A/N: Thank you so much again for all the wonderful reviews, follows, and for adding this to your favorites! Sorry it took a while.
This chapter may be more OC for your taste, but I still hope you like it.
9-9: Just did some minor editing. Grammar and spelling mostly. TYVM for reading! *hugs*
"Aww, he's so cute! Look at those cheeks!"
"What a pretty baby!"
"So adorable!"
"Look at those eyebrows!"
Rock Lee couldn't help but smile at the various compliments his baby boy was getting. His wife Naomi gave birth last week, and he just came back from a paternity leave, bringing with him a couple of photos of his son, still covered with vernix. His son was barely a week old, but the little guy was already attracting chics like a magnet. Rock Lee's smile widened from ear to ear.
"Hey, Lee, you're back! How's Naomi?"
Heads turned around at the source of the voice and found Naruto who just arrived at the office.
"Naruto!" Lee stood up from his chair and pulled Naruto for a brief hug.
"Congratulations, Lee! I'm sorry Sakura and I weren't able to visit Naomi at the hospital."
"Oh, don't sweat it. It's alright. She was a bit cranky and actually didn't like too much visitors. She said she felt really exhausted." Rock Lee scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Can you believe it? I'm a dad now!"
"Yeah. Honestly, I really couldn't. Can't believe you're capable of producing something as beautiful as this." Naruto laughed, as he gazed down the baby photo Lee handed to him. "I'm just kidding! But your son.. He really looks adorable."
"Thanks! He got most of his features from his mom, which is good, by the way. He only got my eyebrows and my last name. But that's good enough for me."
"Yeah, those eyebrows..." Naruto snickered. "So, how does it feel to be a... dad?"
Rock Lee's face lit up at the question. "Oh, it's the greatest feeling ever! I almost cried when I saw him coming out of Naomi's va-"
"Stop! You really don't have to finish that, do you?" Naruto immediately cut him off, both hands up in the air mocking defense.
"Oh okay.. But really, it felt amazing! The whole 'rush of love' thing? It is actually true! I felt it the first time I held him, and I still feel it even now. Like, I want to protect him, spoil him, be with him as he grows." Lee continued, his voice sounding dreamy. "I had no idea being a dad could be this.. wonderful."
Naruto watched as Lee got carried away by his sentiments, and he couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'm happy for you, Lee. Enjoy the feeling as much as you can. They say it doesn't last very long." He laughed.
"Well, it's something you won't understand, since you don't have a kid, yet." Lee said nonchalantly. He turned around as a co-worker patted him in the back and congratulated him, failing to see that the smile suddenly disappeared from Naruto's face.
"I... I-I guess so." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and breathed deeply. He let his head rest on his hands for a while that he didn't notice that Lee was talking to him again.
"Hey, you alright, Naruto?" Lee's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
"I was asking if you'll go to Shikamaru's bachelor's party this Saturday."
"Oh, that. Yeah, of course. Aren't you?"
Lee thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure yet, since we just had a baby. I can't leave Naomi alone since she's still recovering. That little guy poops and cries a lot."
"I guess your son got more than just the eyebrows and the last name from you, huh?"
"I think so, too." Rock Lee laughed. "Hey, since I won't be there, I'm thinking of just getting Shikamaru some sort of a surprise. Something he'd really, really enjoy... if you know what I mean." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down, a suggestive smile broadening his face, making Naruto chuckle.
"Honestly, I don't, and I don't want to know."
"Oh, stop acting innocent! I promise you, three hundred bucks will be all worth it! I know exactly where to get it. I'll tell Chouji right away." Lee exclaimed, while patting Naruto hard on the back.
"Whatever." Naruto shook his head, a smile still forming on his lips.
"So... Shikamaru's also getting married... That means, you'll be the only one left. Everyone has already tied the knot, Naruto! When are you going to marry Sakura-chan?"
"I can marry her anytime, Lee. You know that. I proposed to her twice. It's just that... she's not ready, yet. She said she wanted to complete her residency first."
"Didn't she just start her first year last year?"
Naruto answered the question with a sigh.
"W-Well, I'm just curious, you know. There's nothing wrong with a long engagement." Lee said, noticing the defeated look on his friend's face.
Naruto gave him a lopsided smile and a pat on the back. He made his way to his office desk, and his eyes landed on a small photo of him and Sakura together pinned to his cork board. "I sure hope so." He whispered to himself.
oooxxxooo
Naruto stepped on the brakes, as the light turned red. It was already six in the evening, and traffic was starting to get on everyone's nerves. Mixed sounds of car horns, jackhammers, and a car hitting another polluted the air, but Naruto was nothing but oblivious to all the commotion outside his white SUV.
