Chapter Twenty-Nine
The cool air at the summit of Mount Myoboku chilled Naruto as the gentle breeze wicked away the sweat of the climb to get up to the top. He balanced on the tip of the mountain peak, seated on the balance board, and wearing only his boxers. After weeks of nonstop action, holding still and staying still in nature required almost a full day of meditation in preparation for the climb. Still, Naruto could boast that the run up the mountain trail had been his fastest time yet, and he was finding it easier to enter sage mode with minimal effort. I just wish it was as easy for Hinata.
In the three weeks since ending the Venom Scorpions and saving Grandpa, Naruto had spent most of it at Mount Myoboku to catch up for time since the prison. Sadly, Hinata had not been able to come here but a day or two in the past few weeks. Between caring for her injured father and Neji, official clan business, and preparing to host at least two wedding next month; she'd been tied up worse than when they were undercover. After three weeks of barely seeing her, his heart ached, and he hadn't been sleeping right.
Concentrate here and now, you'll see her again soon! Naruto pulled the flow of nature chakra to him, expanding his senses. Naruto sensed an odd disturbance nearby, a type of chakra signature he'd felt before but couldn't identify. He reached out, feeling the different toad sages, feeling Jiraiya and Tsunade down at the lodge, and he even sensed a familiar signature approaching up the mountain – Hinata. However, he couldn't explain the unusual tickling at the corner of his senses. It wasn't unpleasant or threatening; it just felt out of place.
"Hey, Mr. Sage," Hinata huffed as she reached the plateau below the summit.
"Hey, Purple Eyes, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" Naruto smiled ear to ear just at the sight of her in her running gear.
"Just taking in the beautiful scenery," she winked as she moved between him and his clothes. You mischievous, foxy lady! "are you still planning on coming to the oasis?"
"Oh yeah!" Naruto dismounted the board and caught it as it fell, landing in front of Hinata, "I wouldn't miss it," he winked, "after barely seeing you in the last week of training, I think some together time would be a good thing!"
"It would," Hinata's chakra signature became troubled. It wasn't that she was sad or upset, but Naruto sensed a significant degree of uncertainty.
"Babe, is something the matter?" Naruto asked.
"Not exactly," she sighed, "I don't want to spoil the long weekend trip coming up, but I think we have some things we'll need to discuss when we're away."
"I've got the time right now," he approached putting his arms around her. "Seriously, talk to me."
Before Hinata could speak, a bright flash broke the moment, startling Naruto and Hinata. "Whoa," Dad said as he appeared, "I can come back!" he laughed as he turn his back.
"Dad, it's not what you think," Naruto protested. Had he walked in on Mom and Dad like this, he too, might suppose they were up to hanky-panky.
"Right," Dad turned his back to them, "then maybe you should put some clothes on!" Awkwardly, Naruto did as suggested. "Ah, Hinata," Dad spoke up, "can I borrow my son for a bit?"
"Of course, I'll be at the base of the mountain with Jiraiya and Tsunade," she kissed Naruto on the cheek as she took off.
"She reminds me of you mom at that age, quite spirited," Dad smirked.
"You needed to talk?" Naruto asked as he let his sage mode deactivate.
"I feel like I've barely seen you the last few months," Dad kicked a stone, "Hell, I think I saw more of you here before you came home."
"It's been busy, Dad, for both of us," Naruto wondered where the conversation was going.
"Son, how serious are you with Hinata?" Dad asked as he stared down the mountain, watching Hinata fade from view. He turned back to Naruto.
"Pretty serious. I-is that a problem?"
"No, hell no," Dad laughed, "Your Mom and I already consider her our daughter-in-law as is." Dad's lips tightened into a grin, "I just remember the last time we talked about the subject was when you'd just turned thirteen."
"Dad, I know about using protection…"
"Not what I'm getting at, son," Minato raised a finger to cut him off, "Naruto, there's a lot going on, and this trip won't be entirely a pleasure trip."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, some unexpected add-ons will be joining us, and I'm not sure I'm going to have a lot of time to share with you as a result."
"You're the Hokage, Dad; do what you have to do," Naruto shrugged.
"I am the Hokage, and I am also your father," Dad's smile faded, "Right now I'd like to be the latter just a bit more than the former."
