considered her to be one of her closest friends.

She pushed through the last people with a huff, straightening her dress out. It was blue.

"Well… kind of. I couldn't get an answer from Tsunade, so I'm hoping you would know anything." She premised.

Shikamaru crossed his arms. If Tsunade couldn't say, why did she think that he would?

"What is it?"

Sakura cleared her throat before starting.

"It's just that every time I stop by to catch up with the two of them, Hinata mainly, she can't." Sakura stated with a sigh. "We used to catch up every week and we would just talk about whatever we wanted to, just me and her. I mean it's not like it's something big and elaborate we must plan for. I get that she's the ruler of a country and things come up, but even during the summer she always had time. Nowadays I barely even see either one of them."

Shikamaru nodded, knowing the real reason being that since they were both so close to Sakura the secret would easily be spilled. They both acted much more casually around her. Shikamaru knew they could only keep it hidden for another month or so, but it wasn't his place to tell her anything.

"Well… they've just had a lot of visitors lately. They constantly have to host them. It's a pain for me too." Shikamaru lied.

"Hm…" Sakura groaned, folding her arms. She was going to reply with something, but a banging noise interrupted her thoughts.

It interrupted everyone else's as well, as the room fell silent. It came from the top of the staircase in the ballroom. A smaller guard, in full uniform, was the one that made the sound. It was a large staff that he hit on the ground. Sakura thought it looked like marble.

He didn't say anything, but instead gestured to the two workers fancily clad behind him. They were both standing in front of one door from a double set. Once they got the message they reached for the handles, slowly pulling them open.

And then out stepped Naruto and Hinata.

"Well that's a lovely color on both of them, don't you think?" Sakura overheard from the crowd.

"Her hair is always so flattering."

"His eyes are so blue I can see them from here."

"Are they going to do a dance? I sure hope so."

Were all among other things that Sakura overheard as she watched them descend the staircase, Hinata linked in his arm. She noticed that they were talking to each other, leaning back and forth. She wondered to herself what they were talking about.

"Hinata, if you aren't feeling up to it, we don't have to do the first dance." He told her. She didn't know that he had already worked it out with the live musicians that they might not be doing it. They were ready for either, depending on if they stopped in the middle of the room or not.

Hinata smiled at him. "I'm fine to do it. I'm actually rather excited about tonight."

Naruto nodded his head. "Well not every day is your birthday." He told her as they got to the bottom of the staircase.

Hinata takes a deep breath before they begin, silently thanking herself for opting for the lower shoes this year. She does a slight nod to the musicians in the corner, allowing them to start.

The dance goes better than any they had done so far. She was smiling practically the entire time, which made him do the same in return. No step was missed by either one of them, every turn was right, and they were never offbeat.

She did admit to herself that she was much more tired than she thought she would be.

Naruto hugged her as best he could, thanking her for dancing with him as the musicians changed the song. Soon various other couples and royalty were on the floor, dancing either for fun or because they felt they had to. Naruto knew they would be swamped in just seconds with people greeting them.

The first of which was Hanabi.

"Hinata! Do you see this giant pile over here?!" Hanabi asked her, pointing off in a direction of the ballroom. She looked over and noticed all the elaborately wrapped items in baskets, boxes, ribbons and bows. She was honestly a bit confused.

"Are they- "

"They're all presents people brought for you!" Hanabi interrupted.

Hinata heard Naruto laugh as he observed the pile, and Hinata just looked confused.

"Why did… why did people bring presents?" she asked quietly, not understanding.

"Because it's your birthday, people give presents." Naruto told her, surprised by her confusion.

"Really? None of my other birthdays had presents. Well, except for that lovely cupcake." She admitted, still craving for another one a year later.

Hanabi grabbed her sisters arm, pulling her in the direction.

"C'mon! Let's go look at them all!" She exclaimed as she drug her sister away from where she was.

"Ah, wait Hanabi!" Hinata yelled at her as they both disappeared in that direction Naruto still laughing.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was.

