Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Welcome to the last chapter of this story as it was never meant to be more than a one shot. Enjoy :)
- Chapter Start -
"Naruto-kun?"
"Urk?" Naruto mumbled and took another of his piping hot coffee. He wasn't a morning person and several nights of working way past midnight had him feeling like a zombie.
"Don't forget that Himawari's birthday dinner is tonight," Hinata reminded him.
"So come home early today and not send a clone, y'know!" Boruto chipped in. The fierce look in his eyes had Naruto grinning sheepishly, recalling what had happened the last time he did that.
"Don't worry. Most of this month's paperwork is done so I'll be on time," he assured Boruto.
"With a present?" Himawari prompted with a winning smile.
"With a present," Naruto echoed and smiled back.
Satisfied, Boruto and Himawari continued eating their breakfast while Hinata double checked the list of things she needed to get.
"Boruto, you're bringing Sarada and Mitsuki here after your training, right? They can shower and change upstairs."
"Yup! I invited Konohamaru-nii-chan too, but he said he had a date," Boruto replied, rolling his eyes a bit.
"Does he now?" Naruto perked up a bit, thanks to the caffeine kicking in.
"I'd better remind Sasuke and Sakura too in case they've forgotten," Hinata said.
"Sasuke won't forget, but don't you think they'd prefer some alone time while Sarada's here?" Naruto asked.
"Why is that, papa?" Himawari asked.
"Eh... in case there's anything uh... romantic they want to do," Naruto replied and coughed, his face turning red.
"Ew!" Boruto cried and pulled a disgusted face. "I'm eating here!"
"Naruto-kun, they have their bedroom for that." Hinata covered a giggle behind her hand, cheeks turning pink.
"But the sofa isn't in there." Naruto waggled his eyebrows, making Hinata blush a brighter pink.
"Ew!" Boruto cried again, turning green. "Can we not talk about this? Ever?"
"Ah, right, right," Naruto hastily said, seeing Himawari's curious eyes on them. "It'll be nice to have dinner with my best friend."
"Mine too," Hinata said, smiling.
"In that case, mama, can I bring a friend too?" Himawari asked.
Seeing her hug her favourite purple panda plushie, much repaired over the years, Hinata stopped fanning her flushed cheeks and smiled at her.
"Of course you can. It's your birthday so any friend of yours would be most welcome. Right, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto grinned upon seeing Hinata tilting her head at the plushie,
"Of course, Himawari. Your friend, whoever it is, will have a seat at this table," he promised.
"Not 'it'. 'He'," Himawari corrected him.
"Well then, 'he' is welcome to join us for dinner."
"Thank you!" Himawari hugged her plushie in delight while her parents shared an amused smile.
Boruto just shrugged and quickly finished up his breakfast. He had a full day of training ahead.
- o -
After breakfast, Hinata and Himawari cleared away the dishes and went to the market to get a few more items for tonight's dinner. Then it was back home again with takeout from Thunderburger for lunch. Seeing as there were eight people to cook for (excluding a plushie which couldn't eat), Hinata had decided on a Western themed dinner - roast chicken with trimmings, beef stew, deviled eggs and mashed potatoes. Sakura had promised to bring over a vegetable salad which would round out the meal nicely.
The morning flew by as Hinata baked a cake, set it aside to cool and got the place nice and clean with Himawari's help. They both had fun frosting the cake that afternoon. Hinata was amused when Himawari expressed the hope that her special guest would enjoy the food since she didn't know what he liked.
By late afternoon, the kitchen was full of delicious and appetising smells. The birthday girl, bathed and dressed in a new outfit, was pink cheeked with excitement as she waited for her guests to arrive.
Naruto was the first, arriving home at five o'clock on the dot.
"Tadaima."
"Okaeri, papa!" Himawari cried out as she pulled open the front door.
"Tanjobi omedeto, Himawari," Naruto swung her up in one arm, holding a gaily wrapped box in the other. "Is that a new dress?"
"Yes, mama bought it for me last week," Himawari replied.
"You look as pretty as an angel," Naruto told her. He set her down and handed her his gift.
"Thank you, papa!" Beaming happily, Himawari went to put it on the coffee table.
Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki were next, dirty and tired after a whole day of training, but looking forward to a good dinner. They handed the birthday girl their gifts - Mitsuki adding a meaningful nod - before rushing upstairs, Sarada calling dibs on the shower.