"Dad, don't give me the whole absent father routine; you were there when it counted."
"And I want to be there, especially with everything coming up."
"You mean the war?"
"Among other things," Dad stared at the ground pensively, "Listen, when we get back, I know you wanted Hinata to start training here with you."
"And?" Naruto bit his tongue. In the next sentence Dad would send him to heaven or hell.
"And I think it's a great idea," Dad paused, "with one caveat."
"Oh?" Naruto tilted his head in curiosity.
"Son, I need to train you on a few things, too," he replied. "I need to train you on Flying Thunder God Technique, for starters."
"Your signature move?"
"Naruto, ideally I'd teach it to both of you, maybe even your little brother," Dad strained, "In the event that the war comes as expected, you'll need every edge I had."
"So, you were shook up about asking to train with me?"
"I didn't want to cramp your style," Dad winked, "but there was a secondary motive."
"What?"
"This," he drew out of his pocket a black cloth containing a band of silver with an empty setting.
"What's that?" Naruto furrowed his brow.
"It was your grandma's engagement ring, your real grandma," Minato explained. "When she died, I was only about two years old. Your grandfather asked me to give it to a special woman someday." He shrugged, "Your mom and I got married in such a rush, I didn't have time to take it out of the storage unit where I kept it, and after we got married, the ring was too small." Dad eyed the ring before handing it to Naruto, "I think it should fit Hinata pretty closely."
"Dad," Naruto started, "is there something I need to know about this?"
"What do you mean," he handed Naruto the ring.
"First Uncle Hiashi gives me written permission to marry Hinata at will, and then you give me Grandma's old engagement ring," Naruto swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "am I missing something?"
"Something like what?"
"Dad, I know Himawari came back in time," Naruto's toes curled in his boots, "Did she tell you something bad was going to happen to you or Hiashi?"
"No," Dad protested, "Son, I didn't mean to scare you at all, I just… I…" Dad stood thoughtfully, collecting his thoughts, "I just knew you had taken some pretty big milestones together," he explained, "After Hiashi gave you his permission, I talked with your mom, and she thought it would be wise to give you ours, if you want it."
"I do, but Dad…"
"Yes, son?"
"I love Hinata, but I'm not sure either of us is ready to be married yet." Naruto stared at his father desperately. "I mean, I know she is the one, but…"
"Naruto, if you're not ready, I understand," he nodded, "I just want you to know it is there for when you are." Minato chuckled, "Speaking from experience, I know how these things can happen unexpectedly." Dad's watched beeped, "Speaking of, it's time to go; you ready?"
"My go bag is at the foot of the mountain," Naruto nodded.
"Then here we go!" Dad transported them to the foot of the mountain and then to Suna.
The Kazekage's private oasis was a sprawling, lush estate amidst the scrub of the eastern Sunan Desert. While every effort had been made to make them feel comfortable, Minato was keenly aware of the heavy security detachment Gaara had brought with.
"Do you remember the last time we did anything remotely this decadent," Kushina asked from the neighboring massage table. The terrace spa offered a gorgeous open-air view of the desert landscape and mountains from under sunshades. A well-built massage therapist stretched and moved her like modelling clay using a shiatsu-style massage. Minato, meanwhile preferred a less-rigorous hot stone massage, easing the tension of his back after many long years as Hokage.
"I remember," he smirked, "Naruto and Hinata were both three, and Hiashi insisted he and Akemi look after the kids while we took a date night – repayment for saving Hinata if memory serves."
"Our first date night in three years at that point," she chuckled, "but I was thinking about the one a few weeks after Naruto left for Mount Myoboku," her red lips tightened softly.
Minato felt his relevant anatomy press into the table. Oh my! "I remember it well!" he giggled. Even with the fertility issues they'd had in the past, Minato was surprised they hadn't turned Naruto into a big brother after that particularly wild night.
"Minato, promise me we're going to have time this weekend beyond just this," Kushina pleaded.
"I promise," he turned his head to lock eyes with her. Damn, I'm a lucky man! "I'd be a fool to let this weekend pass us by without some time for just the two of us," he winked, "the jacuzzi in our room alone dictates that we put it to good use!"