"Ah! Sakura, I'm glad you made it!" He greeted her, accepting the hug she was offering with a smile.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" she stated as he turned back forward. She watched as a line of people seemed to start in front of him, all wanting to shake his hand.

Sakura looked over the crowd and observed that a similar thing was happening next to Hinata, much to Hanabi's dislike.

"It must be fun with the both of them around, huh? Hinata and Hanabi both." Sakura asked him, watching as Hanabi huffed while waiting for her sister.

Naruto glanced over in that direction, shaking someone else's hand.

"Ah, never can catch a break with either one." He commented, angling his head back towards her.

"That's a different style dress than Hinata normally wears, they usually flare out in a different place." Sakura noted.

Naruto thought it was insane that people noticed that, let alone commented on it.

But he calmly responded to her comment.

"She just likes that style recently."

In his mind, he congratulated himself on how natural it sounded.

She kept watching Hinata, she had a small conversation with one of the people that came over to greet her, a smile never leaving her face. They talked only for about thirty seconds, and he bowed to her when they were done. Hinata bowed back.

And Sakura breathed in sharply.

If she didn't know Hinata, if this was the first time she had ever seen Hinata then she would not have even noticed the difference, but when she bowed back, the fabric of her dress gathered rather strangely under her, making her look almost-

She shook the thought, not wanting to draw conclusions that weren't there. It was a different style than normal, so that might be why. It was just cut differently, that's all.

Sakura turned her attention back to Naruto, helping her think of something else.

"Ah… This is the first time I've seen you wear your crown." She commented, hoping he could hear her.

He shook someone else's hand, seeming to be the last person for now. He turned over to her.

"Yeah, it's heavy but I have to wear it." He told her with a sigh.

"Well I think it looks rather nice. Helps keep your hair in place."

Naruto chuckled.

"Nothing can do that." He simply stated.

Sakura could see out of the corner of her eye that Hinata was coming back this direction. She nudged her head in that direction, telling Naruto to turn around.

He turned around to greet her, kissing her forehead for the second time tonight, stretching his neck more to do it.

"Sakura, how have you been?" Hinata asked, noting their friend's presence behind them.

"Oh, you know… the same as I always have." She laughed awkwardly, never having a good answer for that question.

"Well, as long as that isn't a complaint." Hinata commented, a bit worried.

"Oh, it's not!" Sakura assured her. Hinata smiled.

"That's good to hear." She commented before turning to Naruto.

"Would you like to dance?" she asked him. He smiled and leaned down next to her ear and whispered something that Sakura couldn't hear. Hinata just laughed at whatever he said.

"Yes, don't worry." She replied to him before taking his hand in beat with the song.

Sakura watched as they joined in with everyone else that was dancing, enjoying their time together. She still couldn't get over how much they loved each other constantly. In conversations, in glances, touches, or gestures. Everything just seemed to say 'I love you'.

Someone cleared their throat next to Sakura.

She turned her head towards the man whose hand was outstretched towards her, his back slightly bent.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

She didn't know the man, had no indicator of who he was, but she didn't want to just stand there and watch everyone else.

She put her hand in his.

"That sounds nice."

…..

Sakura had found that most royal festivities were the same. There was dancing- with the host performing the first of the evening- then they ate, and after that dancing resumed until the hosts retired, then everyone went home for the night. She honestly thought it was rather predictable.

When the music died down, she knew it was phase two of the night. Everyone clapped for the musicians, thanking them for playing, before they crowd shifted their way towards the dining area. This year it was different, there were only two spots at the head table. She assumed it was for Naruto and Hinata.

On her invitation, it told her where to sit. Table 1 seat 4. While the tables weren't marked, it was obvious to her which tables were what number. The closest to the couple was one, and beyond that she didn't need to know.

Tsunade was sat second at the table, and Hanabi was first. She could only assume that the third seat was for Shikamaru, if the pattern fit. She nodded to Hanabi and took her seat next to Tsunade, opposite of the empty chair that was supposedly Shikamaru's.

She looked around the room, wondering where he was even at. Most people were already in their seats, but he was still standing, talking to someone. She didn't recognize the girl at all, but they seemed to be talking rather heavily about something.

