Chapter 5: Adoration
There's something about babies that can bring out a whole other side to an adult, even someone as serious and stern as Neji Hyuga. No one who knew him would have ever imagined him down on the floor playing peek-a-boo with a nine month old infant laughing hysterically. It was a pretty humorous sight as Neji used his dark brown locks to cover his pale face. Even Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at the sight as he brought a full, navy blue diaper bag with the Uchiha Clan symbol on the side to his lover. Neji sat up to flash his boyfriend a genuinely happy smile as he picked Zuiichi up off the floor and put the diaper bag on his shoulder.
"I really appreciate you taking Zuiichi to his play date with the Uzumakis, Neji-kun"
"It's no problem at all. I'm looking forward to it, especially since I'll get to see my little cousin, Hideki, again."
"You know I noticed he looks a lot like you. It would be interesting if he turned out as strong as you or even stronger."
"It's too soon to see, but I have been discussing possibly training him with Hinata. It's a Hyuga tradition to begin training at age two or three, so Hideki has a year or two to go."
After strapping Zuiichi into his stroller Neji headed for the Hokage's mansion. He ignored the odd looks he was getting from a few onlookers. Hyuga Neji pushing a stroller was obviously a rare sight. He only had to stop once when Zuiichi began to wail because he had dropped his teething ring on the ground. He tried to comfort the baby as he scanned the area for a place to wash the teething ring off.
"I'd be happy to clean that off for you," came a familiar feminine voice. Neji turned to see Ten-Ten dressed in a white kimono with a red and black obi tied around her middle. A little brown haired toddler stood next to her holding her right hand and sucking his thumb. Neji could only stare at how beautiful the kunoichi looked as he felt something stir in his heart. A familiar feeling he had long forgotten. While he was looking at Ten-Ten he hadn't noticed the little monkey run up to him to snatch the teething ring from his hand. Ten-Ten smiled and knelt down to receive the object from the little animal before she scrambled up the side of her clothes to perch on Ten-Ten's shoulder. "Arigato gozaimasu, Kodai! Good girl!" Ten-Ten praised as she patted the monkey on the head. With Ken still holding fast to her hand the weapons expert made her way over to a bamboo fountain to clean the teething ring in the cool, fresh waters. She handed it back to Neji who dried it off with a burp cloth before giving it back to Zuiichi. The Hyuga couldn't help but notice how motherhood seemed to have brought out his former sweetheart's hidden inner beauty. Her face glowed with happiness and she seemed to be at peace with herself and everything around her. She was no longer his stressed out teammate with a short temper he had grown up with. He figured the reason for this change had to be her husband, Lee, who had matured into a serene and wise man who was still very well disciplined in mind and body. "So Neji, where are you two off to?"
"Oh, um...Zuiichi has a play date with the Uzumakis. I'm also going to see my little cousin, Hideki. I hear that he's walking now."
"Ah, that sounds like so much fun! It's been a while since Ken has played with the Hokage's sons, so perhaps I should see about taking him over sometime soon," Ten-Ten commented with a bright smile. Neji noticed that although she was almost thirty she still retained that girlish cuteness of her youth. Neji smiled back at the woman when they heard the doors to Master Lee's dojo slide open. As his students streamed out Lee acknowledged his former teammate with a curt nod. After the taijutsu students were gone Lee walked over to join his wife and son. He was wearing a black Chinese style yukata with silver eyehooks and matching black slacks and a pair of black and silver slippers. Ten-Ten gave her husband an admiring glance as he picked up their son.
"Konnichiwa, Neji-kun. What brings you here? Has Sasuke-san decided to enroll his son early?"
"Oh no, it's not that at all. Zuiichi dropped his teething ring so I had to stop to get it cleaned off before continuing to the Hokage's mansion. By the way, thank you for your assistance, Ten-san."
"Not a problem, Neji." The couple waved goodbye as Neji continued his journey with Zuiichi, who was happily swinging his little feet as he gnawed on his teething ring.
"Now that's something I'd thought I'd never see, Ten-chan."
"What's that, Lee?"
"Neji pushing a stroller and looking quite happy doing it." Ten-Ten giggled at her husband's comment.
"You know I think you're right. The word 'daddy' doesn't come to mind when I look at him. Then again I thought the same thing about Sasuke-san."
"Perhaps someday Neji will have children of his own."
"You never know, love. You never know," Ten-Ten concluded as she kissed her husband's cheek.
About twenty minutes later Neji arrived at the Hokage's mansion. The guards immediately recognized the elite jonin and let him enter the front gate. His cousin, Hinata, greeted him at the door while the sound of rambunctious play could be heard coming from behind her. Neji followed his cousin to the common area which had a fenced off play area in the middle of the floor. The Hyuga figured out what all the commotion was about right away. The Rokudaime was on his back with Hinode balanced on his knees. The playful father held onto his son's little hands as he gently bounced his legs up and down. Hinode was laughing hysterically as little Hideki climbed onto his father and began patting his hands against Naruto's chest. It was pretty obvious Hideki wanted a ride too. The young Uzumakis didn't even notice Neji had set Zuiichi down in the play area. Hideki looked startled when Neji picked him up from his father's chest so Naruto could safely set Hinode down.
"C'mon, Hideki! Your turn to fly!" The Rokudaime gave Neji a wink as he set Hideki on top of Naruto's bent knees. Soon Neji's one year old cousin was screaming with delight as he enjoyed his much anticipated ride on his papa's legs. "Hey, Neji! Good to see you. How are Sasuke and Ino?"
