"Okay! Bring it on over here!"
Hinata stood on the engawa overlooking the extravagantly decorated front courtyard on the Uchiha property and watched as Ino stressfully directed Shikamaru and Choji on where to place flower arrangements. Before she knew it, the day of her baby shower had come. The ongoing summer air blew through the yard, causing Ino to frantically dash to the pile of napkins fluttering off the refreshment table. Counting the amount of chairs and tables set up, Hinata felt overwhelmed. She remembered checking the guest list Ino had presented her days before; but she never visualized it having such an outcome. This would be the first time the young Uchiha couple would have so many people going in and out of their home.
"Tea?" Temari stood beside Hinata after exiting the home and handed her some hot ginger honey tea. Hinata smiled and gladly accepted the scalding cup.
"She really went all out huh?" Temari said while she poked her head further out looking left and right.
"Need any help!" Ten-ten called out with a large grin as she skipped into the courtyard. She carried a woven basket in her hand filled with various small trinkets and a teddy bear stuffy.
"You're early!" Ino ran to the weapons expert and took hold of her gift, bringing it to another table set up across the courtyard.
"Happy baby shower." Ten ten walked up the small steps of the engawa and gave Hinata a hug. The two hadn't seen each other for several months. Ten ten had been called to head multiple A class missions, causing a rift in her personal life. Luckily she'd been able to take the day off for Hinata's baby shower.
"Thank you so much for coming." Hinata separated from the warm embrace, carefully not to spill her tea.
"My gosh, you're so pregnant!" Ten-ten placed her hands on Hinata's round stomach and giggled gleefully.
"Here, I'll take this away for now." Temari reached her hand out and took the cup of tea from Hinata.
"Thanks." Hinata said with sorry eyes before walking down the engawa with Ten ten.
"My gosh, I just can't believe you're having a baby." Ten-ten scanned the courtyard; she spun cutely and spread her arms out. "This seems so surreal!"
Hinata laughed happily watching her friends eyes gleam in awe. The two made their way to a round table, clad with a white laced table cover and a luscious floral centerpiece surrounded by small tea light candles.
Ten-ten peered into the center of the table and stroked the petals of the flower display. "This is insanely gorgeous; Ino outdid herself again with these arrangements."
"Geez, the wind is really killing me today." Ino plopped into the seat across from the two and rested her head on the table.
"It looks incredible. Thank you." Hinata leaned over and placed her hand on Ino's.
"Really?" Ino perked up, clasping Hinata's hand in return. "I'm really glad you like it." The blonde had a relieved smile on her face before quickly replacing it with a surprised one. "It's time." Ino looked at her wrist watch and stood up, smoothing the pleats in the front of her purple step ford skirt.
Hinata took a deep breath, readying herself for the mass of people she'd have to speak to. All afternoon she'd been trying to mentally prepare for the small talk she'd have to endure—that of which she was horrible at. Nonetheless the time to truly show herself as the other head of the Uchiha clan was nearing; she watched the gate nervously wondering when Sasuke would be back from his mission. She silently prayed he'd be back in time to save her from the group of Hyuuga elders coming to the shower and as if the world was playing a cruel joke on her, through the gates entered her father along with two elders of the clan.
To her surprise, Hiashi and the two elders didn't bombard her with any questions. They simply nodded their heads in her direction and sat at the table appointed to them by Ino. It had been the first time in a long while since she had seen her father and she was expecting a much bigger reaction than a nod of the head. Shaking off his cold hello she stood and made her way to the front entrance where she could greet incoming guests sooner. Walking across the courtyard she noticed the masked men placed strategically around her home. Security was tighter than usual; of course she gave the okay for it to be so but she couldn't help but feel as though some of her closest friends were on duty as well without her knowing. Trying not to think about the situation too much she made it to the front gates when Akamaru came running full speed ahead.
"Akamaru." A calm feminine voice called out to him, causing him to dig his claws into the ground; stopping just in front of Hinata.