Kushina playfully shushed him, "Not too loudly!" she turned pink with delight.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Shikamaru asked as he followed Temari up the mountain trail in the dark.
"Look, crybaby, I told you, I've been up this mountain a million times!" she traced the trail with her flashlight.
"How many of them were in the dark?" he huffed, feeling the cold of the desert night trying to cut through his skin.
"All right, let's not get technical!" she pushed past the subject.
Shikamaru eyed the oasis in the distance, nighttime lighting was still plainly visible against the moonless backdrop. "Where are we going, anyway?" he asked.
"I told you, I wanted to show you something amazing," she groaned as she huffed along.
"If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was invite me to your room," he complained.
"Don't let your ego get too big," she quipped, "I am not bringing you out here to have sex!"
Well, that sucks! After burying Hidan, Shikamaru returned to let Kurenai know it was okay to come out of hiding. After that, his parents demanded he come home and stay home for at least a week. After being largely on his own, he chaffed being back at his parents' house – it didn't help that Temari had gone back to Suna ahead of the scheduled visit. While glad to see her, Shikamaru still couldn't make sense of his situation with Temari. He did love her, but he was unsure how the hell they would be able to take things from there. He was sixteen, almost seventeen, and she was nineteen, going to be twenty just before her turned seventeen. Technically, that makes her a cradle robber!
While indulging in his amusement, Shikamaru managed to trip over an errant rock and stumble forward. Temari's strong arms blocked him from cracking his head open over the trail. "Would you like me to carry you, too?" she laughed the way only she could – acidic, but strangely charming.
"You would like that, perv!"
"Perv!?" she looked mock-aghast, "Little ole me?!" she grinned.
"I seem to remember someone's wandering hand on my ass as she carried me out of training ground forty-four!" he resumed climbing the trail.
"So, that was your boner poking me in the shoulder," her grin reflected in the starlight, "tell me, first time?" Shikamaru kept his lips shut, not wanting to give her ammunition. "Oh?" she seemed genuinely surprised, "It really was?"
"I'm sure it happened before," he groaned.
"Haha!" Temari laughed loud enough to cause desert animals to flee. "I knew it!"
"Say it a bit louder, I don't think they heard you back at the bottom of the mountain!"
"Oh, come off it," she waved a hand, "the closest people are my bodyguards at the base of the mountain. They know how to keep quiet!"
"That's not very reassuring," he crossed his arms as they reach the top of the trail. "Is this it?"
"Yup," she slapped him on the back and continued to walk toward the far end of the plateau. Temari turned off her flashlight, momentarily blinding him until his eyes adjusted to only starlight. My god! Shikamaru stared into the heavens, speechless at a view even the best planetarium could never hope to replicate. "When I was little, my father sometimes took me up here on a moonless night like tonight," she checked her watch, then unrolled her sleeping back, "You might want to get ready; the show starts soon!"
For years, Shikamaru longed to have an unfiltered view like this. "To what do I owe this honor?" he asked as he unrolled his bag next to her. His heart began jumping in anticipation from what was about to happen.
"Your lazy bum hasn't done anything particular," she teased, "I just thought it would be a lot better to go stargazing with company that could appreciate the view!" She sprawled out with her hands under the back of her head and looked skyward.
With no good retort, Shikamaru sprawled out and took in the view of a million stars painted across the midnight sky. "This is real," he said breathlessly as the beauty of the sky overcame him. Streaks of white and iridescent green light danced across the sky. He'd only ever seen recordings of a meteor shower; he had always wanted to come someplace dark enough to see one for real. "Temari…" he whispered.
Temari's hand, calloused by years of combat and gymnastic drills found his in the dark and squeezed. Of all unexpected things, Temari had tears running from her eyes as she watched the marvel of the meteor shower. She squeezed his hand tighter.
Shikamaru slowly massaged the space between the bones of her hand with his thumb. As he did, Temari began crying with real intensity. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.
"When I was little, Father took me up here to see the stars," she cried. "I never thought I'd ever do this again after Mom died!" Crying became full sobbing.
"Temari, if this is causing you pain…"
"No, Shikamaru!" she wiped away tears, "Please, you're the only one I feel safe with up here! I-I want to be able to come up here again, to see this again, to not be haunted by my father!" she began sobbing again.