The next time the doorbell rang, Sasuke and Sakura stood there, the former with another wrapped gift and the latter with a large covered glass bowl. Himawari thanked them and happily added the gift it to her growing pile. Then she sat down to watch her papa and Uncle Sasuke hang up balloons and streamers while Sakura helped Hinata to take down the good china.
The doorbell rang again while Sakura and Hinata were setting the dining table for nine places. The four adults looked at each other in surprise, not having expected anyone else.
"Food delivery?" Sakura asked, holding a stack of plates.
Hinata shook her head in puzzlement.
"I'll get it!" Boruto shouted and thundered down the stairs, only to bump into his father's back. Naruto and Sasuke were suddenly standing between him and the front door.
"Ow!" Boruto rubbed his nose. "Hey, what's the big deal, tou-chan? I said I'd get it, you know!"
"It's just the door," Sarada told him as she and Mitsuki came downstairs at a slower pace.
Exchanging an undecipherable look with Sasuke, Naruto pulled open the door to reveal a slender figure standing there with long black hair, pale skin and golden eyes. He too, held a wrapped gift in one hand.
"Orochimaru," Naruto greeted.
"Lord Hokage. Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru greeted with a polite bow.
No one said anything else for a moment and then two people squeezed past Naruto and Sasuke.
"Shiro-chan!" Himawari chirped, beaming up at him. "I'm so glad you made it here!"
"Eh?" Naruto said, looking down at her. "You invited him, Himawari?"
"Why?" Sasuke wanted to know.
"Because it's my birthday!"
While Naruto and Sasuke opened their mouths and closed them with no sound coming out, Mitsuki cleared his throat.
"It's good to see you again, father."
"Mitsuki," Orochimaru greeted him before turning to Himawari.
"Happy Birthday, Himawari-chan. This is for you," he said and held out the box.
"Thank you! Please come in!" Tucking the box under one arm, Himawari tugged at Orochimaru's nearest hand with the other.
The others all fell back a step as the infamous, legendary San-nin stepped foot inside the Uzumaki home for the first time.
"Who's Shiro-chan?!" Boruto and Sarada asked in unison.
"Is that really Orochimaru?" Hinata and Sakura asked, the latter still clutching a stack of plates.
Himawari looked around at them, frowning.
"Yes and he's my special guest," she said. "Mitsuki-nii-san helped me to invite him."
- o -
Some time later...
The atmosphere around the dining table was tense. Stilted. Awkward. Naruto sat at one end with Hinata and Sasuke on either side of him while Orochimaru sat at the other end with Mitsuki and Himawari on either side of him.
It had taken at least twenty minutes to get from Orochimaru's arrival to all of them sitting down at the same table with no jutsu cast or punches thrown or any furniture broken.
Naruto and Sasuke were on the verge of exploding. Boruto and Sarada were intrigued since Orochimaru was Mitsuki's parent. Mitsuki was unhappy but kept quiet when Orochimaru gave him a slight head shake. Hinata and Sakura were uncertain.
But it was little Himawari who was on the verge of tears.
When it looked like her special guest was about to be thrown out complete with a fireball or two to hasten him on his way, she stood protectively in front of him, feet apart and arms flung wide.
"You promised any guest I invited would be welcome and have a seat at the table," she reminded her parents, bottom lip wobbling.
"Yes, but that was because we thought..." Naruto trailed off and looked at Hinata who just shrugged helplessly.
"You thought what?" Himawari asked. "That I was going to bring this?!"
She grabbed her panda plushie from the sofa and shook it. Naruto and Hinata flushed, Sasuke snorted, Sakura pressed her lips together and Orochimaru's pale cheeks turned pink. He had never been mistaken for a panda before, much less a plushie version.
Hinata's eyes went from her discomfited husband to her tearful daughter, and then to their embarrassed guest, and she came to a decision. As a clan leader's daughter, she had been brought up on very strict rules. One of them was proper etiquette. Not only were they being exceedingly rude to their guest - who must have second, even triple guessed himself before daring to come here - it also wasn't fair to poor Himawari due to her parents' mistaken assumption.
Feeling Sakura's steady gaze on her, Hinata raised an eyebrow and got a nod of agreement from her best friend. Then she poked Naruto in the side and hissed 'That's enough!' to him. Sakura immediately did the same to Sasuke.
"Please accept my deepest apologies," Hinata told Orochimaru with a little bow. "This mix-up is entirely my fault. The roast chicken is getting cold so let's all start eating."