"Sensei." Hinata smiled wide as she saw Kurenai walking ahead of Kiba and Shino. She walked hurriedly and gave her sensei a warm embrace; it had been too long since the two last met. Kiba huffed as he struggled to carry a large box in his arms; it was white and wrapped prettily with a golden ribbon. The buzzing sound of Shino's bug caught Hinata's attention and she watched a black cloud lift the box away from Kiba and float it in the air as they walked towards her.
"You coulda done that earlier ya know!" Kiba shouted at Shino as he rubbed his sore arms.
"You never asked for help." Shino glared at Kiba through his glasses.
Hinata parted from Kurenai and waved at her two team mates with one hand on her stomach as she smiled proudly. She watched the two smile back at her, Kiba with his usual fanged grin and Shino with a thin closed mouth smile.
"Congratulations." Shino's deep voice brought Hinata back to her younger days. Feeling emotional she dove in to give the Aburame a tight hug, causing him to awkwardly pat her back.
"Thanks for being here." Hinata parted from Shino and gave Kiba a warm smile.
"Ah, I hope you don't mind but I'll be leaving a bit earlier tonight." Kiba said apologetically with his hands put together in a praying gesture in front of his chest.
Hinata shook her head understandably, "No worries. I'm just glad you could come even for a little bit."
Ino came running and led the three and Akamaru into the courtyard. Hinata peered into the street and watched out for more incoming guests. One after another more people rolled in, Hinata greeted them all with smiles and grace. The guests ranged from more hyuuga elders, to the maids that raised her when she was young, to her close colleagues from work. Checking the guest list Hinata realized all but two visitors had arrived timely and she began to walk away as she gestured the guards to close the gates. The creaking of the gate reopening caused her to look over her shoulder.
"Did I make it?" Sasuke walked towards her clad in his usual Jounin uniform with a dirtied flak jacket.
Hinata's tense shoulders relaxed and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Just in time." She thanked god in bringing him home earlier. Now she would have a partner to partake in the small talk. And although she knew he wasn't one to make great small talk just the same; having him there was enough to make her feel at ease.
Hinata sat at her table alone, munching on sweets that Ino had ordered from her favorite shop in the village. With every bite of her cinnamon spiced cake she people watched. What started out as a suffocating proper outdoor party slowly transitioned into a more casual get together of friends and family. The sliding door opened and Hinata watched as Sasuke walked out of the home, slyly passing by people trying to gain his attention he climbed down the steps and made his way towards Hinata with a cup of tea. He had showered and changed as quickly as he could upon arriving home; and soon after was quickly taken by Hinata's father and four other Hyuuga elders.
Being held up in the home with Hiashi and four Hyuuga elders, Sasuke finally escaped their clutches after a prolonged discussion of the safety measures needed to be taken during Hinata's pregnancy. He placed a hot cup of tea on the table in front of a gerbil like Hinata and took a seat beside her.
"So?" Hinata said with a cheek full of cake.
"Just the usual." Sasuke placed his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand as he looked at her crumb riddled lips. Hinata swallowed hard and took a sip of her tea. Her father had said not one word to her since he entered the property and purposefully waited for Sasuke to arrive only to snatch him away from her to speak of formalities once again. Since when did he begin to completely deny her existence? The hot tea swished in her mouth before she swallowed. Knowing that she was no longer part of the Hyuuga household she had expected a similar turn out to their relationship, one of which wasn't very strong in the first place. But more than ever, she hated the fact that he still wanted some reign of control over her. Constantly hounding Sasuke about her protection when he had the chance to made her flare up inside with anger. Shoving the last of her cake into her mouth she chewed it impatiently.
"Crumbs, everywhere." Sasuke said nonchalantly encircling his finger in the air as he pointed to her mouth. Hinata's furrowed eyebrows relaxed and her eyes shot out in surprise as she placed a finger on her lips, crumbs stuck to her fingertip and she hurriedly grabbed the napkin off the table to clean herself.
Sasuke's mouth parted and he let out a breathy chuckle. His eyes curve cutely and he instinctively turns to the side to hide his laughing face.
"Well that's a rare face." Temari says derision in her eyes while making her way over to the couple. Sasuke clears his throat and sits up right, smoothing back his bangs and avoiding eye contact with the previous sand kunoichi.