'Well, it's something you won't understand, since you don't have a kid, yet.'
But there was something else that he couldn't understand the most...
And it's not feeling that 'rush of love' thing when he did have a son. A five-year old one, even.
He did find him cute, and he bet the kid's amazing, but when he actually met him days ago, he just didn't feel that connection at all.
He remembered imagining, as he stood in front of Menma's room, that the boy would sprang up from the bed and ran to him, with tears in his eyes, crying daddy over and over again. And he, he would cry tears of joy, too, hushing the boy as he whispered to his ears the words 'my son'.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the boy preferred a violet dinosaur over him, or the fact that Hinata's sister had been boring furious eyes through his skull. Maybe he had just been watching too much drama with Sakura during their free time, if there were any. Or maybe because he didn't introduce himself as his father, but rather, just a random guy who happened to have the same blood type- which Hinata's sister didn't buy, by the way.
But the sense of connection just wasn't there that day. Was it because he didn't stay much longer? Or could it be that Menma, despite his features and age, wasn't really his son? It's possible, right? After all, Hinata was a-
His eyes widened in shock as guilt washed over him.
"She's a stripper, not a whore, moron." He said berating himself. 'But, what's the difference again?' He raised an eyebrow, thinking.
He still couldn't ignore the feeling in his gut that he could've made a mistake, and the reason that he suddenly rushed at the hospital that day was that he was just feeling guilty for what he did to Hinata years ago and rushed into a conclusion that Menma was his son.
'But Hinata confirmed it. She wouldn't lie to me, right?'
Was it possible that Hinata also made a mistake?
The absence of that 'rush of love' was wearing him out for the past few days.
"Green means go, you jackass!"
He heard someone shout right outside his window. It seemed that he had spaced out too much that he didn't notice the traffic light changed to green some seconds ago. He mouthed an apology and instantly stepped on the accelerator.
He was only a couple of blocks away from their house when he heard his phone beeped, indicating that he received an email. He reached over for his phone and found a message from the pink-haired woman he hoped was waiting for him at home.
Apparently, she wasn't. Her email said it all.
How she arrived safely at the conference, and how sorry she was for forgetting to tell him about the week-long stay at a city thousand miles away from him.
Forgetting to tell your fiancé about a week-long business trip. "Who does that?!" He found himself yelling inside the car, choking the poor little gadget with his hands and fighting the urge to throw it out of the window.
Soon, the parking entrance came to his view, but he suddenly felt like not going home. So, he made a u-turn, and drove all the way to the place he thought he should be.
.
The elevator door opened, and Naruto was once again met by the familiar white corridor that smelled of antiseptic. His feet stopped upon reaching a door, and his breath hitched seeing that the room now belonged to someone else.
He should've come back sooner, he thought.
"May I help you?" A lady in white uniform asked.
"Oh, I-I'm.. Where's.. Do you know what happened to the boy who was confined here? Hyuuga Menma-kun?"
"Oh Menma-kun. Yes, he was discharged yesterday."
"What?" Naruto's eyebrows raised, his expression couldn't hide the confusion he was feeling.
The nurse looked at him curiously. "Menma-kun was sent home yesterday. Are you a relative?"
"Well, sort of. Do you know- Nah, never mind." Naruto shook his head. There was no need to ask. He knew they wouldn't give him something confidential like her home address or a mobile number. So, he ended the conversation and thanked the nurse, as she bowed and left.
'Why the hell didn't she tell me?' There was a fleeting anger that welled up inside him, but quickly faded, knowing the fact that Hinata had no way of telling him. They did talk the day he came by to donate blood, but that ended without exchanging numbers or asking about other private matters, like where each of them lived. It felt like Hinata didn't want anything to do with him, and he didn't want to push her. But seeing a different name on that hospital door and knowing that he had lost her once again, he wished he did.
If Menma had been discharged, then he must have gone better, right? His eyebrows knotted together as he pondered.
'He should have.'
He stopped, suddenly realizing how worried he was. It was the same kind of worry, with the same intensity, he felt when he first heard from Sakura that a boy named Menma needed a transfusion.
Does worrying about the kid count as some sort of a connection? He wondered as he walked toward the parking lot. He reached his car and somberly opened the door.
Oooxxxooo
"I thought you wouldn't make it." Shikamaru smirked as he welcomed Naruto inside the room.
"Sorry I missed the dinner party."
"No worries. That's for the old guys anyway. This is the real party, my friend."
