Notes: Apparently, August 8th was declared Hug no Hi in Japan because the number eight is "ha" and a version of nine is "gu." Naturally, Twitter exploded with lots of artwork featuring characters hugging. I was inspired by the wonderful fanart and wanted to join in the celebration. This is my contribution to the hug fest: a short little story featuring the Uzumakis.
He was having trouble deciding whether hugging her from the front was better or whether hugging her from behind was.
Naruto watched Hinata as she stood in the living room, her eyes on the children playing outside in the yard. She was smiling, but he knew this was particularly bittersweet. And it wasn't just for her—for him, too.
The smile never left her face even as he heard Boruto instructing Himawari to lift her leg higher to aim a proper kick.
"Good one, Hima!" he was yelling excitedly. "If you lean back with your torso, you should be able to hit Kawaki in the arm!"
"Haaah?! Why do I have to be the training dummy?!"
"You're taller," came Boruto's disgruntled voice. "We need to practice on an enemy who might pick on her at school."
"It's not going to happen if I'm there with her, dumbass." Kawaki's voice was lethal and full of promise. "No one will bully her if they see me around."
"Yeah, yeah," retorted Boruto. "This is for those 'just in case' situations when you're not."
Kawaki grunted. "Fine. Go ahead then, Himawari. Like Boruto said, lean back and then snap your leg quickly forward."
There was a tinkling laugh in answer. "Nii-chan-tachi! I'm ready! Here I come!"
Hinata's shoulders started to droop.
Right. Back hug it is.
Either way, just plain hugging was good enough for him.
He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her, his hands settling in front of her, at her tummy, and his chin settled on top of her hair.
Naruto smiled, thinking that this, the top of her head, was his personal placeholder. He liked resting his chin on her head whenever he hugged her. He always got a kick knowing he was the only person who could do this with her—oh, wait. He frowned. Maybe Kiba and Shino, too, he admitted to himself grudgingly. Those two were the only guys he knew that Hinata was comfortable enough to hug.
Still, he was pretty sure his hug was different from theirs.
She sighed and wound her arms tighter around his.
"I can't believe how big they've gotten."
"Me, too, Hinata."
Naruto gazed at his children and felt a burst of pride.
He'd known, of course, that they would all choose to be shinobi. There had never been any doubt in his mind.
Hinata, he knew, had expected it, too. But it was just taking longer for her to get used to the idea. While he'd settled into his role as Hokage, as being the protector of Konoha, Hinata had remained the protector of the family. Her steady influence had kept him and the children afloat as they'd all struggled to adjust to changes that had happened in all their lives. She was the crutch who kept everyone focused, she with her encouragement and cheerful optimism.
But next week, Himawari was entering the Ninja Academy. Kawaki, meanwhile, was on a secret mission.
And Hinata's role had to be shared with others, with Shino and Iruka-sensei, with the rest of the instructors at the academy.
"Everything's changing," she murmured, still hugging him and looking at the children. "I just feel like things are going too fast."
"I know, Hinata. I feel the same way."
After that, there was nothing else to say. Instead, the two of them settled into comfortable silence, content to watch their healthy, happy children play outside in the home the two of them had built.
Naruto leaned in, pressed his nose to her hair and breathed in her scent. Yup. She was still the same Hinata. She, meanwhile, shifted in his arms and leaned back so she was settled more comfortably against him.
He would never get tired of these moments, of sharing a hug with his wife. All these years together...
Still locked in that hug, he held Hinata even as the memories flooded him and he reminisced about how their hugs had changed over time, too.
The first time he'd done it, he hadn't been able to control himself. It was the night of their first date when he'd walked her home after having ramen at Ichiraku. He hadn't been looking forward to saying good-bye to her, but the promise of a second date had quickly blasted away the melancholy of parting from her.
Naruto had been so giddy with joy, he'd reached for her and lifted her off her feet, squishing her close to his body.
She'd squeaked in surprise and he'd been about to put her back down to apologize, but he'd felt her arms grip him, had felt her sweetly whisper his name into his neck. Instead, he continued to hold her, pressing her so close into his body until one of her cousins had come out to check on them and had noisily cleared his throat, forcing Hinata and Naruto to break apart from the hug.
Even though Naruto wanted to, he hadn't kissed her that night. Still, the memory of their first hug had kept him going until they'd shared their first kiss.
That had started with a hug, too, when he'd been holding her and his lips had naturally fallen against her temple, her hair. And his mouth had instinctively drifted lower, down her cheek, until Hinata had turned her head, tilted her face up and met his seeking mouth with her own.