"Sorry to take you guys away from your alone time but Ino said some people are beginning to head out."
"Right." Hinata nodded her head and stood up, giving her mouth one last wipe with the cloth napkin. The couple leaves the table and makes their way to the front gates.
"Check." Hinata turns to face Sasuke and points to her face.
With a swipe of his finger Sasuke removes a leftover crumb that had settled on her chin. "Good to go."
Hinata sends him a thankful smile and quickly is pulled away from him by Ino. "They've been waiting for a formal goodbye for five minutes now, they're getting antsy."
Hinata looked up to see her father and the elders standing at the gate, all eager to leave. Reaching the small group of Hyuuga's, Hinata graciously smiled. Hiashi gave her but another stare before fixing his eyes on Sasuke who was two steps behind her.
"Keep in mind our conversation." Hiashi's stern eyes burned into Sasuke.
"Thank you for attending, I know you all are very busy." Hinata stepped past her father and walked towards the elders and offered a polite nod of the head. The elders stared her down acceptingly in return and began to walk out of the courtyard. Hiashi followed the group behind without a second look back at his daughter.
Frustrated eyes fluttered as Hinata held back an urge to cry angry tears. Beyond offended she let out a sigh. A hand of comfort rubbed the small of her back; Sasuke shot her an encouraging smile and silently took her hand in his. A rush of people started to leave and Sasuke quickly took over the goodbyes, shooing Hinata away to calm her nerves.
"Man, sorry we're late!" Naruto walked towards Sasuke alongside Sakura. His teammates both walked with two small gift bags in their hands.
"Sorry Sasuke-kun, I was stuck with some paperwork." Sakura apologized sincerely.
"So where's the wife?" Naruto asked, following Sasuke from behind as they enter the courtyard.
"Resting." Sasuke led the couple to the main area in the courtyard.
By now the only guests left were the couples, Kiba and Shino had left as well as Ten ten who hurried back home to rest up for a mission she had to take part in the next day. The sun had set and a romantic air filled the courtyard. Sitting around one table Ino, Chouji, Temari, Shikamaru, and Hinata chatted away. Taking the empty seat beside Hinata Sasuke sat and gestured Naruto to add two more chairs to the table for him and Sakura.
"Geez, you two are exceptionally late." Ino eyed down Sakura, causing the medical nin to blush.
"For your information, I was swamped with work." Sakura sat in the chair Naruto pulled out for her and placed her gift bag on the table. When her eyes met with Hinata's she offered her a friendly smile which Hinata reciprocated.
"You really did great Ino, the candles are a romantic touch." Sakura said as she scanned the lit tea light candles on the table top.
"It looked nice in the daylight too." Ino made sure not to let Sakura get away without any flack. Naruto sat down and slid his small gift bag in the direction of Hinata.
"Congratulations Hinata." Naruto showed his usual wide grin. Sasuke caught the bag, making it only half way to Hinata.
Temari couldn't help but catch the act and nudge Shikamaru, giving him a wry smile. Shikmaru avoided his wife's incentive and shook his head. Causing Temari to roll her eyes and take a mouthful of her drink.
"Thank you." Hinata's head bent forward to get a better view of Naruto to thank him.
"Ah! And this is from Sakura." Naruto took hold of Sakura small gift bag and slid it in Hinata's direction. This time Hinata reached out and took hold of it herself.
"Thank you Sakura." Hinata admired the small details of the pretty bag.
"C'mon open it." Naruto said gleefully.
Sasuke looked at Hinata and for the first time in a while they had one of their rare telepathic conversations.
I kind of wanted to open all the gifts together…privately. Hinata's eyes softly looked up at Sasuke. His dark eyes responded. Let's just do it this once, you know how he can get.
The tissue paper rustled and Hinata proceeds to open Sakura's gift bag. Naruto urges Sasuke to open his gift bag and Sasuke takes hold of it. Hinata removes all the tissue paper and peers into the bottom of the bag where a familiar pair of blue booties nestled atop a small pile of burp cloths. She stiffens for a second before looking up at Sakura with a smile.
