Growing up in the Hyuuga household her life had always been quiet and structured. There had been no disruptive influences or actions, no loud fights or happy laughter. There had only been the firm and restricting name of Hyuuga and the cold, ever present reminder of how they were supposed to act that she had seen whenever she had looked into a mirror.

But Hinata couldn't really complain. It was true she had been ignored greatly by her father as a child and that love had never been forthcoming, but her childhood had never been as bad as Naruto's. She had had a family, had had a home. She had been treated with respect and had been provided for. She had never, even at her worst moments in that house, had to worry about her life or if those who took care of her would turn their backs if she was in need. So really, she had no room to complain about her life as a child.

But as she stood at the stove in a worn lavender robe, flipping pancakes and turning sausages, frying up bacon and scrambling eggs, she knew that the truth of her child hood was that it had been so terribly cold and miserable.

Behind her her children sat at the large kitchen table, passing the time before breakfast was served as they did every morning, happily and noisily.

Kori, her eldest, sat crookedly in her chair from where she had flopped down, her head laying down on the table as she stared dead eyed at some distant thing, her beautiful blonde hair -the same color as her father's- laying around her in tangles and the heavy blanket of sleep still covering her face and clouding her clear white eyes.

Even though she was a skilled kunoichi, one that easily defeated opponents that were believed to be far greater than her in skill, Uzumaki Kori was not -and would never be- a morning person. It would take her half an hour before she was able to hold a conversation consisting of words with more than two syllables and a full hour before she was able to look anything near presentable or do anything productive without risk of bodily injury to others.

Her twins were sitting together, heads bent over some papers and books as they tried to puzzle out something Hinata knew she had very little -if any- hope of understanding. They were beautiful girls, their dark blue hair like her's, their Hyuuga eyes holding a tint of their father's blue. They were only nine but were already immensely skilled and absurdly intelligent. Yuki showed to have more of Hinata's gentle nature compared to Yuka's more devious and loud Naruto like nature, though they were both just as excitable as their father when it came to things they were passionate about.

And their passion was knowledge.

Hinata had no idea where that had come from. Though she had always been knowledgeable she had never been truly smart, and God knew Naruto wasn't -though she loved him. Naruto had said it could have been from his father and Hinata had to say that it made some sense, especially when paired with the fact the main points of interest for the girls were ninjutsus and seals.

These talents of her youngest daughters tried her nerves more often than not, what with them frequently sneaking past the teams of ANBU in the middle of the night to creep into the Yondaime's secret library to study his papers. Something they were expressly forbidden from doing, though they still ended up leaving practically every night.

And then there was Leo, her eldest son, who was sitting cross legged on the floor, his unruly hair spiking up in odd directions, making sure his kunai were properly balanced and sharpened. He had the same foxy grin as his father and eyes that were the same vivid blue, eyes that held mischief, arrogance and happiness at any given time. His hair was the same incredible red of Naruto's mother, though it tangled around his face and down to his shoulders in an uncontrollable mane, spiking up and defying the laws of gravity like his father's.

Though he had the looks of a mischievous mini-Naruto he was more focused on becoming a great ninja than playing pranks, often training or playing ninja with his friends, impressing them with the real ninja weapons his father gave him so easily. He was the most skilled boy his age and actually surpassed the twins in the more physical aspects, though he wasn't as smart as they were.

And finally her baby, little Mino, her little mini her. He was only two but everyone who saw him immediately said that he was a dead ringer for his mother, and Hinata had to agree. His eyes were pure Hyuuga without the slightest bit of Naruto in them, his hair the same softly falling blue. He was just as quiet as Hinata, never really crying and always patiently waiting, always sleeping through the night and he had been the least fussy of any of her children.

Just like every morning Mino sat quietly in his raised chair, hands fisted atop the table as he watched his siblings with calm eyes, waiting for his mother to bring him his food, never trying to move from his seat to get down to join his brother or go over to bother his sisters. It was actually pretty disconcerting how quiet he was, especially when surrounded by his far more rambunctious siblings.

Hinata smiled over at all of them and turned the heat off on the stove. "Girls, put the papers away so that you don't get food on them. Leo-kun, put the kunai away and sit at the table, please." They moved quickly to do as she said, waiting for her to set the platters of food down before attacking them with the same gusto and appetite that their father had.

The shouts of Leo and Yuka getting into yet another argument were paired with Yuki's quieter pleas for them to calm down so that they could eat and then the sudden shout of laughter as one of them did something the other found to be embarrassing. Kori lay dead as ever at the end of the table -though she had started to stir at the smell of food- and Mino quietly ate his cut up pieces of pancake beside her.

And when another presence entered the kitchen, Hinata couldn't have imagined a happier morning. Turning Hinata smiled at her husband of fifteen years, feeling the familiar flutter of warmth when he smiled back.

"I thought you had already left for the office." Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, you see-"

"DADDY!" Yuka shrieked, stopping the argument she was having with her brother in favor of leaping out of her seat and dashing to her father, throwing her arms around his waist. Naruto grinned down at his exuberant child, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Hey Baby. Yeah, I went in and was doing some paperwork -Leo, stop making faces at your sister- and then I got hungry. I thought about sending out for some Ichiraku -Yuki, stop hiding those papers under the table, you're not fooling anyone- but then I looked at the clock and figured you'd be making breakfast, so here I am! Oh, and -Yuki! Where did you get those papers? Are those from the Yondaime's library? You know you're not allowed to go there, let alone steal from it. Haven't your mother and I told you-"

Hinata smiled softly as Naruto began lecturing his children while simultaneously piling his plate high with food. The noise was incredible, the table was messy and the laughter was contagious. Most people would walk into the kitchen at that moment to see chaos of the worst kind, and they would probably pity Hinata -sweet, quiet, gentle Hinata- for having to deal with such a disastrous family every day. But as Hinata sat in the middle of it all, comparing it to her old quiet life, she knew there was no comparison.

She wouldn't trade this -the sound of her children's lively shouts and laughter, the sight of Naruto in his Hokage robes scolding his children in between bites of food, the feelings of warmth, love and pure happiness that seemed to just radiate from every corner of the room- for anything in the world.

After the last one, I felt like i had to show you that they do end up with a happy little family and that Hinata couldn't be happier.

I love the kids I made up for these guys, and I already know almost every bit of their life stories (don't worry, I know you're not here for the OC kids, so I won't bore you with too much of them).

Oh, and in this story the Yondaime (Naruto's father, the 4th Hokage, if you're not keeping up with the program) had a secret library where he kept scrolls about seals and ninjitsu, and all of his notes. It's pretty big, and I'll elaborate on it later.

Love and kisses!