"They are well. Hopefully they will both be back from their missions soon. This is Ino's first mission with her genin since she had Zuiichi. She took them to a neighboring village for some field training."
"How about your genin?"
"Sorry to say they are still recovering from babysitting your sons. Those boys took a lot out of them. I don't see how you can keep up with them."
"One word-stamina!" Naruto then raised his knees causing Hideki to slide into his arms. The little boy laughed and screamed with delight when his papa blew raspberries on his baby belly. Neji chuckled at the sight until he felt someone tugging on his hair. Hinode was actually using Neji's hair as leverage to stand up. Seeing this Hinata stepped into the play area to get Hinode to let go of her poor cousin's hair. Zuiichi crawled into Neji's lap to pull himself up by the man's shirt. When he started to bounce on his chubby little legs and whine Neji figured he must be hungry. The Hyuga looked at his watch and saw that it was about 1 PM.
"Hinata-sama, may I use one of your highchairs?" Neji asked as he pulled out some baby food and Zuiichi's dish and spoon.
"Of course you can, Neji-nii-san." While Neji took the baby to the kitchen to strap him into the highchair Hinata warmed up the baby food. Neji watched his cousin with interest as she took a spoon, dipped it into the baby food and touched it to her tongue.
"I don't mean to sound ignorant, Hinata-sama, but what are you doing?"
"I'm testing the temperature of the food so Zuiichi won't burn his tongue." At that moment it was as if a light went on in Neji's mind. For a long time he assumed caring for a baby's basic needs wasn't very complicated. However through observing his cousin handling an infant he realized the mothers just made it look easy. There were so many things to consider when it just came to feeding an infant. As he fed Zuiichi Hinata pointed out that since he was cutting teeth it was good that he was feeding him with a spoon made of soft material. After Zuiichi was fed Neji figured he wouldn't be so fussy. Boy was he wrong. Not only was Zuiichi cranky but his nose was running and he felt warm to the touch. Neji managed to keep his cool but he didn't want the Uchihas upset that their son got sick while in his care.
"Should I take him to the pediatrician?" he ask in a voice laced with worry as he tried to comfort the now crying child.
"No, that won't be necessary. The runny nose and fever are just side effects of teething," Hinata explained as she looked through Zuiichi's diaper bag. "Ah, here it is," she announced as she pulled out a tiny bottle with some reddish brown colored medicine. Neji sat down with the infant in his arms rocking the little one in his arms. The little boy looked and sounded like he was in such pain the young man could feel his heart breaking. Hinata was all too familiar with the teething process, so she sat across from a worried looking Neji and a crying Zuiichi with a cotton swab dipped in the medicine. She then gently ran the medicated swab over the infant's swollen and sore gums. It took a few minutes but Zuiichi did eventually calm down, much to Neji's relief. Hinata watched as her cousin gently wiped the baby's nose. She smiled at how he handle the boy with such tenderness, which was a trait Neji wasn't known for. When the Hyuga looked up he wondered why his cousin was smiling at him.
"I was just thinking that you would make a great father." Hinata giggled at the surprised expression on Neji's face as her husband came into the kitchen with his two sons toddling behind him. It was lunch time for the Uzumakis and Hinata knew that unless she fed them instead of Naruto it would take at least two days to clean up the mess. Naruto chuckled as he observed Neji holding a now sleeping Zuiichi.
"Oh well. So much for a play date. The kid can't be much fun now that he's out cold," the Hokage mused.
"Well, he is teething. Between that and the medication I assume he's worn out."
"Oh yeah, I remember those days. The boys weren't too bad though."
"How would you know, Naruto-kun? You're not the one who was up all night while they were crying. Sakura and I were," Hinata commented as she served the boys their finger food.
"I don't remember them crying that much."
"That's because you slept through all the noise! I swear you could sleep through an earthquake, a train wreck, and a volcanic eruption all at once."
"Damn, I must have been knocked the fuck out!"
"Naruto, watch your language!" Neji laughed at their banter as Naruto apologized. While Zuiichi slept Naruto was kind enough to assist Neji with something both men dreaded. The changing of the soiled diaper! It was unpleasant to say the least, but not unbearable. Neji thanked Kami-sama that he wouldn't have to do this every day. Naruto said he may consider doing it more often just to solve the mystery of the unexplained bits of corn. By the time 4 PM rolled around there was no sign of Zuiichi waking up anytime soon so Neji decided to pack the diaper bag and take the little boy home. Over all Neji had a pretty good day. He even got a chance to play with Hideki and talk to his mother about his training. She said she would give it some thought, which Neji hoped was a good sign. He finally bid the Hokage and his family farewell as he pushed the sleeping child along in his stroller. During the walk home he thought about Hinata's comment that he would make a good father. He never really considered having children because he knew under the current leadership of the Hyuga clan his children would be branded with the Caged Bird Seal. That was a fate that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. He had hidden the fact from the rest of his clan that Hinata had found a way to remove his seal. He still wrapped his forehead so no one else would realize that it was gone. The only ones that knew of this were Hinata and his lover, Sasuke. Neji planned on keeping that way. As for becoming a father, Neji decided to put that on hold until there were major changes in the Hyuga Clan. His cousin had told him that she and the Hokage were working on bringing those changes about. Only when those changes came would he even consider having children of his own. Until then he would develop his bond with the beautiful son of his beloved Sasuke.
Next Chapter: I know some fans of A Mother's Instinct wanted the detail of what happened during the Boinga Boinga Good Times chapter. Well you're wish is about to come true in the next chappie! Review my lovelies!
