Holy smokes! This one got away from me XD Apparently, when it's self discrimination, insecurities, negatives, etc, I can almost just keep going but hopefully you enjoy the long chapter!

The first thing Naruto was aware of was how comfortably warm he was. The second thing he became aware of was that he was curled around and holding something. Something that seemed both soft and hard at the same time. The third thing he became aware of was the massive pounding of his brain against his skull and the cottonmouth feel in his mouth.

Grimacing, Naruto tightened his hold on the thing in his arms as his recollection of the previous night started to filter in. When did he get to bed? When had he fallen asleep? His last clear memory was of the small menaces daring him and Sasuke into the closet.

Closet? Just as the memory surfaced, the scent of vanilla and cedar rose to his nose. Without thinking about it, Naruto turned his face into fluffiness which the scent came from. Where did he know that perfect blend of scents? Hinata? No, that's not right.

Sasuke?

Opening one eye, the blonde was greeted by raven colored hair. Suppressing the surprised jump, Naruto felt the regret, guilt, pleasure and satisfaction slam into all at once while he verified his bedmate.

He took a few more minutes to enjoy the feel of his oldest friend against him. At the same time, he accessed his situation. Sasuke would kill him if he woke up tangled the way he was with the blonde. Not to mention, Naruto knew his morning wood would definitely be noticed if Sasuke was to wake. However, it pleased Naruto that Sasuke seemed quite dead to the world, laying on his right side, gently clinging to Naruto's arm in his sleep. Even to this day, Naruto knew Sasuke had a hard time fully relaxing so he was grateful the Uchiha felt comfortable enough to let his guard down.

Very gently, Naruto unraveled his legs from Sasuke and gave a silent cheer when the man did not wake. Though it didn't last long as the uchiha gave a huff of displeasure that caused Naruto's lips to twitch. However the dark haired man simply let Naruto go as he muttered something to the effect of don't go long even as he turned onto his back, almost as if Sasuke knew it would no longer be guarded.

The sight made Naruto smile even as he ignored the stabs of guilt in his chest. If Sasuke hadn't been keeping track of time, Naruto would have made a mistake. A large one, no matter how willing his best friend had been. Hinata didn't deserve that.

Pursing his lips together, Naruto walked out of the room and as quietly as he could closed the door behind him. He stared at the door for a moment, his mind whirling with thoughts but quiet all the same.

Back then, he hadn't understood what he felt for Sasuke. Back then, he had thought that what he felt was normal. The rivalry, the warmth, the gut wrenching sorrow when Sasuke had left and the need to get him back, no matter what. Sasuke was the first person past Iruka to accept him. How could he just leave the boy to his pain? He couldn't. Naruto understood, first hand, what it was like to be alone. Back then, Naruto had been willing to do anything to receive acknowledgement. So he had taken so much abuse by the time he had become a genin. Physical, sexual, emotional. It hadn't mattered much until he had been able to at least fight back seriously. It had only been then that all the abuse had stopped. It turned out that bullies didn't like it when you broke something even after being kicked down.

If he could save the one person who had acknowledged him when he had needed it most (Afterall, Iruka could only do so much), then Naruto would have done anything to save his best friend. Except he hadn't been able to save him. It never bode well for the blonde when he got stuck in his own head.

Turning from the door, the blonde Hokage went in search of their children. In Sarada's room, Naruto found all three children passed out in the same bed. Boruto laid in the middle on his back, mouth wide open and drool hanging down one corner. On his left, laid Mitsuki who was on his side facing Boruto. His light blue hair lay much like a halo around the boy's head creating an innocence in the boy's face that made it difficult to associate him as Orochimaru's son. One of his hands was wrapped in Boruto's hand almost as if each boy didn't want to let the other go. In Mitsuki's other hand where it rested on Boruto's stomach, his fingers laced with Sasuke's daughter. On Boruto's right side, the blonde boy had his arm wrapped around the dark haired girl and her head rested on his chest. Sarada's other hand raised from underneath her to lace fingers with the blonde.

Naruto stared at the picture laid before him and he could feel his heart in his throat. He wasn't blind. He knew what the kids were up to. Though it had been Mitsuki that had clued him in. He thought back to the previous day when the genin had approached him.