"Hey," Shikamaru put his arms around Temari, hugging her face to his chest. After all they'd been through, providing comfort was still a stumbling block for him. "Hey, it's okay, Temari, I'm here." He wished he sounded confident in his word. He let her cry as much as she needed into his chest as he snaked a hand up her back and gently ran his fingers through her sand-blonde hair. "Temari…" he whispered softly, "… I'm sorry I suck so bad at this."
"You're doing just fine," she heaved, pulling herself up to kiss him.
Something about Temari's kiss spread calming warmth down Shikamaru's back all the way to his toes despite the cold desert night. Even in this state, her kiss made him feel like a billion yen. Shikamaru wiped away her tears as she squeezed him tighter. Addicted to her warmth, Shikamaru slowly pressed open her mouth and invaded her with his tongue. His hand traced down from her hair, slowly working the muscles of her neck and back as he migrated down. She briefly broke from him, "You're horny, aren't you!" she laughed breathlessly.
"Maybe a bit," he laughed, dizzy from sucking face. His fingers traced down to her butt, "does it show?" He squeezed playfully.
Temari ground her hips against his, "Damn right it does!" She laughed and kissed him again. Shikamaru's fingers squeezed her well-formed rump as he rolled her to her back, freeing his other hand. Good intentions now gone away, Shikamaru used his unoccupied hand to trace from the side of her cheek, to her neck, and within the folds of her robe until he was under her bra, gently massaging her left breast.
Her head arched back as he massaged back and forth, "You know, I didn't bring you out here to have sex!" she heaved lustily.
Shikamaru licked gently along her neck at first; then he began sucking hickeys in her neck until he reached the ear, "I could stop…" he teased as his fingers traced over her nipple.
"Don't you dare!" she growled as she gripped his ponytail, "Seduce away!"
Shikamaru loosened her black robes until they were wide open, and his lips migrated to her chest as his hands fumbled with her bra. "Your brothers won't kill me for this?"
"It's none of their business," she gasped. "I'm older than either of them, and you and I are adults!" Her bra slid off, and his lips began scanning her now liberated breasts, "Shikamaru, what do you want from this?" she asked.
"Beyond making love to you under starlight?" he said as he kissed his way breast to breast, occasionally kissing down her stomach. "What do you want?" he deflected the question.
"I asked first!" she moaned.
"You're not making this easy!" his lips continued their lecherous deeds and his fingers began tugging at her shorts.
"Never!" she laughed as her hands yanked at his jacket and shirt. Shikamaru obliged her by letting both slip away without a fight. "Now spill it!"
"Honestly, I'm not sure," he massaged her thigh, preparing to resume his mission, "Temari, I love you, and every moment I'm apart from you hurts. That's a new thing for me."
"I was worried it was just me," she tugged at her shorts, shedding them, "As for love, I wouldn't be up here doing this with you if I didn't love you." Her fingers traced down his abs until she was fumbling with his belt and the button and zipper to his pants. Shikamaru, far from being nervous, eagerly yanked away the last of his clothing until he was naked beside her.
Unlike last time, he was in a position to pleasure her, and I took full advantage as he spread her open, tracing fingers over her pleasure zone. "I could see us doing more than this," he increased his pressure and tempo.
"Do tell!" she moaned.
"Someday, I could see us together, permanently," Shikamaru slid a finger inside her, confirming she was good to go.
"I'm not ready to have kids just yet," she laughed, "but I won't say no to someday after all we've been through." She grinned wickedly, "Now get in here!"
Shikamaru smirked, reaching for his pants and the condoms he had in the cargo pocket, "Yes, your highness!" He quickly made ready and slid into her with little resistance. "Ah!" they moaned in unison. "So tell me," he asked, "how long do we want to be two horny adults before doing the responsible thing and get married someday?"
"Shikamaru?"
"Yes?"
She clamped her legs around him, squeezing him deep inside her, "You talk too much!"
Shikamaru closed his mouth into a wry smile as he moved back and forth inside Temari. Right as always, troublesome woman! I guess dad was right about men being nothing without women! Shikamaru gently chewed his bottom lip as he moved back and forth, committing to memory all the spots that made her moan the loudest.