Loud house music met Naruto's ears as he entered deeper into the slightly lit receiving area of the hotel suite. Despite the intentional poor lighting, he could tell that the party wasn't Guys-Only, as Chouji, Shikamaru's best man, originally planned. Naruto's eyes roamed around the spacious room and found his friends, and also some other guys he recognized as Shikamaru's cousins. He then shook his head when he found a number of girls- girls in bikinis- walking around the suite, talking, drinking, and playing with the boys.
"Is this really how a bachelor's party work? I thought we're here to celebrate the remaining days of your freedom. It's like the other guys are enjoying the party more than you do. Who are these girls?" A smug smile formed on Naruto's face, as he reached for the bottle of beer that Shikamaru handed to him.
Shikamaru shrugged in his signature lazy manner. "I don't know either. They're staying at the suite next floor. Chouji saw them at the pool and just invited them over. And it's okay, actually. I don't mind if the other guys are getting all the attention. Women are troublesome, anyway. I just want to enjoy this night seeing you guys having fun." Shikamaru snickered and downed his own bottle of beer.
"Troublesome, huh? Does Temari know you think that way?" Naruto joked.
"Well, as they say, 'what you don't know won't hurt you'." The groom-to-be laughed.
Naruto and Shikamaru joined the others as they gathered in a huge leather sofa in the middle of the room. Alcohol of different kinds kept coming in, and sounds of laughter became louder and wilder as the hour passed. Everyone was almost drunk except for Naruto, and also Shikamaru, who had been the guy who could always keep his cool.
"Naruto!" Chouji suddenly appeared in front of him and gave him a bone-breaking bro-hug.
"You smell terrible, Chouji." Naruto struggled from his friend's bear-like grasp.
"The girls like it. Anyways, what happened to Lee?!"
"Dad-duties. He's probably changing diapers right now." Naruto remarked, making Chouji and Shikamaru laugh.
Chouji clicked his tongue. "That's too bad. He won't get to see this wonderful surprise he got you, Shikamaru." He threw Shikamaru a playful look, causing the pineapple head to raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Just as Shikamaru spoke, the doorbell rang twice, and Chouji excitedly headed to the door, after he slightly patted Shikamaru on the cheeks, while shouting, "This is for you, man!"
Shikamaru remained seated in the middle of the huge black couch, his eyebrows still knotted together in confusion. "Do you know what he's talking about?" He asked Naruto who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Is Nara Shikamaru-san here? I'm here to deliver a gift from Lee-san."
It was a woman's voice. Soft, yet seductive at the same time.
Naruto heard the voice, and though he didn't know why, he felt his heart sank into the pit of his stomach.
They turned their heads around and found Chouji snickering as he made his way back to the couch. Walking behind him was Lee's supposed surprise. It was a woman, a very beautiful one, wearing a red, knee-length trench coat that matched the color of her lips. Her dark-lidded eyes gazed enticingly at the crowd, as she ran a hand through her black curls.
When Naruto saw her face, his heart dropped.
The room was immediately filled with sounds of cheers and whistles when someone turned a few more lights off as the new guest started to move toward Shikamaru.
"Ah, that asshole!" Shikamaru burst out laughing, a slight blush grazed his cheeks. "Really? For real? I thought you guys skipped this part! Temari's going to kill me if she finds out! Do you know anything about this, Naruto?"
Naruto watched quietly as the woman moved closer, until she was just feet apart from the groom-to-be.
Her face might be painted heavily with make up. Her soft lips might be colored enticing red, and her hair might be curled softly, but he knew those eyes too damn well. His baffled expression hardened, which Shikamaru failed to notice.
"No. Not at all." Naruto managed to say after swallowing a lump that suddenly formed in his throat.
"Fuck that. I know you planned this with Lee."
The woman breathed deeply and cleared her throat. "Lee-san has a message." The group cheered once more as she started to untie and unbutton her trench coat. "He said he hoped you didn't find his gift..."
Jaws dropped the same time her coat fell on the floor. "...troublesome."
Naruto noticed how his usually cool and calm friend swallowed hard upon seeing that the woman in front of him was clad with just a tight leather corset and a g-string. Beads of sweat formed on Shikamaru's forehead as she leaned down and teasingly touched her lips on his neck. With her eyes closed, she started to move her hips slowly to the beat. She swayed seductively and her hands started moving around caressing her face, her neck, down to her breasts. She turned around giving Shikamaru a full view of her buttocks as she danced, and when she turned back, she invitingly unlaced some ribbons on her chest.