"Hokage-sama, may I ask for some of your time?"

Looking up from his paperwork at the sound of Boruto's teammate's voice, Naruto grinned. "Mitsuki! What's up?"

The boy shifted where he stood, almost as if he was uncertain. In a way, his quiet ways reminded him both of Sasuke and Shino. However, the boy squared his shoulders and started with "Team 7 would officially like to invite you to a night of games with us and Sasuke-san!"

Unable to help his laughter, Naruto agreed to such plans but then the light blue haired genin shifted again. "Also, I wanted to ask for your advice."

Naruto nodded his head in encouragement for the boy to continue. However, the genin turned slightly pink before Naruto barely heard "Nara-san, may I have some privacy?"

The Hokage looked up at his ever present aid who sighed, and muttered "troublesome" as he walked out. Both Naruto and Mitsuki watched the nara until he closed the door behind him. Then Mitsuki actually fidgeted for a moment.

"Is there something wrong with liking someone who is the same gender? I asked my parent but Orochimaru was not helpful."

Naruto managed to suppress his surprise and was able to keep his expression neutral. "Not at all," the blonde answered. "I don't think gender matters if you can find someone who you truly like. It's an amazing thing to find. The people who you want in your life will accept you if they truly love you. You shouldn't let something like gender stop you."

"Then why did you let it stop you'" Mitsuki asked, his head tilting just slightly. Naruto recognized that look. It was the look of a person who has a puzzle that they can't solve. Someone who was trying to make the pieces fit. "What if I have two people who make me feel this?"

Naruto decided to ignore the first question. "Life is difficult enough with just one. My previous suggestion still stands. I've heard of arrangements where one person has more than one partner, but I don't know much about that one. Just that it can be done with time, work and effort on all sides."

Looking back at the conversation, Naruto wondered if Mitsuki had been speaking about his team. Shikamaru had interrupted and the Hokage had been given a reprieve, but he wondered how long it would last.

Naruto stepped backwards, closing the bedroom door behind him. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. In fact, by the time he could get rid of the cottonmouth, he had drunk 3 glasses of water. By his fourth glass, the blonde found himself staring at the flow of water, his ears straining to hear sounds from around the house. After a few minutes, Naruto turned off the water and simply placed the cup in the sink, but his gaze remained empty as he stared at nothing.

What a hypocrite he was. Naruto had chosen the coward's way and he knew it. After the war, he had started his studying for chunin ranks, Sasuke had gone through his trials, and before he knew it, Naruto could hear the whispers. He would study, take missions, marry, be Hokage and be happy. Soon enough, Hinata's interest had been known and since Sasuke had decided to travel to repent, Naruto had buckled under everyone's attention, demands, and their pressure.

By the time Naruto understood that what he felt for Sasuke would always be more than how he felt for Hinata. The woman barely held a candle to how he had felt about his teammate. Except his bravery had failed him when he needed it most, and so he did what he was told. Before he knew it, Sasuke and Sakura had had Sarada, and then Hinata had Boruto, then Himawari. It ashamed and disgusted him to admit that he had always been drunk when he slept with Hinata and could only get hard when he imagined his dark haired male teammate.

As a result, Naruto allowed his work to swallow him. If he was always working… If he was always neck deep in work then he wouldn't have to go home. If he didn't go home, then he wouldn't be faced with his failure. The failure of not being able to love his wife the way she loved him. The failure of not being able to give Hinata what she deserved.

How should he explain this to Hinata? What did he say? To Hinata? To Sasuke? To Sakura? Turning his gaze to the walls that separated him from Sasuke. Even after all these years, the feelings that he held close to his heart had never faded. A part of him had hoped that he had misunderstood his feelings, once he had realized what they were. However, Naruto had been sorely disappointed when they seemed to swell each time the other man returned from his long missions.

"-ruto?"

