UPDATED 04/13/2022
That was a very long time ago, Hinata mused. Pity that the dream ended there. Not once did she imagine that such a gesture would secure her such a nice travel companion and eventual husband.
A sliver of light entered through the curtained window and Hinata groaned, pulling the sheets over face. It was much too early to wake up. As she relaxed to the gentle breaths against her neck, cold fingers drew circles on her bare hips.
She bit back a fit of giggles. "Can't sleep?"
"No, just thinking." He nuzzled her neck, fingers sliding up to her waist. "We should stop by a village soon."
Hinata turned around languidly to face Sasuke, still in his arms. "Did we forget something last time?"
He looked at her quizzically. At Hinata's raised eyebrow he shook his head with unusually bright eyes and a small smile tugging at his lips. "There is nothing wrong with getting supplies a bit earlier."
"I suppose…"
After a moment of silence he added, "so when do you plan on waking up?"
"What do you mean?" She rested her head on his chest. If he wouldn't allow her proper sleep then he might as well become a human pillow. A fair trade off. "It's much too early to get up."
A snort. "It's already sunhigh, Hinata."
With a disbelieving sigh she raised a hand with a lazily formed seal. Byakugan. As her sight stretched across the village they were in, her gaze grew more and more horrified. Everyone was already up and working with the exception of herself and her human pillow. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I happen to not have a death wish."
"But…"
"It's not as if we're on a tight schedule." He ran a hand through her newly cut hair.
Grumbling, Hinata sat up with a groggy gaze. "I'm sorry, I can't believe I overslept this much."
"No." Sasuke tugged her arm gently. "You made this a rest day, now you sleep."
With a happy sigh she curled back to his side. If he said so, who was she to complain? How she loved sleeping in an actual bed when they had the chance.
Excessive visits to the city tended to result in tediously ridiculous cat and mouse games. In fact, it was rather unnerving just how many fools believed they stood a chance against Sasuke. Whether they were after a bounty or merely his eyes she was never quite sure, but the end result was always the same.
Not that she disliked the outdoors, either. Hinata was sure that she had spent a significant portion of her life sleeping under the stars along with her team. Maybe it was about time for her to drop by Konoha and greet Team Kurenai plus Mirai. She did have gifts for her goddaughter after all.
When her limbs no longer felt heavy they made their way to the port. Hinata wrinkled her nose with each step. She had been in various fishing villages before the one she found herself in, but the stench that only grew stronger with each step was dizzying.
After another wave of the nauseating scent, she wrapped an arm around Sasuke's. He looked down to her with a questioning tilt of his head.
She raised a hand to her nose and shook her head. "I'm fine, it just smells so foul around here."
Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction in understanding. His visible eye briefly flashed red and all putrid scent was gone.
"Thank you," she sighed relieved. "Could it be that the fish went bad?"
"It smells perfectly normal to me," he said as he glanced at a rattle toy on a stand. The vendor immediately lifted his face from his hand and beckoned him over. As Sasuke walked away he added, "why don't you pick out our supplies? I need to get some things."
Hinata narrowed her eyes before ultimately shrugging. No matter what he was plotting this time, she made sure he lacked the funds to overspend on overpriced goods or even gifts. Not that the latter wasn't a sweet gesture, but money management wasn't one of Sasuke's strong points.
After sealing away her own supplies Hinata made one last stop. Her recent behaviors were unusual. Sure, her nose was slightly better than most due to her years of working in a tracking unit and sleeping in every now and then wasn't too strange, but nausea?
Sasuke would be happy, no doubt, if the cause for those oddities was a child but letting him assume and later be proved wrong would be cruel. Even with the knowledge of a potential negative Hinata herself could not help but allow the small skip in her step. It was a good day, she could feel it.
oOo
Hinata was proud to say that her senses remained sharp because she was not wrong. It was a very good day indeed. No matter that water blurred the sight of two lines. She clutched the test to her chest as she made her way to the kitchen.
With gentle fingers she pulled Sasuke's hands away from the preparation of onigiri. "I come bearing good news today," she said solemnly though the smile on her face gave away the jest in her words.
Sasuke briefly glanced up before looking back down at her. "Don't tell me that Naruto finally forgot to send us his very… appreciated bi-monthly updates."
Hinata's eyes grew horrified and her hands covered her mouth. "He hasn't sent anything yet? That's very strange, you don't think he's been hurt or–or…"
He only chuckled, resting his hand on her shoulder. "As if we'd ever get that lucky," Sasuke trailed off as his gaze drifted to the window and his expression soured. Surely enough, a carrier hawk landed in the kitchen with a dull thud. "See?"
Hinata scoffed as she took the offered scroll from the hawk. No matter what faces he pulled at Naruto's overbearing nature, she knew that he meant him no harm either. Well, not much anyway. Meanwhile the hawk made no move to leave, alternating between staring expectantly at each person before him.
Hinata's expression became strained when she glanced back at her companion. "Sasuke, please tell me you remembered to buy seeds for the messenger hawks."
"You didn't?" Before she could apologize to the bird who was already looking offended, Sasuke offered it a small bag of seeds. "That's unusual, it wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your good news?"
"Oh!" Hinata's gleeful air returned at once and she proudly flipped the bundle by her chest. She watched closely as his eyes widened in surprise and how they grew glassy as a smile tugged at his lips.
With a small laugh he raised his only arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. Hinata wrapped her arms around Sasuke's waist and stayed there for what felt far too short, though she figured it had been quite a while. Wordlessly, he pressed a kiss to her lips and ran his hand from her shoulder to her hand, guiding Hinata to his bag.
He pulled out a scroll and extended it on a nearby table. She raised her free hand to the kanji and summoned her chakra. With a small poof a plush kitten appeared. With another poof a rattle toy appeared. Hinata laughed in disbelief. "You knew before me?"
"I told you it's not bad to stop by civilization before needing supplies." he glanced at her with a small smirk before picking up the plush cat. "I think I used to have one of these as a child."
She smiled at his gesture. After a moment of silence her smile slipped a little. "What will we do?"
"What do you mean?"
"We can't raise a child and travel as we do," she said. "And of course, I would never ask you to return to Konoha."
Sasuke's gaze lost a fraction of its previous mirth. "Is that what you want? I understand if that's the case–"
"No!" Hinata waved her hands in denial. "Heavens, no, I won't make you return to a place that has hurt you so much. I was thinking more along the lines of– of having a home."
Sasuke hummed in thought. "Do you have anywhere in mind?"
"Anywhere that's not Kaminari no Kuni," she joked. "How does Hi no Kuni sound? It doesn't have to be Konoha, but it's close to our friends."
With a soft smile, he rested his forehead against hers. "I will go anywhere with the two of you." After a pause he added, "or maybe three, it does run in your family."
"You think?"