Naruto wished for whoever turned the music up to drop dead that instant.
The unpleasant feeling in his stomach continued to grow, as the people in the room continued cheering. It became more of a feeling of uncontainable anger when he saw her lower herself onto Shikamaru's lap and began grinding gently.
Naruto clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
'She might be someone else. She might just be someone who looks like her. No, it's not her. She works at a restaurant, right? Don't be stupid.' He repeated to himself.
He closed his eyes and continued to breathe deeply, calming his nerves.
Until he opened his eyes and saw her look at him. It was a quick glance that only he seemed to notice.
She continued dancing and moving her hips against Shikamaru, as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. She leaned her face close to him, gesturing for a kiss. But before she could do so, Naruto saw something.
White eyes met his.
As their gazes locked, she paused for a brief moment, but long enough for Naruto to think that time stopped.
Her pure, white eyes. They painfully gazed at him like they were pleading, asking for forgiveness.
And before he knew it, Naruto found himself striding toward the door, dragging a barely clothed female by her wrist.
Shikamaru and the others just stared dumbfounded as Naruto left the party and never came back.
Oooxxxooo
"S-Stop. L-Let me go, Uzumaki-san."
She winced feeling his grip on her wrist tightened. The black coat he put over her shoulders almost fell. "S-Stop, please! I have to go back and finish the show!"
Naruto halted his strides and slowly loosened his grip. "No. Don't go back there. Just come with me, okay?" He said, never bothering to face her.
"B-But..."
"Get in." He said, motioning to the elevator door that just opened. "Please."
.
The car was enveloped in a suffocating silence as Naruto drove from the hotel to the busy road of the city. His eyes left the road for a moment, when he noticed her gently caress her slightly bruised wrist.
"Sorry."
"What are you doing?" Her voice was heavy, with a very small hint of anger that Naruto didn't fail to miss.
"I'll ask you the same question. What are YOU doing?" Naruto waited for an answer. "Did you lie about working in a restaurant?"
"I don't have to explain anything to you."
Hinata flinched when Naruto slapped his fist hard on the steering wheel.
"Why are you doing this? You don't have to concern yourself with anything I do."
Naruto scoffed, but didn't give her an answer. He didn't know why, either, but seeing her snaking her arms around someone else flared up an emotional discomfort similar to anger, but something else. He tried to control his feelings, but he just lost it, when he saw those lovely eyes stare back at him.
"You can't just barge into my life, just because you are the father of my son."
"Or am I, really?"
"W-What?" She choked out the word, and her eyes widened in shock.
Naruto bit his tongue. "I-I'm sorry."
"No, you don't have to be. I completely understand." Hinata gazed out the window and sighed. "You can drop me off here. I'll just take the bus."
"No, that's not what I meant!" He frustratingly scratched the back of his head, when he saw her wipe a tear. "Damn it!"
Naruto pulled to a stop at the roadside. His hand found hers as soon as she reached for her seatbelt.
"Wait, Hinata, please!" He held her hand tighter. "I'm really, really sorry. I shouldn't have said that. There's just a lot of things going on in my head lately, and... this happened. I'm really sorry, Hinata. Please forgive me. Let me take you home."
Hinata looked into his eyes. Her expression softened, and she bit her lips.
"My house is just six blocks away."
"A-Alright. Thank you." He kissed her hand and started driving again.
"I didn't lie to you." Hinata spoke.
Naruto gave her a sidelong glance, listening quietly as he drove.
"I do work at Ichiraku's. But bills just come one after another. There's rent and the hospital bill. Menma and Hanabi have to go to school, too." She sighed. "Then, a friend from The Sweaty Hole called me, asking if I could cover for her at a bachelor's party."
Naruto stopped at the red light.
"I didn't want to. I haven't danced for, like, five, six years?"
"Doesn't look like it." Naruto bit his lips, remembering how the sway of her hips made the air conditioning useless. "But that's not the point, is it?" He cleared his throat.
Hinata blushed and held back a smile. "Your friend Lee is very.. generous. The amount was really something, that's why I said yes. That's a few extra hundred for this month's dues." She paused. "And I promise I didn't lie to you about Menma, too. You can get a paternity test, if you want. But I guess that's not important. You don't have to force yourself, Naruto-san. You don't have to be his dad if you don't want to."
Naruto had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat.
"That's our apartment right there."
Naruto parked his car in front of a five-storey building. It was noticeably old with a few cracks and some broken windows. Its gray unpolished paint made it gloomier under the glow of the street lights.
"Thank you for dropping me off." Hinata said as she unfastened her seat belt once again.