Orochimaru squinted suspiciously at her, his eyes going from Naruto and then to Sasuke before he gave an uncertain nod.
Hinata and Sakura smiled. Stepping forward, they each took hold of one of his arms and led him past their stunned husbands to the dining table.
The rest followed, falling into unplanned pairs - Naruto and Sasuke, Boruto and Sarada still exchanging mystified looks, and then a relieved Mitsuki who offered his arm to Himawari with a smile.
The conversation was stilted, but at least it was there. Sakura and Hinata did their best to keep up the chatter, talking about the food, the weather and any other topics they could think of. Sarada soon took her cue from her mother and explained the new team formations they had learned earlier today, Boruto arguing some points and Mitsuki nodding although he didn't say much. Himawari on the other hand, looked like all was right in her world again as she chatted with Orochimaru who listened to her attentively. He declined the salad, ate some of the roast chicken and seemed to like the deviled eggs very much. He also chuckled when Himawari told him how she had once knocked her father out cold after Boruto-nii-chan and her had torn her plushie apart during an argument.
At the other end of the table, Naruto sputtered and started exclaiming about how good every dish tasted, even smacking his lips to emphasise his point. Sasuke was in the midst of drinking water, choked and had to be pounded on the back by Sakura.
"Well! I think it's time for the cake," Hinata said brightly and stood up. Sakura followed her lead and began stacking the plates together, a raised eyebrow spurring Boruto and Sarada into helping her. When Hinata brought out the cake, complete with seven lighted candles, Orochimaru stood up.
"It's time I left," he said. "Thank you-"
"You can't go now, Shiro- ah, Orochimaru-chan!" Himawari said at once.
"'Chan'?!" Naruto and Sasuke echoed, the former looking shocked and the latter rather appalled.
We're going to sing the birthday song and cut my cake!" Himawari continued, grabbing Orochimaru's hand again.
"I'm not one for singing," he muttered.
"Just stay a while longer," Hinata urged him and frowned at her husband who nodded.
"Uh... yeah, stay for the cake," Naruto said with as much grace as he could muster.
"Hn," Sasuke muttered when Sakura nudged him.
Orochimaru nodded and sat down again, blinking in surprise when Himawari tossed her battered panda plushie into his lap as if it was a paper weight that would keep him there.
- o -
After the birthday song was sung and photos taken, Hinata cut up the cake and served everyone a slice. Then they retired to the living room to open presents.
Again, Orochimaru protested that he should be leaving, but Himawari begged him to stay until she had opened his present. It turned out to be a white snake plushie in the softest suede, about a foot long, and with the exact same eye colour and markings as Orochimaru's.
"Oh! A Shiro-chan all for me!" Himawari exclaimed in delight. "It's eyes are so pretty and just like yours!"
It was hard to tell among the audience whose mouth had fallen open wider.
"Thank you, I love it!"
Himawari leaned into Orochimaru's side for a moment before holding it out for Hinata to take a closer look.
Orochimaru jumped up at once.
"Yes, well, I really have to go now." He gave a jerky bow to Hinata. "Thank you for dinner. It was very good."
"Oh, you're welcome!"
Turning to Himawari, Orochimaru crouched down, his expression softening.
"Thank you for inviting me, Himawari-chan," he said quietly. "Many happy returns to you."
"Thank you for coming, Orochimaru-chan," Himawari said. "Oh, your hair is nice! I hope I'll see you again."
"Uh, well..." Orochimaru glanced around at the others, only to freeze when small fingers ran through his hair.
"You have very pretty hair," Himawari said with all the candour of a just turned seven year old. "I think I want to grow my hair as long as yours."
"Uh, thank you." Cheeks turning a bright pink, Orochimaru shot to his feet. He glanced at Mitsuki who was pressing his lips so hard they all but disappeared. "Goodbye, Mitsuki."
"I will walk with you, father. It's time I left too. Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for dinner."
Mituki bowed politely, Hinata and Sakura wished them a polite farewell, but the others stayed silent or had fixed grins on their faces. It was only after the door had closed behind parent and son that a cacophony of voices burst out.
With no change in expression, Orochimaru and Mitsuki continued down the path.
"Do you regret coming here, father?" Mitsuki asked.
A frown appeared between Orochimaru's delicate eyebrows, but he continued walking and Mitsuki just waited. Then Orochimaru shook his head,
"No. I'm glad I came, if only to please that Uzumaki child."
Mitsuki smiled.
"I like her too. I'm sure she's glad you came."
- Story End -
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review before you go :)