Then of course, there were the hugs that happened when the clothes came off. Those were pretty special, too.
In the present, Naruto grinned to himself. No need to remind Hinata of those moments. It would only embarrass her. But maybe later on…tonight. He would remind her of those memories.
Throughout their relationship, he discovered that there were different kinds of hugs: the side hug, the one-armed hug, the hug from the back, the awkward back-patting hug, the holy-shit-I-fucked-up-and-I'm-so-sorry-please-forgive-me-hug, the squishy bear hug, and of course, the sexy hugs.
When Hinata got pregnant, there was a different kind of joy in knowing that in her belly, their child was growing. Something he liked to do was use her expanding belly to measure the distance between them whenever he hugged her from the front. Even as he ran his palms lovingly over the curve of her stomach, Hinata would tease him about his loose arms not being able to hug her properly. That was when he'd relied on the back hugs the most.
When Boruto was born, the one-armed hug came into play. He would hold his son in one arm, while the other wrapped around his wife. And good thing, too, that he had strength because his little boy liked to squirm and twist around in his arm like he was a gymnast.
When Himawari came, he found his arms—and his life so full—he almost couldn't believe it. Still, he managed to hug all three of them, discovering that yes, his arms were long enough to wrap them in his love.
Then, of course, with Kawaki, Naruto found it fitting that a hug cemented the boy's status as part of the Uzumaki family. It was one-armed, too. But despite that, Naruto had held on to Kawaki, felt the heavy breathing slowly calm down as the panic faded within him. All the while, they waited for the fear to subside, for the reassurance to seep into the younger man while they stood surrounded by the flowers in Ino's shop.
And then when the children had grown up, Naruto had used the fatherly hug to annoy the boys even if they secretly enjoyed it. He always shook his head and smiled to himself whenever Kawaki and Boruto pretended that it was a pain in the ass to be hugged by their father. Still, he did it anyway, because he noticed that every time he released them from his embrace, they were the ones who reluctantly pulled away slowly.
But Himawari had firmly cemented herself in his heart as his little girl. She was never going to grow up; she was his forever princess. She still continued to hug him, her sweet face lighting up with joy every time he returned her embrace.
Although sometimes, he suspected that she only did it because Himawari felt sorry for him and was trying to make him feel better. She'd developed her mother's sensitivity, knowing her father was trying to hold back from smothering his boys with over-protectiveness. Somehow, Himawari knew that Naruto was trying to give his sons the space to become the men they were meant to be. Boys their age still hid their feelings and never showed honesty in how they felt, still trying to be cool to impress others but not themselves.
How different Boruto and Kawaki were from him. In his youth, Naruto had never minded that he was so open with his feelings and how blunt he'd been in letting others know.
Ah, but. It was a good thing. His children were normal and very much loved. And as a parent, he was proud of that. As Hokage, he was even happier that he'd created the world they'd grown up in.
But then there was the one hug that always felt special, the one that came directly from Hinata. Hers progressed slowly while his were inspired by quick bursts of emotion. Whenever he felt like it, he would always reach over and just embrace everyone. It was simple and instantaneous.
Hinata always began her hug with her hands, a gentle palm on the back, the arm, the shoulder, the neck. And then one arm would reach over slowly, her small hand would slide under his arms and meet its pair behind his back or over his belly button. Then she would lean into his front or back and then sigh, whispering his name. Maybe it had something to do with her Hyuuga taijutsu training, her style of hugging, but it was the best feeling in the world.
She did so now, slowly turning away from the window, twirling in the circle of his arms to face him and look up into his smiling face.
"The children have grown," she said with her gentle smile. "But we have, too."
He could only laugh because she was right. "Yeah."
Then once more, they folded into each other, squeezing each other with affection.
But the moment was broken when the children burst into the room now that they were done with their practice outside.
"Bleagh!" Boruto shouted when he saw them still fused together. "Tou-chan! Not again!"
"Oh, yay! Group hug!" Himawari squealed when she saw the way her parents were standing so close to each other.
She then grabbed both her brothers' hands and dragged them towards where Hinata and Naruto stood.
Naruto grinned down at her and read the silent message in her eyes.
"Right you are, Hima!"
He opened his arms wide and Hinata stepped aside to make room for everyone just as Himawari pushed the protesting Kawaki and Boruto into their parents' arms. She joined them a moment later in time for Kurama to flare up and wrap everyone in a warm, burning hug.