A/N: More Yondaime/Karura fluff.
II: The Anniversary Baby
Once again, 7:15 found Hirohiko returning from work. Karura was sitting at the kotatsu table, looking through an album of Temari's baby pictures. Temari was in a playpen in the corner. After greeting his wife, Hirohiko went over to Temari, picking her up and holding her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she giggled.
"Did she pass a good day?" Hirohiko asked.
"Wonderful," Karura assured him. She was on maternity leave and would be for another month.
Hirohiko smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." He put Temari back in her playpen and then settled at the table beside Karura, looking over her shoulder.
"Good evening, dear," she said, greeting him all over again. She smiled without looking up. "How was work?"
The cliché and repetitive nature of this question immediately had Hirohiko suspicious. Not that his wife didn't care how his work went, only that she usually didn't greet him that way. She only did that when . . . "What's up?"
Karura laughed. "Now what makes you think that something is up?"
Smiling at her, Hirohiko tilted his head, entering into the playfulness. "Well, dear, because of the way you greeted me. The last time you did that, you'd accidentally dropped my grandmother's antique serving plate and broken it. You thought I'd be upset." He'd only been concerned with whether she'd cut herself cleaning up the mess.
At least this time Karura didn't seem uneasy. Far from it, really.
Karura slanted him a wicked smile. "Oh, I just thought I'd see how your day went before I gave you the result of our nocturnal activities."
"Our what?" Hirohiko took a moment to catch on, then blushed. "Wait . . . are you saying you're late?"
Karura nodded. "I went to the doctor today and had them give me a pregnancy test to be sure. And . . . I'm pregnant!"
"That's wonderful!" Hirohiko scooped her into a hug, wrapping his arms tight around her and holding her closely. Karura ran her arms around his waist, hugging him just as tightly. For several minutes they remained that way, then he was hit by a sobering realization: they'd have two in diapers at once. "Oh. That's a lot of diapers."
Karura just laughed. "We can manage it."
Hirohiko certainly hoped so. "When are you due?" he asked.
Karura smiled. "May 23."
Hirohiko did the mental math, then felt a matching smile spreading across his face. "Ah, our anniversary baby." Apparently their night of passion on their wedding anniversary was going to leave them with a permanent present.
"Yes. I counted it up, too," Karura said. "An anniversary baby! That's romantic, don't you think?"
Nodding, Hirohiko pulled her back into his arms. "Yes, I do."
She gave him another hug, then after several moments, they transferred to the couch, where Hirohiko leaned against the couch arm and spread his legs for Karura to sit between. She reclined on his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. "Two of four," she teased.
"Does that mean you want a boy this time?" Hirohiko asked.
Karura nodded. "That would be perfect. And we should definitely name him Kankuro."
Hirohiko had yet to ask her if she would spell "Kankuro" with the kanji for "Gentle Ninth Son" or "Intuitive Ninth Son." For Temari, she had used the kanji 天万理, which meant "Sky of Myriad Logic." Already, their daughter did strike Hirohiko as a little schemer. Very intelligent. Of course, if they had a son, it wouldn't be their ninth, but the name referred to the ninth generation in Karura's family to have "Kan" or "Yuu" in their names. This included Yashamaru, whose real name wasn't Yashamaru. His ANBU name was Yashamaru, and everyone called him by it currently, including Karura.
Karura enjoyed name games. She was already cooking up names for their third and fourth children. Gaara was the name for the second son, and that one gave Hirohiko a headache. It could mean "Self-Loving Carnage," which made no sense to Hirohiko, or it could mean "Love is My Compass." She was considering Sumiko, with the kanji for "Clear Thinking Child" for their second daughter.
Hirohiko pulled himself out of the reverie on names. "Yes, I think Kankuro is an excellent name."
Karura smiled and snuggled up to him. "Are you hungry? Would you like supper now?"
Running his arms tight around her, Hirohiko shook his head. "I think I'd rather stay right like this for a moment, just holding you."
Karura rested her arms on top of his, aligning her hands with his, and gave one of his hands a squeeze. "Sounds perfect."
"You are my life," he whispered to her, kissing her temple. It was true. He wasn't sure how he'd make it through each day if Karura wasn't there to welcome him back home. Once she went back on duty, he was considering talking to her about taking a desk job to reduce the danger — both for his sake and the children's.
"You are my light," she whispered back. It was their personal way of saying "I love you" at times.
Hirohiko took comfort in her love and what their love was now bringing them: a second child. It was the value of life, so Hirohiko prayed for a safe pregnancy and delivery for his wife and second child.
He couldn't face anything else.
A/N: Gaara's up next. Thank you to everyone for the reviews!