"Hinata… Hinata…" the voice called out from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
"Hello!" she called back, scanning her surroundings. Wherever she was, it was thickly wooded.
"Hinata!" the familiar voice moaned.
"Sasuke!" she scanned furiously with her Byakugan through the familiar, dense woodland. How the hell did I get into the border region?! She pushed her confusion to the side as she desperately raced to rescue the friend she'd left behind. "Sasuke! I'm coming!" she ran in the direction of his chakra signature.
"Hinata…" his voice grew weaker as she drew closer.
"Sasuke, hang on!" She vaulted over a fallen tree to arrive at his side.
Sasuke lay prone, injuries covering the left side of his body. The left side of his face was warped and cratered like Obito's right side. "Hinata… why did you… leave me!" he gasped as he went limp
"SASUKE!" she opened her mouth to scream but only a choked moan came out. Hinata flailed about in the darkness as his chakra signature rapidly went dark. Soon, the darkness of the woods swallowed her whole until she shot upright in her king-sized bed at the Kazekage's Oasis.
Hinata heaved in and out for several moments as sweat beaded down her body. Hinata couldn't stop shaking as she scanned furiously with her Byakugan. There was no sign that Sasuke was here or had ever been here as she scanned for even the slightest thing out of place. Her head flopped back on the pillow, closing her eyes, but she did not deactivate her Byakugan. The paranoid part of her that had kept her alive through several missions dictated that she methodically search the whole area.
Unfortunately, she wished she hadn't – several couples were engaged in hanky-panky. Minato and Kushina were in the throes of passion, and Jiraiya and Tsuande appeared to have recently finished. Neither Shikamaru nor Temari were anywhere in the compound, hinting they'd gone elsewhere to have a frolic. When her Byakugan came to Sai's room, Hinata froze. He was sketching a lovely model posing over armchair, enjoying what looked like a lively conversation with his model – the model was Ino, and she was naked. Those two!
Hinata sensed a solitary presence outside in the garden – Naruto. He wore his black lounge pants and a bathrobe, and he was sipping what looked like hot tea from an ornate teacup. Hinata let her Byakugan down, returning to normal vision. She could go out and talk with him, but he also might be looking for alone time. Do you really think he wouldn't like to see you?
Hinata threw off her blanket and retrieved a long bathrobe to wear over the short nightgown she wore – the same purple and amethyst gown she wore on New Year's with Naruto. The memory heated her; she had been having nightmares then, too. Being next to him made them vanish. She closed her robe, opened the double doors to the garden, and stepped out into the cool night air.
As she gently stepped across the stone steps between planters, she noticed Naruto had his eyes closed, perhaps in meditation. "Hello, purple eyes," Naruto greeted, opening his eyes.
"Na-Naruto?" she gasped with a mild shock.
He blinked with golden Sage Mode eyes, "I sensed you coming," he blinked back to normal blue eyes, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to spook you," he giggled. "Why are you up?"
"I had a bad dream," she sighed, "What about you?"
"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged, sipping the tea, "After a few months of sharing that small bed in the safehouse or sleeping on a mat at Mount Myoboku, the king-sized bed in my room felt…"
"Empty?" she completed the thought for him.
"About right," he shrugged. "I though some fresh air and some chrysanthemum tea would do me some good." He shook his head, "I'm glad you came along."
"Me?" she brought her hand to her chest.
"I could sense something amiss; I almost went to wake you up. Anything you need to talk about?" he stared, concerned.
"I…" she paused, hoping he'd understand, "it was my nightmare I'd been having about Sasuke. I find him wounded, dying in the woods, and he expires just as I reach him," she stared to cry, "Every time, he asks me why I left him behind!"
"Hinata," Naruto set his tea on the side of a stone planter, "you can't blame yourself." He brought his arms around her.
"I left him, Naruto!"
"Hinata, he wandered off and got in over his head," he protested,
"Had I just looked harder, spent more time searching! I…"
He paused her words, taking her chin in his hand, "Hinata look at me," he commanded. Hinata indeed stared into his nighttime sapphire eyes. "Assuming he got taken by someone like Obito, he could have been there one minute and gone hundreds of miles away in the blink of an eye," Naruto gently rubbed her chin. "You can't keep blaming yourself." His fingers traced down through her hair, as if he were trying to lull her back to sleep.
