Hinata felt slight panic run through her as she watched Naruto split through the market to get to her. She looked back toward her home. It would be rude to run from him. She huffed and waited for him to reach her. "Hinata, can I talk to you, please?"

She chewed on her lip, looking to the side. "Yeah, I'm just shopping."

Naruto gave her a grateful smile. He did seem to notice she looked uncomfortable. "Let me buy you lunch, and we'll just talk." She nodded in agreement.

To her surprise, he ordered their meals to go, and they sat in an area away from the market and, she was sure, away from prying ears. She was grateful that he had this discretion. She was sure a younger Naruto would have had the decision right there in the market. He had grown.

Naruto picked at his food in the to-go cup, silently avoiding eye contact as he collected his thoughts. "Sakura told me what happened." He finally let out.

She stayed silent, giving him time to make his thoughts nibbling at her food.

"I think I…, no I know I overreacted." He sighed. "Big time." He added, setting his food to the side. She stared at the abandoned cup, uncomfortable. Had she ever seen him so worried he couldn't eat. "Both when I found out about the first pregnancy and when she told me she couldn't have more." He rubbed the back of his head. "She suggested we get a surrogate and said she had mentioned it to you."

Hinata closed her eyes, irritated that Sakura had mentioned her specifically, but there was nothing she could about that now. She waited in the pause for him to ask.

He puffed out a breath. "I don't want it to be you."

Hinata looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Hinata, I know that all this hasn't been easy on you or Sasuke. I know Sasuke isn't my biggest fan right now, or… ever, and I know Sakura is by far his least favorite person in the village." He mumbled. "And I know what she has been doing to you and him, and I don't like it. I think she has taken whatever grudge, or whatever it is she has on you two too far, whether it is some flame she has for Sasuke or some resentment to you for marrying him or something else entirely." He gave a frustrated sigh and ruffled the back of his hair. "And I know you used to like me, and having my child…" He trailed. "It's all wrong. I couldn't ask it of you. We can find something else."

Hinata stared at him for a moment, he had really thought about this, and his reasons were so centered against him. Her heart swelled with admiration. This is why she had liked him so much. He was the bigger person when it came right down to it. He wasn't siding with his wife because she was his wife. He had looked at all that had happened and concluded that it wasn't right and then made sure that she knew. He hadn't changed at all with time. He only grew more into the leader that he was born to be.

Hinata looked down and licked her lips nervously. Did she tell him? He was so honest with her. It wasn't fair to keep it to herself. "I'm glad you came to that decision."

"You wouldn't do it, would you?" He wondered honestly.

"I'm sorry. I was going to have to turn you down if you asked." She looked down and fidgeted with the handle of her grocery bag. "I feel sympathy for your situation. It's unfortunate and unfair. I know that it's a heartbreaking and difficult place to be, and I promise my decision has nothing to do with how I felt or feel about you or Sakura, or our pasts together, or what she had done."

"Sasuke said, no?" Naruto tried to fill in the blanks.

"Uh no." She shrank. "I decided before he could make up his mind." She admitted and closed her eyes as she poured her heart out. "I don't honestly think I could surrogate before having my own children. I look at the nursery and think about the fact that Sasuke and I built that, and we had wanted to place our child in it, and then I think about how that almost happened and…." She held back tears and took in a heavy breath. "I don't have the strength to bear someone else's child when I know he wants to be a father." She whispered. "I couldn't watch him watch me. No matter how strong he would act, I know it would hurt him."

Naruto nodded, and his face twisted with hers feeling her pain. "I get it."

"I hope for the best for you, and I feel bad for you and Sakura-chan, but I have to think of my own family first." She declared with a crack in her voice.

"Thank you for at least thinking about it." He patted her shoulder and picked back up his food. "I think I don't need a surrogate anyway."

She looked up in confusion as his face lightened at his thoughts.

"I was an orphan. We have an orphanage. Why not take in a kid or two before having my own?" He grinned from ear to ear at his idea. "I'm sure the Uzumaki bloodline can wait."

She smiled. Always the hero, even though he wasn't trying to be.

"That took much longer than I thought it would." Sasuke idly commented, taking the bags. "Was the market busy?"

"I had lunch, Naruto-sama." He set the bags down on the counter and looked at her with a raised eyebrow for further explanation.

"He wanted to tell me he didn't want me to be their surrogate. He didn't feel comfortable with it after all we have been through. In fact, he thinks that they would be adopting first before they try to make their own." She explained with a heartwarming smile.

Sasuke set his hands on the counter and thought about his answer. "That's... very adult of him." He admitted, putting away the groceries.

She joined him fiddling through groceries. "I never did let you say what you thought." She prodded.

"You never told me your reasoning for deciding against it." He countered.

"True. I'll tell you if you tell me." She offered, puffing her cheeks out at him, trying to be cute.

He stopped looking down at her and rolling his eyes at her attempt with a small smile. "I… I wouldn't have liked it. However, I wouldn't have stopped you if you had wanted to do it." He sighed, leaning over her as she rested her hip on the counter. He didn't focus on her face. He looked to the side thoughtfully. "I know that you like to help." He paused. "But, I think giving your body for 9 months to someone who I think doesn't deserve it would get on my nerves. I would hate that even more because I know you would notice, and it would add stress that you wouldn't need while pregnant." She frowned, looking up at him with her heart aching. He leaned down, resting his forehead on hers and closing his eyes. "The worst part, though, I think you would hate to give it up even if it wasn't ours." She frowned up at him as she too closed his eyes, feeling him slide his hands down her sides sadly. "I would hate it, too. We lost our child, and I don't think... no, it's just not fair to you or me that they would ask you to bear their children when we lost ours."

She moved her arms up his chest, wrap around his shoulders. "I agree…" She admitted. "I was more worried about you, though. I don't remember setting up that room, but I know you do, and I know you wanted to fill it. I couldn't bear a child under your care when we don't get to keep it at the end."

"I guess that's it then." He sighed, coming down to pick her up and set her on the counter so he could bury his face in the collarbone.

She groaned. "I feel bad."

"Why." He hummed, lifting his face slightly out of her shoulder.

"I don't want her back in the house." She admitted pressing her face down into his shirt. "It was very uncomfortable, and I even though I don't regret consoling her, I regret inviting her in."

"I won't say anything against it." He agreed. "And I'm not opposed to a Sakura-ban." He got a giggle out of her.

"You make it sound mean," Hinata grumbled.

"If she's made you feel uncomfortable with what she asked and it makes you feel safe to have her out of the house, then she has no business being here, and if she comes by, I'll tell her that she's not welcome in the house and she wants to talk she can make an appointment," Sasuke promised.

She nodded into his shirt as he slid his hands down over her hips.

She felt a squeeze, and she squeaked. "Let's get the rest of this putaway." He grinned.

The line between Hinata before and Hinata after was blurring in his head. Hinata had settled so much into herself again. The only thing he could think that was different was they weren't sleeping together.

He watched her as she tried desperately to fix the chair. She had broken out her old tools. It was a relief to see her nose scrunch up in thought once again as she tried the hobby she took so much joy into finishing the house. Maybe he would bring home something beaten down and warn on the side of the road just to see that interest and frustration more.

Hinata set the chair back up and pushed on it. It didn't collapse under her, so it must have worked whatever she had done. Sasuke wasn't going to claim to be an expert. He was surprised the house was still standing.

The look of triumph was adorable. Maybe he should break something else in the house.