Naruto approached him, talking to him about something she couldn't hear.

He coughed to clear his throat.

"Shikamaru." He stated, making sure to be behind him. He flinched at Naruto's voice, stopping whatever he was saying to the woman.

She actually spoke first.

"Oh! I'm so sorry for occupying him too long. Please forgive me." She stated with a bow of humility. Naruto chuckled, accepting her apologies.

"It's no worries, but you should go find your seat." Naruto told her, putting a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder to turn him towards his own seat.

"Ah, yes. I will do that." She said rather hurried. Naruto had a hint about what he interrupted, but didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

She turned around and walked hurriedly over to her seat, feeling embarrassed.

Naruto and Shikamaru started walking in the direction of their own.

"So, ah… who was that?" Naruto asked him. "It's unlike you to be so distracted. The music stopped playing five minutes ago."

"She just some woman, I don't even remember her name." Shikamaru admitted casually. "And she just kept talking and talking that I couldn't get away. Now it's just a pain because we're the last to sit down."

"Ah, well I'll be sure to tell her that she needs to stop talking so much to you." Naruto tried to bait.

"What? Don't tell Temari that, that'd just be more troublesome." Shikamaru replied as they got to his table.

He took the bait.

"I thought you said you didn't remember her name? And you we're also doing a fair bit of talking with her- it wasn't just her." Naruto commented, feeling proud that he had caught Shikamaru in something.

"I don't know what you mean." Shikamaru said calmly, taking his seat. Naruto just rolled his eyes as he leaned down next to him.

"I notice things others don't." Naruto smirked before leaving.

Sakura, Tsunade, and Hanabi all we're staring at him, wondering what conversation they just heard the last of.

"What…did he mean by that?" Sakura asked him.

Shikamaru just sighed.

"It means he's getting smarter."

Naruto walked the few feet it was to his spot next to his already seated wife, who was echoing a look like the table's that he just left.

"What was that about?" She asked him as he sat down.

"It seems that my advisor has a thing for the Wind King's sister." He laughed, adjusting himself in his chair.

"You don't mean… Temari?" She asked, hesitant if that was her name.

"Mmmhm. He never talks to anyone for that long about anything. Ever." Naruto explained.

"Hm, interesting. I wonder how that will play out." Hinata commented, noticing that Shikamaru was looking off in her direction across the room.

The wait staff came by, dropping food off left and right around everyone. They skipped the King and Queen as was tradition for them to be served last. Meals were served from the last table, up. By the time that Sakura got her food, it was only a minute before the head table got theirs.

She noticed that Hinata went to take a drink from her glass- it being crystal like everyone else's. But she didn't drink it. She sniffed it instead, taking in whatever smell it was giving off. After a moment to ponder the smell, she turned to Naruto, telling him something that she couldn't hear. His response wasn't much better, but she could see him say 'I'm sorry.' She just smiled at him.

When the wait staff put down the plate of food in front of her, she stopped him. He bowed to her, taking her glass.

The entire room started eating now, since they were both served, but Sakura just kept watching. She was curious about what was wrong with her drink. It looked like wine just like everyone else's. Maybe something was in it? Or the glass was dirty? Something just drew her to know. She rolled with the motions of eating her food- a lovely roasted duck- but her eyes never yielded from their fixed spot.

Then the waiter reappeared, holding a glass in his hand, bowing as he sat it down next to her. It wasn't wine, at least not the wine she had before. It was more brown, more transparent. It even looked to be steaming with heat. If Sakura had to guess she would think it was tea.

She broke away from her stare, looking down at her own plate. She knew that Hinata loved wine, why wouldn't she drink it? Sakura's own tasted wonderful it was a shame if Hinata didn't like it. The last time she substituted tea for wine was the last night they were around each other. Because of her refusal to drink, Sakura had the entire bottle. It was all because Hinata was being careful in case she…

Sakura paused, halting her fork.

