After a bombardment of children and promises she would try not to unexpectedly disappear again, she sat with Baba and watched Matsuri interact with the children. She had made her visit a treat of telling the children a story she had been told as a child. Village lore mostly, hopefully, nothing that would give them nightmares. She also told of battles, her own, ones she saw she could tell, and Gaara's.
Hinata watched Etsu look up at her with wonderment and excitement. The child had changed much in the last few months. Hinata wondered if she would have been different if someone would have stopped to comfort her when she was beating her hands raw trying to live up to her father's expectations. Would she be more like Temari and Hanabi, confident, strong-willed?
"They are inseparable, and here I thought you would eventually take her home." Baba brought her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?" Hinata asked.
"I honestly thought Etsu would talk you into taking her home one day after you inspired her confidence. She became the leader of the pack since then, well of the little ones, but this one comes back and steals her heart right out from under your nose, hmm?" Baba grinned.
Hinata smiled with a nod. "I honestly had thought she would ask eventually. I was worried about what I would tell her. I am not sure how Gaara would handle children. We haven't talked about it, so even if I wanted to take her home, I'm not sure I could."
"Oh, I think our great Kazekage would be a fine father one day." The older woman gave her a hefty pat on the leg.
Out of the two women in front of him, for some reason, his wife was not the one fidgeting. No, she was giving a knowing smile and looked like she was trying hard not to laugh.
He looked at his apprentice, who was currently standing slightly behind his wife. She gave him a glance with her eyes glittering with amusement.
"Matsuri-san has something she wants to share." Hinata commented, seemingly pushing the conversation to start. However, Matsuri didn't look so sure. He set down his pen, giving her his attention with a raise of his non-eyebrow.
"Yes?" He asked, slightly annoyed by his usually confident student's behavior.
"I want to be a mother." She paused, piercing her lips. "Or rather, I am going to be a mother."
He stared at her, his eyes flicking to her stomach slightly. He didn't think she was sexually active while on duty. "I can place you on maternity leave."
"No!" "No!" Both women squeaked. Hinata with a giggle and Matsuri turning red covering her midsection.
"It's unwise to carry a child while on duty." He warned.
"I'm not pregnant. I am adopting!" She shouted, her ears turning red.
Hinata smiled at her and then met his eyes, showing her amusement and support.
He wasn't sure why he was a factor in this conversation. "You have the means to care for a child and do not live in the barracks. Why am I being consulted? I do not deal with adoptions."
"Okay, you win." Matsuri huffed, looking at his wife.
"I told you he wouldn't think anything of it." She giggled. "I was joking. You will have a harder time telling Baki-san then Gaara."
"Baki can find out on his own." Matsuri crossed her arms. Gaara wondered what the mischievous look that crossed her red face was for.
"Why would I think anything of it? You're of age and have the means to care for a child." He asked, confused. "I am your teacher, not your parent. I have no say in your reproduction or whether you should or shouldn't take on children."
"I'll explain later," Hinata assured him. "I have some papers to sign for her. Will you excuse us." She bowed her head with a smile and left with his student.
He heard a squeaking of Matsuri's voice and a quiet giggle from his wife as they went down the hall.
What an odd day.
Etsu jumped into Matsuri's arms when she opened the door. "Your back!" She cheered loudly, clinging for dear life.
"Come on, kid, gentle." Matsuri coughed, catching her and repositioning her in a less choking manner on her hip.
Hinata peeked in from behind her, scanning the room for Baba. She waved them in, and her eyebrow came forward, looking at what Hinata was carrying.
"What's all this?" Baba asked, taking the large bags out of her arms.
"I thought I would do some activity with the older children today. While Matsuri-san speaks to the younger ones." She explained, pulling out cloth and sewing utensils.
"Oh sure, let me round some of them up." Baba gave her a hefty pat.
"Your hands look terrible. Are you sure you should be the one teaching kids to sew?" Matsuri teased the bandage job the younger kids had done on her hands. "I think you are doing a better job of teaching first aid." She carried a dead asleep Etsu who had been so excited to go home with her she had completely tuckered herself out.
"It not my thing. They were doing better than I was." Hinata smiled at the over coverage. "It's just a few pricks."
Matsuri tried, readjusted to get her keys out. Hinata quickly took the child from her to free her hands. "I think you two are going to do well with each other." She assured.
