The days had turned into weeks. Weeks had turned into months and before she knew it, months had turned into several years since Hinata had left Naruto. The seasons had come and gone since then but that morning had the air turning into a crisp chill as snow littered the lands of newly built Konoha.

That particular morning found Hinata bundled in a coat and had a scarf wrapped around her neck with gloved hands clinging around a cup of hot cocoa for warmth as Christmas carols played softly behind her. The sky was just turning into various shades of red as the sun was just beginning to rise past the mountains. Even to this day, sunrise was still her favorite time of day. Naruto's presence had often reminded her of the sunrise. His smile alone had been her sun which had lit up the world which had previously been dark and cold.

When she realized that he had been in love with Sasuke, her whole world had almost been crushed. Hinata had figured it out during the war. In fact it was the first time she had seen Sasuke fighting next to Naruto. When the Uzumaki had shared a look with Uchiha, the relief, determination, happiness, and so many other things said with a glance that had spoken volumes when the pair weren't even exchanging words. That was why The Hyuuga Princess had been just as surprised as everyone else when the blonde Chuunin had confessed to liking her.

As pale eyes watched the sun creep up, Hinata had to ask herself if she regretted her choice from back then. She recalled having quite the moral dilemma at the time. After all, she knew that the blonde did not have a lot (now knowing, none at all) experience with love, but she had been happy to receive his attention. Her feelings were being reciprocated, at long last! It hadn't helped that her self confidence, at the time, while better than when she was a child, was still not that great as a young adult.

Hinata could admit out loud that she had settled when had chosen to stay with Naruto, but no, she couldn't find it in herself to regret the time she had spent with the Blonde Hokage. Although he hadn't loved her the way she deserved, she knew Naruto did in fact love her.

Behind her, Hinata could hear the beginnings of stirring in the house. So she wasn't surprised when the door opened behind her. She was surprised at the deep voice that gruffly mumbled "Morning kaa-san" as she was enveloped into the warm arms of her grown son. "Merry Christmas."

Before she had a chance to respond, the blonde man pulled away from her to go back inside. As he scurried inside, Hinata's voice caught in her throat as it often did these days when she saw the scars that littered his young torso. After the war with the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Kawaii, and the aftermath of losing Naruto for those few years, Hinata had been separated from her children. She had found a safe haven in the sands of the Land of the Wind. Gaara had been kind enough to take in several of her villagers, both civilian and shinobi, as well as herself.

It had taken a few years for Hinata to be reunited with her children, but they were not the children she had known. However, neither child spoke of the things they had seen or done during the time they had been separated. Some of the scars that painted her son's body were clean while others almost looked like someone had taken a chainsaw to his skin. There was also one clean scar down his right eye. Whenever the young man interacted with his mother, Hinata could see a hint of the boy she had known. However, the moment the blonde's attention shifted elsewhere, she could see the cold shift of indifference slide onto his face. In some ways, the ice that never quite melted in his eyes was the number one thing that made a small part of her wary of the man her son had become.

Her daughter, Himawari wasn't much different. She had become quiet, in a way that often reminded Hinata of her late cousin, Neji. Her quiet came from Himawari watching how a person functioned. It was as if she was judging how to interact with you. Hinata had seen her daughter go from soft, gentle, and caring, to cold, distant, and standoffish, to loud, boisterous and full of energy. In many ways, her daughter seemed to have become a sort of chameleon.

Hinata was loathe to admit it, but in many ways her children sent chills of warning down her spine when she thought about it too much.

As the early morning passed, Hinata found a small semblance of peace as her son, now dressed in a sweater and his shinobi pants, moved about the kitchen as he prepared breakfast. It was their first Christmas as a reunited family, so Boruto had offered to make their meal. Though Hinata suspected that perhaps the young man simply wanted to impress his new family.

From down the hall, Hinata could hear the sounds of giggling in one of the rooms before a loud pitch squeal of excitement rang throughout the house followed by a large grunt.

Turning her pale eyes towards the hall, Hinata took in the giggles, even as two heads bobbed out of the room and into another one. She took a sip from her cocoa as one excited scream ripped through the house and she watched Boruto pause, his posture tensing for a moment before he resumed cooking when a second one did not follow up.

From the first room emerged her step son who was running a hand over his face as if to remove to the traces of sleep. Shinki leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, a gruff "Merry Christmas", given as he made his way to the coffee. Not long after, Himawari emerged from her room, one red hair child on her shoulders as the other dipped into his parents room to wake his father and Hinata couldn't help the smile that was spreading on her face.

Before long, her husband emerged from their room, his green eyes softening as they looked upon her. In Gaara's arms was a small raven hair, green eyed child singing with jingle bells as the boy played with the antlers that he had somehow acquired. Hinata smiled before turning her attention to the long red hair, pale eyed child that was chatting happily away in her lap.

As the day wore on to the afternoon, Hinata jumped slightly from the sudden sound of the doorbell being rang though Himawari quickly jumped up to go answer it. She could clearly hear her daughter's "Tou-san!" But couldn't hear the response. After a few seconds, Himawari, Naruto and Sasuke filtered into the living room.

Greetings were exchanged and Hinata took in the other half of her family.

Despite Naruto's imprisonment, he was recovering well. Kawaki had taken care of him, mostly. However without a proper diet and Kurama locked away the way he had been, Naruto had been malnourished and frail by the time Sasuke had been able to find him. His recovery had been slow progress but he had eventually made it.

Soon enough, Hinata's home was full of the people she loved. Her husband, their twins, her ex-husband, his husband, their children, Mitsuki, Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka, Sakura, Lee, and his son. As the voices, sounds and laughter spilled around her, Hinata felt grateful for the life she had been granted.

The people that she loved were alive, happy and content in the lives they had all created for themselves, and as she gently squeezed Gaara's hand, Hinata couldn't have asked for more.

Notes:

Merry Christmas everyone! Please stay safe during the holidays! Yes, this is a spin off of my "The Chibi Matchmakers" as it grants a small sneak peek into the far future of the characters I'm working with. I hope you enjoyed it!