Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way whatsoever.
Chapter 10 :Secrets hurts. Love hurts. Life's cruel.
"How about this one?"
The woman turned, incredulous, to the blonde man at her side and uttered almost insulted:
"THAT ONE?! That crib is so small, and normal and-" the last part was sharply whispered out between dry lips "-you want your child to sleep in that?"
"Something else, then." The man resignedly muttered as he gazed over the ocean of cribs, nursing tables, toys and other things he was quite sure he did not need nor would ever allow his son to even touch. They had been looking for things to put in the nursery for over an hour now inside this huge store. And Kushina had not liked anything so far. The man rolled back on his heels as he sighed loudly, he had a feeling this would not be finished today.
"Oh, stop sighing. This is the first time in awhile we've been able to meet since you got that silly hat and-" Kushina was abruptly interrupted by him as he rounded on her and snarled:
"It's not a silly hat."
"Well, it is to me! I know it's your dream and all but I h-haven't-" her voice finally broke at the same time as tears escaped down her cheeks, but as he made a motion to comfort her she waved him away while murmuring:
"It's just hormones. Nothing serious. Let's go over there." But as she started to head off to a corner of the store Minato stopped her and put an arm around her so that he could undisturbed whisper in her ear:
"I'm sorry. I wish I could look after you more, you looked fine when I arrived so I didn't think-"
"It's okay."
"No it's not. You're having mood swings? When did they start? I wanted to be around when those started…Are you still having morning sickness? And-"
"That's enough, Minato." As she stepped out of his embrace and started to disinterested look at another, bleach white crib she continued. "We're supposed to be closed friends, and I don't hug my friends like that so…" she turned to him in order to wave coolly in his direction "keep your distance when we're in public, okay?" her smile was so strained he had trouble reining his emotions in. Therefore he only nodded in response as she turned back and continued her slow walk down the aisle.
As he watched her go he took a more careful look at her, once again noticing the huge stomach that had barley been there the last time he saw her, before the political disaster that was now solved. Her long coppery hair swayed gently from side to side as she continued to walk further away from him. It is an image that stings his eyes and makes him turn away.
A part of him fears that it will not hold. That he might never be there to watch his child grow up. He had seen what happened between the Sandaime and his son. A nauseating feeling settles in his chest, by his heart, as he imagines losing her to someone else, someone who has the time to take care of her and their child. Will he ever have the chance to be that child's father? He wants to. But he can not decide if he wants that more than he wants to protect the village as its Hokage. The child still seems so surreal. Like it is not really true and yet something inside him tells him it is. He really can not decide what he feels. Except that he does not want to be alone. Do not want to be without her as he stands on the top of this world.
"Excuse me, Yondaime-sama, would you like some help?" the shop assistant showed up so suddenly the blonde man could not help but to jerk back a bit.
"No, we're fine, thank you." He replies kindly to the thin woman before turning around to get his secret girlfriend's confirmation to this fact, only to be met by an empty aisle.
"…You didn't happen to see a pregnant, red-head somewhere on your way over here?" he jokingly asked as he fought the panic in his chest.
"Your friend?" the shop assistant said conversationally, though the undertone of curiosity alarmed him to the fact that she probably was after more than a description of Kushina, so he smiled as wide as he could feeling the strain and the lump in his throat grow as he did, and answered that: yes she was. It felt like a betrayal.
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Kushina herself, however, was feeling anything but down. She had found it. The Crib with a capital C. It was made of soft, dark oak wood and was modeled to look like a row boat. It reminded her of home and this was her kid so it should know were it was coming from. Furthermore, the boat was fastened so that it was possible for one to swing it back and forth sideways, creating the rocking motion that all the books she read (or tried to read) recommended. She had just begun loading the crib with pillows and blankets of all colors and sizes when Minato appeared by her side, glancing at the pillow tower in the boat as he walked up to her.
"You've found the crib, I see."
"Yes, I want the matching nursing table too. You buy some toys to go with this and we are done for today!" the triumph in her voice and face quickly faltered as an ANBU became visible behind Minato's back as he responded:
"We should get a-"
"Sir." The unspoken demand in the man's voice quickly settled the destiny of their plan to spend the whole day together. Minato looked wordlessly several times between the ANBU and the mother of his unborn child before Kushina heaved a theatrical sigh and started to ramble in what she probably thought is an old dialect:
"Cruel fate, why must we part ways now? Tis' an exciting thing to be sure. Walking around aimlessly in this looming ocean of ….child…stuff." By the end of her sentence Minato was smiling widely, very amused, before he leaned over, as if to kiss her brow, before remembering and awkwardly turned the motion into a strange shoulder pat.
"Thank you." And then he is gone. Leaving Kushina to fill out the order by herself, before she heads over to the counter, feeling a bit lonely and tired from running around all day.
The counter is managed by two thin, slightly grey almost too common-looking women that seemingly have nothing else to do but to gossip between themselves. One of them leaned over the counter, ending the whispering between them, as Kushina walked up, and took a look at her belly before sniggering a bit as she straightened up and walked by the other shop-assistant murmuring something that made the other one laugh. As Kushina saw, this she too, straightened and put on the air of someone who does not give a damn, though she is tired of people's reaction to her appearance, as an unmarried soon-to-be mother.
"I want this." She proclaimed noisily as she placed the order hard on the counter.
"Yes, but can you afford it?" the shop assistant murmured quietly as she holds out her hand and said a bit louder: "We'll need to look at your finances first, so could you please hand over your card?"
"Excuse me?"
"We need to make sure that you can pay for everything." The other one replied annoyed, as if Kushina should have realized this herself.
"You think I'd buy stuff I can't afford?!"
"Well, don't take this personally, but you seem like the sort of person who bit off a more than you can chew, so could you please…" the shop assistant waved in the direction of Kushina's purse, as if she has just stated the general laws of the village and not insulted someone while she ignored Kushina's outraged facial expression. In the end Kushina slapped down her ID on the counter while grinding out of her mouth:
"I don't take it personally, because you don't really deserve it." the shop assistants merely smiled amusedly at her in response, before handing back her receipt and said:
"Well, I hope that kid's worth it." provoking Kushina to growl:
"Just you wait! One day you'll see! My child will be like the savior of this whole village and who'll be without redemption?! Sly little gossip whores!" and with those words Kushina turned around and stomped clumsily, due to her extra weight, out the door. Leaving behind two very annoyed and slightly scared women.
Note: anyone thought some of the sentences were long? XD
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