"Thank you, their lovely." She looks over at Sasuke whose stiff at the sight of Naruto's gift. In the Hokage's bag was a pair of white booties, exactly like the ones Hinata had chosen from weeks before during their day of shopping.
"CUTE RIGHT?!" Naruto patted Sasuke on the back as he chuckled. "It totally reminded me of Hinata, all pearly and white."
The table fell silent at Sasuke's awkwardness until Temari finally spoke out loud. "So, what'd you get?"
"Oh, these." Hinata took out the pair of booties from Sakura's bag and took hold of Naruto's bag. Looking inside it she hesitated before taking them out. "Thank you Naruto-kun."
Sasuke stood up and smoothed out the front of his pants. "Want anything?" He asked Hinata as he stared down at her. She could tell he was uncomfortable, so she rode along with him. "Some more tea would be great." She smiled cutely and watched him walk away.
"Wow, you got some surprisingly good taste Naruto!" Ino leaned in to take a closer look at the white pair of booties.
"Right? I did good right?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. Hinata couldn't help but laugh internally at the coincidence. Naruto purchasing the exact booties she had chosen while Sakura purchased the exact pair Sasuke had chosen. Her usual hormones took a back seat as her conscience took the driver's seat. If her hormones had broken out at this moment she would have been all tears and hysterical.
"I'll be just a minute." Hinata stood up from her seat and Chouji stood to help her gain proper balance.
"Checkin on the husband huh?" Naruto said cheekily.
"Ah, not exactly." Ino interrupted. "When you're that pregnant, you bladder feels like it's going to explode every twenty minutes."
The remark made Naruto blush red, the table had a good laugh and Hinata made her way into the house. Naruto's guess wasn't too far off, she was curious as to how Sasuke was feeling and wanted to go see him. Luckily Ino had seen her frequently going in and out of the bathroom throughout the day and suggested that was the reason as to why she was leaving the table.
Hinata walked down the corridor to the bedroom, where the light was creeping through the slightly closed door. She called out Sasuke's name and poked her head inside. A moan came from him as he lied on the bed. It looked as though he had just plopped himself onto it. He lifted his head and came up to a sitting position as Hinata entered the room.
"You feeling okay?" Hinata looked down at him while placing a gentle hand into the hair on the side of his head.
Sasuke raises his hand and takes hold of hers, removing it from his hair and gently placing it at her side while still holding onto it. "No."
His honesty surprises Hinata and she takes a step closer to him. "It bothers me. Call me immature, call me selfish but I hate it that he bought that…"
A small part of Hinata can't help but jump happily inside her at his words. "Do you think it doesn't bother me that she did the same?" Hinata says calmly. Sasuke continues to look into her eyes.
"It bothers me, but I won't dwell on it. You are mine, ours." Hinata smiles as she looks down at her stomach.
"I know." Sasuke bites his lower lip. "I know, but I hate it when he does that; he's always been like that when it comes to you."
"Oblivious?" Hinata chuckles and rubs her thumb over his. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore."
Sasuke watched her thumb caress his. Never in his life had he felt as insecure as he did when he met Hinata. He was a lone clansman of a dead clan, capable of almost everything and nothing at the same time. Then he met her, someone who at first was in love with his best friend, a best friend who became Hokage, someone who could've given her things he can't. He knew thinking about these things was unnecessarily unmanly, but it was a truth that always lingered in the back of his mind. If she were to somehow actually be with Naruto her security would have had much more solidarity, being hounded by Hiashi was a constant reminder at how much he couldn't do.
"I love you." Hinata says softly inches away from his forehead before placing a gentle kiss on it. "So much it hurts." She pulls away fully and smiles at him. Pulling her closer he cups the back of her neck and kisses her deeply on the lips. Parting from her Sasuke stands and places his thumb and index finger on her chin, raising her head to look up at him. "You'll be the death of me, you know that?" Smiling gleefully hinata raises her arms and rests them on his shoulders, clasping her hand behind his head she stands on the tip of her toes rising to kiss Sasuke one more time.