A soft feminine voice broke through his haze and Naruto blinked several times before his wife's image cleared and he was brought back to the present. He looked around as he was unsure how he even got there. He didn't remember ever leaving Sasuke's place. In place of his teammate's living room, stood his wife at their front door, looking at Naruto with concern. The sun was low enough that the sky was only beginning to turn blue so it wasn't surprising to find Hinata awake. He knew that she was an early bird, even now.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, bringing up a hand to touch him. However when he flinched away, her hand froze midair before falling to her side. When Naruto refused to meet her eyes, Hinata pursed her lips together before turning around and opening the door. "Come in Naruto-kun," she said softly, hoping to entice him. "I'll get you some tea before you start your day."

Silently, Naruto followed his wife into their home, but as he passed the family photos on the walls from the door to the living room, he felt the knife in his gut twist in regret some more. Hinata had given him a family. A home to call his own when he had never known one growing up. Even though he had yet to speak to her, Hinata never demanded he speak up again. She had always been that way though. Soft, understanding, gentle, patient, etc. Hinata always seemed to take Naruto's moods as they came, never struggling to understand him when everyone else seemed not to. There really wasn't anyone better that Naruto would have preferred to mother his children. She was one of the best people that Naruto could say he had the honor of knowing.

Hinata set a cup of tea on the table in front him before taking a seat across the table. Even then, she didn't say anything. She simply looked him over while Naruto avoided her direct gaze. After what felt like an eternity (though Naruto acknowledged it was probably only a few seconds, a couple of minutes tops), Hinata put her glass down and smiled at him.

"I see."

Startled, Naruto looked up at his wife and felt his eyes widen even more as he took in the woman before him. She was sitting in her chair with her back straight, her hands wrapped around the cup and her front end hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her lavender eyes seemed to look right through him and Naruto felt her sad gaze to his core even though her expression was still soft.

She knew.

"Y-You knew," he asked, his voice trembling as he pushed the words out, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Hinata nodded her head as she answered him. "Yes. I've always known that it would happen one day. However I made a choice to be selfish and have simply been waiting for you to make your decision."

"How?"

Hinata chuckled softly before turning her gaze down to her tea. "Kiba. He and Shino surprised me with a visit the other day and asked me questions that had me by surprise. I figured if that airhead could see that there were problems, it meant that you were coming around. Kiba asked me that day "When will you stop settling for less than what you deserve?" I admit that I have often wondered that same question. I made the decision that it would be the day that you decided you could come to terms with your feelings with Sasuke-kun."

Naruto stared at his wife in amazement. The blonde had no idea his wife's old teammates had come around. He recalled how Kiba used to feel Hinata and had often throughout the years had felt bad until Kiba had seemed to finally started to look at other women. However, the question was an excellent one. When had Hinata become so mature? She always seemed to be one step ahead of him, even in the past. Was it that obvious? How he felt about Sasuke?

When Hinata looked back up at him, he found himself strangely lighter, more relaxed than he had in a long time. In fact, so did Hinata as she spoke, "I have loved you for as long as I can remember, and Naruto-kun, I've always known that it was always Sasuke-kun. I hope you can forgive me for being selfish for so long instead of encouraging you to follow your heart, just as you always have."

Naruto protested loudly and quickly as he came to his feet. "NEVER! Hinata! You have nothing to apologize for! If anything, it should be me apologizing for not being able to love you the way you deserve!"

Hinata, simply smiled at him, a sad, quiet acceptance in her eyes. She had known. She said she had always known. She came to her feet as well, walking around the table and taking Naruto's real hand into her own. She turned his palm up and gently pressed a kiss to the center. "How about we agree to forgive each other and move on? You gave me two beautiful children Naruto-kun, that I wouldn't replace them for anything. You loved me with what you could, and I took what you were willing to give. So going forward, I'll support you with Sasuke-kun, and when I find someone, you support me with that person?"

Naruto stared at her for several seconds and she watched as tears welled in his eyes until there were pools and small streams down his face. He nodded his agreement but gathered Hinata into his arms where he rested his head on her shoulder. He felt her reach up and stroke his head though it wasn't long before he felt her tears on his hair/cheek.

She had given him everything.

Maybe one day, someone would give her everything in his place.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm actually really satisfied with how this one came out. Hinata really is one of the best characters I know in the whole series. I hope I did her justice 3 stay safe out there!