"No problem."
Hinata shifted and pushed the car door open, when Naruto stopped her.
"Hinata.."
"Y-Yes?"
"C-Can I see him again?"
Oooxxxooo
"I haven't done any cleaning yet, so please excuse the mess." Hinata said as she led Naruto inside the apartment room.
"I don't mind." He replied, looking around.
It was a small room, could be just the same size as Naruto and Sakura's room and bathroom combined. A small couch and coffee table consisted the living room, and to his right was a space he presumed as the dining area.
"Oh, don't remove your shoes. The floors dirty." Hinata instructed.
"O-Okay."
They moved further into the house and stopped in front of a door which Hinata opened. Hinata peeked inside, and a girl's voice spoke.
"Where have you been, Nee-san?"
'Hanabi.' Naruto gulped.
"It's two in the morning! I told you I have a class at seven. This little boy wouldn't sleep until you're here." The angry voice continued.
"I'm very sorry, Hanabi." Hinata said. "And uh, Hanabi? We have a.. guest."
She opened the door wider, revealing Naruto to the confused teenager.
"Oh, you." Hanabi remarked.
"Sorry for intruding." Naruto smiled sheepishly.
Hinata entered the room and sat beside Menma who was sleeping soundly on the bed. She caressed his cheeks and kissed his forehead.
"What is he doing here?" Hanabi whispered to her older sister. "And why are you dressed like that?"
"I'll explain later. Thank you for watching over Menma. Goodnight, Hanabi." Hinata gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Hanabi rolled her eyes. "I'll be at the couch if you need me." She made her way to the door, giving Naruto an evil glare before completely disappearing into the living room.
"She hates me. She won't slash my tires or burn my car, will she?" Naruto smirked, and Hinata smiled softly back to him.
His gaze turned to the boy curled comfortably under the sheets. He stood beside the bed staring at Menma's innocent face.
"Good thing he's already asleep. He often throws tantrums when I'm not around." Hinata said. "So... would you like some coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"I'll go get changed, too. Just wait for me here."
"Alright."
Hinata left the room, leaving Naruto alone with her son. His son.
He grabbed a chair and sat close to the bed, his chin resting on his hands. He just sat there and watched him sleep. He couldn't explain it, but there was something comforting with the way Menma's chest moved as he breathed.
He reached over his hand and lightly pinched the boy's nose. A wide grin formed on his lips when Menma's small face suddenly cringed. Naruto caressed the boy's forehead, then slowly played with his hair.
His broad smile disappeared when Menma's soft hums turned to sobs, which eventually evolved into a loud cry.
"Oh shit!" Naruto stood up from the chair in panic.
"Waaaaahhh!"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up!"
Naruto frantically peeked outside, but Hinata was nowhere to be found, and he didn't want to call Hanabi. She could be dangerous, even when asleep. He did the only thing that he thought would stop him from crying. Naruto bent down and picked Menma up into his arms.
"God, you're heavy."
Naruto winced when he suddenly wailed even louder in his ears, crying 'mommy' over and over again.
"Shhh! You'll wake up Hanabi!" Naruto pulled his face closer and started to rub his back.
"I want my mommy!"
"Shh..It's alright, it's alright..." Naruto continuously stroked Menma's back, as he slightly choked from crying too much. "It's okay, sweetie."
"Nooo! Mommy!"
"She'll be here... It's okay.. Shh.. I'm here." He hesitated, slightly unfamiliar with the word, but continued to whisper in his ear. "D-Daddy's here."
Like a magic word, Menma's cries started to wane, that Naruto could only hear him gently whimper. He placed a chaste kiss on his temple and hugged him tighter.
"It's alright, Menma.. It's alright."
"I—I w-wwant my m-m-mommmyyy.." Menma said, his small arms wrapping around Naruto's neck. His breathing calmed down, and his heartbeat slowed down, too, as he snuggled against Naruto's chest.
"Shh.. Go to sleep.. Daddy's with you."
Naruto felt the boy's little body relaxed into a nap, his arms still wrapped around him in an embrace.
"I want... daddy." Menma said, before finally falling deeper into sleep.
Naruto felt his chest tightened at the sudden surge of emotion that welled up deep inside. It was happiness in an entirely different level.
There was nothing more to prove. Paternity tests could prove nothing more than his feelings had already proven. He understood it now- the feeling of 'rush of love', the feeling of being connected, the feeling of loving a child.
He kissed Menma's cheeks once again and dried the trail of tears on his face.
Naruto was sure. The little boy was his. Menma was his son.