Her eyes widened. Surely that couldn't, be it? Maybe she was still just being careful. But then what about what she saw earlier with her dress? No, that was just the dress doing it, not her body. Besides, Hinata would have told her. I mean, Sakura would understand the two of them not telling the public, but its not like they were avoiding her so that they wouldn't…

Hinata got up from her chair, turning to Naruto. He nodded at whatever she had said. Sakura didn't know when she also stood up, but she started moving as Hinata was walking down the ballroom, towards a small side exit.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tsunade asked her, confused by the sudden movement.

"Oh," Sakura started walking backwards. "I just realized that I have something reaaally important to tell Hinata." She lied.

Thankfully Hinata wasn't in too much of a hurry for Sakura to catch up with her.

"Hinata!" She called to her after closing the distance. Hinata turned around, greeting her with a curious smile.

"Ah, I was heading to use the restroom, did you need something?" she asked, unsure of Sakura's intentions.

Sakura started walking in pace with her towards the exit, putting a smile on her face.

"I just needed to go as well." She lied again, honestly just wanting time to talk with her.

"I see, well if you want I can show you." She offered.

"Oh, that'd be great!" she exclaimed, opening the side exit of the ballroom.

They walked down the hallway, where the windows were open. The cool breeze filling in from the night air. Hinata stopped for a moment to look at the open windows, and Sakura tried to find just what she was looking at.

"This is my favorite place in the castle." Hinata admitted before continuing down the hallway.

"Really? You've never mentioned it before." Sakura told her.

"Oh, the view is just lovely during the fall, with all the leaves changing. My sister and I used to play in this hallway, since it was barely used in the day to day of the castle. Our mother would sit on the ledge there and read, keeping an eye on the two of us playing." Hinata explained.

"That sounds nice." She admitted. Sakura always wondered about what having siblings would be like.

"Mmhm, it's also…" She shook her head with a laugh. "It's also where he first kissed me." She admitted, blushing as she said it.

"What?! You never told me that!" Sakura exclaimed. "I didn't know he was so romantic." She mumbled.

"Oh, when he tries its rather…bad. Sweet and nice, but usually doesn't end up working out." But when it's in the moment and offhand, those are incredible." She confessed, seeming to daydream.

Sakura gave her a sly look.

"Ah! Sorry for going on like that, I'm sure you don't want to hear those kinds of things." She apologized. Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile.

They continued walking down the hall, turning the corner. Sakura thought that they must be going to the restroom that only she and him could use… and Sakura since she knew where it was.

"So… any updates on your issue?" Sakura asked.

"What issue?" Hinata asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

"You know, the whole 'producing an heir' thing you were so stressed about last time we talked." Sakura answered.

She could see Hinata's face change from relaxed to nervous.

"Oh, w-why do you ask that?" Hinata muttered, slowing down her pace.

"Because you were so worked up about it, I want to know if anything else has happened. I'm your friend after all." Sakura told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Even if Sakura was wrong and Hinata wasn't pregnant, she still wanted to be there for her since it was something she was worrying about.

Hinata chewed her lip as she looked at Sakura's expression. It was so honest and caring, she truly wanted to know. She even remembered what they talked about months ago,. She debated it in her head, knowing they couldn't keep the secret much longer. Sakura was her closest friend, and she had been dying to share some excitement with somebody.

Hinata held her breath, looking down the hallway both ways, noting that no one was there. She grabbed Sakura's hand, walking down just a few feet to the nursemaids' hallway, an area that blended in so well with the wall it looked like there wasn't even a door there to begin with. She slipped both her and Sakura inside, turning on the small lamp that hung from the ceiling.

Sakura looked around her in shock. Her surroundings changed so much in such a small amount of time, and she didn't even know this room existed.

"Where… are we?" Sakura asked, observing the low ceiling, narrow hallway, and shelving that had towels, dusters, and various other cleaning supplies on them.

"It's a nursemaids' closet, but that's not important right now." Hinata told her, barely able to contain her own excite.

Sakura gave her a curious look. She was hiding her own excitement better than Hinata was.

She cleared her throat.