Hinata rested her head on his chest and shoulder, breathing in the cool night air in a vain effort to cool herself. "N-Naruto?"
"Yes, love?" he continued to trace her hair with one hand as his other worked the muscles of her back and shoulders.
"C-can-can I sleep with you tonight?" she stammered, "I don't think I'll be able to get to sleep any other way tonight."
"Are you sure?" his arms tightened around her slightly.
"The nightmares," she hugged him closer, enjoying the feel of his chiseled body on hers, "they don't happen when you're with me." She stared up into his eyes, pleading, "Please, protect me tonight."
Naruto's lip tightened slightly to one side; he hugged her to him and brought his lips to her ear, "You make the act of sleeping with you sound so noble; how could I resist?" He gently chewed her ear. "But tell me, why do you want to sleep with me and not the other way around?"
"We'll both get a lot less flak if I'm found in your room than if you're found mine," she shivered as goosebumps sprouted throughout her body.
"There is that, too," he let her ear go and stared eye to eye with her, "Come to bed," he guided her toward his room. When they arrived, he closed the double doors to the garden, bathing them in shadow. While Naruto clearly needed time to adapt his eyes to the near total darkness, Hinata watched as he navigated to the closet, undid his robe and hung it in the closet. Her perfect night vision gave her ample opportunity to marvel at the bands of muscle in his back, chest, and arms.
Naruto pulled back the already skewed bedspread, "Coming?"
Hinata felt the room heating up at the question, and her hand moved over her chest. Her fluttering heart charged at her ribcage as she slid the heavier bathrobe off and walked to the bed. Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, holding out a hand blindly. Hinata reached her hand out to his, shivering as he took his firm, warm hand. "I'm here, love."
"You certainly are," his lips tightened as his hand slipped around the small of her back. Naruto flopped backwards, pulling her down over top of him, giggling gleefully as he did so.
"Na-Naruto!" she exclaimed as he tickled her sides. Hinata quickly put a hand over her mouth to stifle here howling laughter. Finding a break in between fits of laughter and the shivers caused by his fingers, Hinata spoke, "You teenaged horndog! Someone will hear us!"
Naruto's fingers paused their tickling but stayed at her sides, "I never get sick of hearing that from you!" he whispered. "Can I tell you a secret?"
"S-sure!" she sprawled herself over top of him.
Naruto pulled her down again into his strong arms, his mouth by her ear, "I was hoping you'd find your way here since we arrived," his left hand began massaging her thigh, "I know you had something you wanted to talk about before we left," his hand slithered up, under the elastic of her underwear. "What was it?" his hand began caressing her ass, pressure seesawing from firm and passionate to feathery and playful.
"Na-Naruto!" her hips bucked at the naughty contact. In addition to the body shakes, she now had to contend with being wet. Hinata quaked violently as she latched herself to his body, kissing up his chest. Half of her wanted to ignore the question, strip off their remaining layers, and enjoy their first night together since their first time. The other half knew that dancing around the question wouldn't make it go away. "N-Naruto, what…"
"Yes?" he grinned like a fox as he continued to stroke, now reaching his hand up and over her panties' waistband, pushing them downward.
"What do you think about getting married?" she blurted out, wishing she could recall the words.
"Interesting…" Naruto rolled them to their sides, but his lecherous paws did not even slow down at their naughty deeds. He traced along her glutes, tickling her, "… what brought this up? You're the third, and most important person to bring this up." Naruto's grin retreated into concern and his hand went from playful to comforting. "Talk to me. You're not concerned about us doing it without being married, right?"
"No," she struggled not to laugh due to his tickling hand.
"You're not sick of me touching you every chance I get, are you?" he gasped as he began to withdraw his hand, a twinkling in his eye hinted it was in jest.
"No, dammit!" she grabbed Naruto's hand and firmly reseated it on her butt. "Touch me all you want, whenever you want," she gasped, struggling to remain focused on the question over her own lustful intentions.
"Then what is going on that I don't know about?" Naruto asked, full of concern.
