Time with an infant was fleeting. Children grow so fast that in the blink of an eye, they were months old and already had little personalities, likes, dislikes, and little noises to communicate. It felt like overnight. Miki was a whole little person. She didn't like footed pajamas but loved shirts with frills to grab. She hated sleeping in her carrier but would willingly sleep on any flat surface, including a chest or lap. She hated baths but would sit through them if Sasuke talked to her the whole time.
Little moments Hinata wished she could have captured and kept forever, but something felt wrong about taking pictures of every moment like she did in high school. Look where that got her.
Sasuke laid flat on his stomach with Miki as she rocked her little head up to look at him. Warmth filled her heart. There was something about watching Sasuke level with her. Okay. Maybe she needed another picture.
Sasuke held up two outfits to Miki. "Which one?" Hinata smiled as Miki kicked her little legs. "This one, are you sure?" Sasuke waited for her to kick her legs again. "Alright."
Hinata flicked her hands off as she finished the dishes as Sasuke dressed Miki.
"I don't know if this one is going to fit much longer," Sasuke told Miki. "You're getting too big."
Hinata's smile faltered as she sighed. She hated how her own thoughts ruined little moments that she cherished. The reminder that Sasuke was doing the things Hinata expected Miki's father to do, all those little memories she was making were bittersweet in her heart because they weren't the complete picture she imagined.
It was stupid. Nothing ever came out as you imagined, but Hinata at least expected that she would be raising her children with their father.
Hinata sighed outwardly. "You're making the face again," Sasuke said over his shoulder.
"You're not even looking at me." Hinata rolled her eyes.
"I can feel it." Sasuke finished tucking Miki into her outfit and lifting her up. "Stop dwelling. Look at the cute."
"We are very cute today, aren't we?" Hinata got her baby's belly to make her giggle.
"Yeah." Sasuke agreed, but his eyes were on her, not Miki.
They definitely needed a bigger apartment. Sasuke's bachelor pad was great for just him, and for a while, it was fine for the two of them, but now with Miki and Hinata starting a new job working from home, the space wasn't working anymore.
A playpen for Miki, which Sasuke lovingly called 'baby jail,' was set up in the living room to keep Miki from happily rolling under the couch, and the small desk up against the wall they set up for Hinata to work was cramped.
But there was something they needed to address before moving into another place. Even after all this time Hinata spent living with him, she always acted like she was in his space like she was ready to leave as soon as he said the word. It bothered him. Not just because she thought she was disposable but because… he didn't want her to leave.
God, he was going to kill Naruto.
Then tension in the house was starting to get palpable, but knowing Hinata. She was probably misinterpreting it as him getting annoyed with her, even if she was feeling the same way he was. Anything he did for her was 'to make up for Naruto not doing it' in her eyes.
Was she ever going to separate him from Naruto? He didn't want to just be a replacement.
They should figure it out now before it became a bigger problem.
Miki was a good sleeper, and if she just ate, no amount of banging in the kitchen would wake her, even if she was only in the living room.
Hinata fluttered around the kitchen as she heard Sasuke come home. She hovered over the stove when heat crept up her back as Sasuke towered over her to look at what she was making it. It was becoming more common for heat to rush to her face as he got too close. It wasn't a problem before, and the touch barrier was broken long ago, so having her heart rate go up like a high school girl just because he was there felt silly.
Sometimes the feeling put a pit in her stomach once the initial hormone wore off because Sasuke was washing away her memories of Naruto, and while she was happy to see them go, she was afraid of what that meant.
Should she leave before her heart got too attached? This wasn't a problem of her taking up space in his life anymore.
She didn't want to just be another problem Sasuke fixed for Naruto. She didn't want him to feel obligated to keep her around.
Hinata flinched out of her thoughts as Sasuke's hand touched her hip. "Hey. You okay?"
Hinata nodded, returning to her cooking. His hand was burning her, the familiarity they built haunting her. Would she be able to leave it? She was so dependent.
"Can we talk after dinner?" Sasuke asked over her shoulder.
Hinata's heart dropped. Maybe she wouldn't need to decide. "Yeah."
Sasuke scrolled up on the apartment website on his laptop. "What do you think."
Hinata's face was blank and unreadable, and with the way she wore her heart on her face, she was either consciously hiding her reaction or she was feeling numb. Either was not good. "I think… that we shouldn't…" Her tip trembled as she picked at the ends of her sweater. "We can't keep this up."
"Why not?" Sasuke wanted her to say it.
"You shouldn't…" Hinata started.
Sasuke interrupted her. "Don't give me an excuse. Give me the reason."
Hinata's eyes met his showing her insecurities. "If we don't stop now, we will never get away from each other."
"What if I don't want to get away?" Sasuke asked flatly.
Hinata's eyes flickered with hope before she crushed it herself. "You can't stay forever to make up for…"
"If I was doing that, do you think I would go to all this trouble?" Sasuke asked her seriously. "That might be what it started, but Hinata… open your eyes. You know me. Do you still think this is all just making up for his bull shit?"
Hinata's lips pressed into a line.
"Like, I knew you were dense in school, but come on?" Sasuke broke into a smile when her mouth dropped open in the offense. At least she wasn't looking broken anymore. "I want you to stay. With me." Sasuke continued, and Hinata's face sobered. "Where that goes, I want to go there."
Hinata licked her lips. "Are you sure… isn't there rules and…" She couldn't even finish the train of thought. She felt too silly making 'guy code' an excuse.
"Naruto's not my friend anymore." Sasuke countered.
"I come with a lot of baggage." Hinata sighed, looking at Miki's pen.
"People already think I'm her father." Sasuke countered.
Hinata shook her head. "We really shouldn't encourage that."
"Well, if you leave now, it's just going to look like I was the father, and then you couldn't even make that work." Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not above using that."
Hinata rolled her eyes now that he defused the tension with the ridiculous idea. "Don't you want your own kids?"
"Maybe." Sasuke's eyes burned into her. Hinata flashed down as she blushed. She wasn't going to win this fight.
"I meant…" Hinata tried.
"I know what you meant." Sasuke stopped her.
Hinata whimpered, sitting back in her seat, accepting defeat. "This feels… like we are going about it wrong."
Sasuke grinned. "We aren't in high school anymore. You already tried the fairy tale route. We're adults now. We can be more practical."
"Yeah, I guess romance is not something that's ever been kind to me." Hinata huffed with a far-off look in her eye.
Sasuke kicked at her feet. "Hey. I can be romantic."
Hinata giggled. "Actually… this feels nice." Hinata's face fell, but the light stayed in her eyes as she explained. "Just talking about things like adults… that's… something me and Naruto didn't have. He never wanted to slow down enough to help make decisions."
"So you're saying I'm better?" Sasuke nudged.
A smile spread back across her face. "Maybe."
"Now that we have that settled. Actually, look at the place." Sasuke pushed the laptop toward her. "I knew you weren't paying attention." Hinata scrolled, covering her lips with her knuckles as she read. Cute. "You know we only need two bedrooms if we share." Hinata's face turned red as she ignored his obvious tease. "But maybe if you get pregnant again."
Hinata kicked him this time as she tried to focus on the webpage.