"You can't tell anyone you know this, not a soul. There are only three other people that know this aside from me and Naruto. I really mean it, not anyone." Hinata told her firmly, making sure she got her word.

"I promise, not a single person will know." Sakura assured her.

Hinata gave her a happy sigh, relieved to get her word. For some reason, Sakura made her think back to when she was younger and did get excited about things, like toys and vacations. It made her feel like a little girl.

"So" she took a deep breath. "I don't have to worry about that issue anymore because we're-"

"You're having a kid!" Sakura exclaimed, clasping her hands around Hinata's. "Ah! Oh, my god this is incredible! I-I-I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner, this is just such big news! I'm so happy for you two this is just insane! Oh goodness you have to tell me ever-"

Hinata shushed her to quiet her down, but even Hinata was smiling at the excitement.

"You have to keep quiet, I can't have the whole castle knowing!" She whispered.

"Right, right, I'm sorry!" Sakura replied, matching her volume.

She took a deep breath.

"One question at a time." She breathed out. "How far?"

"Four months." Hinata confidently answered.

"Can I" Sakura held up her hand. "Feel?"

Hinata smiled, nodding her head.

Sakura's face lit up as she moved her hand on to her friend, meeting her rounded stomach much sooner than she anticipated.

"Oooh this is so exciting!" She exclaimed, doing small jumps in excitement.

"Only me, Naruto, Tsunade, Shikamaru, and Hanabi know." She said, holding up a finger for every person. "And now you." She smiled, holding up her index finger on her other hand.

"I have so many other questions to ask!" Sakura commented. Hinata laughed at her enthusiasm, but put her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"I don't think we have time since we've been gone for a while already." Hinata told her, watching Sakura's shoulders sink.

"…But you can come by tomorrow and ask all you want." Hinata offered, knowing that would be better than talking in a closet.

"Yes! Count me in!"

….

They never went to the bathroom. Their detour took too long and Hinata just decided to skip it. She returned to the ballroom as everyone was finishing their food. They both took their respective seats.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked as she sat down, continuing her meal where she left off.

"Well… she wanted to catch up and I sort of…"

"You told her, didn't you?" Naruto concluded.

"Yeah, I did." Hinata confirmed, feeling a bit embarrassed that she spilled the secret. "But she promised not to tell anyone, not a soul."

Naruto sighed, moving his chair out from behind him.

"I knew we'd end up telling her at some point, I'm just anticipating the earful from her about waiting so long. Shikamaru didn't give me one too bad, so I can only assume that it's all going to come from her." He commented, standing up fully.

"What are you doing?" she asked, not knowing why he was standing.

"I want to give a toast."

"You wrote something?" she asked him.

"Nope."

Before Hinata could respond, he cleared his throat. Silence swept the room like a chill, to where the sound of a pin dropping would be deafening.

'Alright, just don't forget what you know.' He thought to himself.

This was the first time he had spoken in front of any crowd, not really having a need to until now. Even then this was something he just decided as he saw Hinata walking back to her seat. He breathed in deep.

"You all may not know Hinata as well as I know her, but let me tell you that no one is more deserving of being celebrated than she is. Her accomplishments are plenty, her talents are countless, and above everything she remains humbled. She is above no one else in her mind, but in mine… She's first, and she always will be. Even if it's not your birthday, every day your happiness goes above mine. You are nothing short of amazing. So, to this birthday, and many more to come, I drink."

Everyone else drank before applauding. He waved his hand as he sat back down, thanking them.

Hinata turned in to him.

"Not bad for your first time not planning a speech." She admitted with a laugh. "It was lovely."

Naruto chuckled, leaning in to meet her.

"I learned from the best."

….

Did I not publish this yesterday just so I could publish it today on Hinata's actual birthday? Yes, yes I did. Did I plan this entire arc, even the story itself so that this would fall on her actual birthday? Nay, I did not. I did start writing it on Naruto's birthday though, and that was on purpose. Anyway, this is to really sink in the relationship that Sakura has with them, since she's more relevant later, as well as just some nice times. Also my wedding colors are red and gold that's why they're wearing it fight me.