.
.
"I don't want our son to be a shinobi."
Rin turns to look at him. Obito is lying on his side, contemplative and quiet. His fingers gently card through her hair.
Rin settles against him. "What if he wants to be a shinobi?" she asks.
"Then I'd support him. But I'd still be worried about him."
Rin rests her head against his chest. His body is warm and firm and she feels his arms tighten around her. "What would you want him to be, if not a shinobi?"
"I don't know," Obito says. "Maybe an engineer or an architect. Or maybe a chef," he says, and Rin laughs softly at this - neither of them are very good at cooking, both because of extenuating circumstances.
Rin smiles. "I think I wouldn't mind if our son were a chef," she says.
In the bassinet, the baby is sleeping. His little rosebud lips are parted and his little hands are curled into tiny fists above his head. "It's cute how babies sleep like that," Rin had said, and they both watched their son sleeping, the rise and fall of his belly as he breathed quietly.
"I just want him to be safe," Obito says. He turns on his side, searching her eyes. "I don't want him to have to fight. He shouldn't have to just because he was born in this village."
"You want him to have other opportunities," Rin says, understanding. Obito nods quietly.
"Sometimes, I think about what I did to Kushina-san and Sensei, and I just get so ashamed," Obito says. "I think of you and the baby dying and I don't know what I'd do. I think I'd die if I lost you two."
"Don't think about that," Rin says, and Obito's eyes are dark and shining. Her thumb gently wipes back the wetness. "Our baby is fine. I'm fine. You're going to change the curriculum and the kids will have a real education."
"I hope so." He pulls her close against his chest.
He never thought he could love anyone as much as he loves the baby and Rin. It's as if his heart is outside his body. When Rin died, it was like a gaping hole had opened up in his chest, and he had to kill that part of himself that mourned her, lest he stopped moving forward. It hurt too much to think about her. The wound was so deep he could hardly breathe.
They fall into a restless sleep, the night quiet except for the sounds of insects rustling outside. Every so often, Obito will jerk awake, and find comfort in Rin's body curled next to his. He twines his fingers around hers in the darkness, keeping her close as he settles back to sleep.