"N-Naruto, after we got back from rescuing Jiraiya and stopping Hidan, father pleaded with me to marry you sooner rather than later…" Hinata gauged Naruto's shocked reaction.
"Go on," he beckoned.
"Father confided in me…" Hinata sniffled, "… Naruto, you remember the photo of the future your dad showed us?" He nodded. "Na-Naruto, did you not notice…" tears choked her voice, "n-none of my family are in it! Not Neji, Father, Hanabi, nor Mom!"
"Hey, hey," Naruto pulled her body to body with him, "Hinata, you can't take it as too much; Konohmaru isn't in the photo," he wiped away her tears.
"B-but what if…"
"Shhhh…" he hushed her gently. Naruto's hand began tracing up and down her slowly, over the nightgown and first, but soon he was under it, tracing her bare spine. Electricity flowed through her body as his touch wandered along her length, "You're forgetting a critical detail about the photo, Hinata," he whispered to her ear.
"Wh-what's that?" warmth began overcoming her.
Naruto grinned, "No one in the photo was holding a remote control of any kind." His hand again began massaging lower, pressing down her bunched panties.
"So?" she asked.
"So, the photo wasn't completely level, either. Someone was holding the camera."
"But that could have been Konohamaru!" she protested
Naruto kissed her lips gently, "Or it could be your father, or your mother, or Neji; heck, anyone could be holding it and we have no way of knowing!" her panties slid past her knees. "Fretting about the future that is not yet written won't make things better. We can't keep looking to it for answers."
Hinata's thundering heart slowed at Naruto's conviction. "You're right, ya know," Hinata kicked off her panties the little distance they had left. "But back to the question," her arms snaked around him, feeling better they'd confronted the issue.
"I personally say we're not ready, not yet," he said.
"You know," Hinata sat up, tugging at her short nightgown, "if we get married you could have this every night!" Hinata laughed like a wicked witch entrancing a hapless victim as she slipped off her nightgown and ditched her bra as well. "But, I agree, I do feel kind of young to get married, much less have kids… you do still want little ones someday, right?"
"Babe," he rolled her to her back, straddling over her, "we lose all of this if we don't someday, I just figured we'd wait until we were our parents' age when they had us." Naruto eyed her curiously, "Do you think our parents did this at our age?"
"Your parents are doing it right now," Hinata winked.
"I did not need to know that!" he laughed.
"Did I…" she ran her hands down his abs, "make you lose interest," her hand slipped beneath the waistband of his pajama pants. Far from being turned off, Naruto was ready. "Oh, my," she winked, "somebody is ready to practice for marriage!" her other hand began drawing down his pajama pants, rubbing his toned derriere as she did so. "Please tell me you came prepared this time," she bit her lip.
Naruto slipped his hand under the pillow she was laying on, "A shinobi always comes prepared for anything," he extracted an array of condoms.
Hinata pursed her lips and winked, "Planning on a few encore performances?"
"I've been dreaming of this ever since we woke up the morning after our first time!" He tore the wrapper of a condom and rolled it on.
"It shows," Hinata giggled, "come closer." Naruto grinned at her statement. "Perv!" she teased, playfully slapping his well-formed ass as he climbed between her legs.
"Ah, chapter fourteen from Make Out Tactics?" he giggled.
Hinata turned pink at the reference, "I am not doing that!"
"Really?" he grinned, pressing himself against her until he entered her in a smooth, swift motion. "Kurama once told me you fantasized about a few things from that chapter," chuckled as he moved back and forth slowly.
That naughty fox! Hinata sensed Kyuubi rolling on his back in laughter. "Don't worry," Naruto tapped a finger on Hinata's nose, "it will be our little secret!"
"It better be!" she gently slapped him on the rump again. Naruto pushed in with a bit more force, eliciting a moan. "My perv!" Her hands moved up to his back, pulling him closer, "I love you!"
"I love you, too!"
Hello all, thank you for reading. You may notice I published this a bit early. I apologize if this seems incomplete, but I had multiple crises at work this week. I had to cut an entire POV due to time restrictions. Fear not, I will have it added in next week's chapter; be ready for a probably unexpected surprise (there is a clue in this chapter as to what it is) Until then, stay healthy, stay safe, and I'll see you all next week! Stay classy!