"I hope so. How horrible would it be to go from no mother to a bad mother." Matsuri sighed.
Hinata smiled with a tilt to her head. "I can assure you that you can be no worse than my father. Not without effort."
"Maybe I will be more of a big sister." Matsuri shrugged.
"Whatever you do will be fine, and if you need anything, you know Gaara and I's door is open, and I'm sure Temari-nee-chan would love to lend a hand, just maybe keep her away from nii-san."
"Kankuro didn't like me when I was younger either." She nodded.
"I hope he at least tried to like his nieces and nephews." She sighed, setting Etsu down on the bed matt they had got for her, and Matsuri covered her up and offered tea.
"I'm sure Gaara wouldn't let him sneer at his children." Matsuri laughed.
Hinata turned red. "No not our… I meant Temari-chan. I'm sure she would have children before we do. In fact, I will be surprised when she comes back from her trip to Konoha next month if she doesn't come back engaged." She was having this conversation a lot recently.
"Have you talked about kids?" Matsuri asked, handing her a cup.
"Not really. I honestly keep thinking I should bring it up because I know it will eventually be expected of us, but..." She sighed. "I'm not sure Gaara is the fathering type. I'm perfectly fine with that." She added. "It's just I know it will be looked on in question."
"He doesn't seem like someone who would have children around his ankles, does he." Matsuri looked off to the side in thought and then started laughing. "You do, though. You and him have a couple of whites eyed children with bright red hair." She continued to giggle.
"It's unlikely they will have red hair." Hinata smiled, thinking about it. "Hyuga genes are strong. It would have to take someone from another strong blooded clan to have children with light hair or eyes with pupils. It doesn't happen often, it's why the clan is so large."
"Interesting, so they will look just like you, maybe his face." Matsuri nodded, picturing it.
"With my hair or the brown hair, my sister and cousin have. It might be messy like his… Wait, why are we still talking about this? These children are not going to happen." Hinata turned red again.
"Oh, you don't know that." Matsuri smiled. "I think you should ask about it tonight."
"I think not."
There was something on her mind. She smiled, speaking about how happy the child that Matsuri was taking in was about having a new mother and the fuss the children had made over her hands. Some promise the other children showed in sewing and that some of them might make good craftsmen.
She told him about her day, but it was clear she kept avoiding something. She would pause and reword. She would turn red when she stopped talking. There was something.
Cute.
Shukaku curled around her as she went about the room and talked, trying to get her attention. Though she didn't stop to pick him up until she sat down, which frustrated him. He harshly plopped in her lap, curled tightly, putting down pressure so she couldn't get up until he wanted her too.
"What's wrong? Did you have a bad day?" She pet him and looked up, directing the question to him when the beast made no move.
"It wasn't terrible. He has just been yelling profanity since you missed lunch." He mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Matsuri wanted to pick up a few things for Etsu, and we ran late, so I had lunch with them. I sent a message, didn't you get it?" She leaned her face down to him.
"We did, that's what started it." Gaara sighed. He was far past used to having a productive day with the beast yelling annoyances, but it didn't make it any less annoying to be yelled at for the better part of a day.
She lightly grabbed either cheek of the sand beast and made his false eyes look at her. "I need you to be more patient. Torturing him because I missed lunch isn't fair. Yell at me." She scolded.
He felt his lips twitch into a smile as the beast grumbled about her spending too much time with children that she was treating him like one.
From what he saw, she did well with children and enjoyed the orphanage. He found her interest a good match for her calming personality, though it did seem to make her more worn out than usual.
He sighed, laying back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "Will you be telling what you have been avoiding?"
She paused her petting briefly before he felt her look at him. "No I will not."
"Okay." He pulled her down beside him, and she giggled slightly. The sand beast disintegrated, irritated that his spot on her lap had been removed as she curled into his side.
"Are you upset with me?" She asked, readjusting her head to look up at him.
"I do not like it when you hide things from me. You are not good at it." He told her honestly. He wasn't one to notice such things in people unless he was suspicious of them. His sister had kept her infatuation with the shadow nin from him for quite a while until his brother had made a joke that had to be explained.
"It's nothing important. It's nothing to bother with now. When I think it is something big enough to bother you with, then I will bother you with it. I promise." She laid her head closer, kissing his shoulder.
He huffed, curling around her, making her let out another giggle as she was covered by him.
"Don't act so childish." She scolded with a smile against his neck.