One more story (oneshot) about them both. To celebrate Kushina's first appearance in anime :D (They need more love, damn it :[)

Title: Becoming a Parent
Characters: Kushina, Minato, and Naruto.
Genre: General/Romance/Tragedy
Rating: PG/K+
Word count: around 1750
Warnings: The last part is very spoilerish for chapters 439 & 440.
Summary: The joy of waiting for the baby to be born, the bitterness of what comes after. No matter what, he'll always love her.

I do not own Naruto. We all know to whom it belongs.

BECOMING A PARENT

1.
When Kushina tells him she's pregnant, Minato is surprised.

They didn't plan to have a baby - not now at least - life, however, chose it for them.

Minato doesn't mind, quite the contrary - he's thrilled. He starts to think of himself as a father. Outside, he might seem calm, at least as much as any soon-to-be-father would be, but inside he's overjoyed and filled with so many emotions that he can barely control them.

At the same time he's somewhat anxious. He's an expert at killing, destroying, crashing. He could list at least a few effective ways of getting rid of enemies or dealing with difficult clients. He could come up with a brilliant idea of some plan that would save a group of shinobi sent on a mission or would allow them to win a battle. Being a parent, however, is nothing like his missions. It's also far away from taking care of three kids and helping them to become fine shinobi. No... Having a baby, raising them, seeing how they grow up – it all requires love, devotion, responsibility. It's like a mission to which Minato is not prepared. Not yet.

He contemplates the thought, thinks about what being a parent means and how his life - no, their lives - will change.

He glances at Kushina and notices that she's been watching him warily. She seems calm, but at the same time he can see that she bites her lips nervously and keeps clasping and unclasping her fingers. Unusually quiet, she's said no word since she delivered the news to him.

It's then that he finally realizes that Kushina might be afraid - afraid of what he would say, do or, simply, of what will await them. It might be that, just like him, she also doesn't feel prepared.

Minato smiles at her. In this one smile he tries to express all his feelings - joy, hope, love and more, much more - believing that in this way he'll be able to assure her that everything will be okay and whatever problems might appear, they'll face them together.

He closes her in a tight embrace, his hand strokes her hair. He kisses her forehead and she presses her cheek to his chest.

He can feel how her body relaxes in his arms, her arms wraps around his waist.

Sometimes, words are not needed. They both understand.

2.
"It's a boy," Minato claims, no trace of hesitance in his voice.

"How can you be so sure of it?" Kushina asks, pouting her lips and eyeing him speculatively. She seems as much amused as intrigued.

Minato falls silent and looks away, his brows knitted. A somewhat confused expression appears on his face. All of a sudden he feels like a little boy questioned about matters he doesn't really know or understand.

There is no logic in his statement and no proof to support his words. All he has is his belief. Even the best medic would not be able to say if the baby is a boy or a girl, as it's way too early to be sure of anything. Minato, however, is ready to bet that their baby is a boy.

"I don't know," he finally replies and smiles at her shyly, trying to cover his embarrassment with that smile. "I... I can't explain it. Blame my intuition."

Kushina stares at him, her eyes widened by surprise and disbelief at first, but after a while a wide smile appears on her face.

"Here I was thinking that such talks are women's thing." She laughs and shakes her head.

Soon, however, a serious expression appears on her face. She glances at him, pouts her lips, as if thinking about something deeply, but says nothing in the end.

Later, he finds her sitting cross-legged on a sofa, with her hand lying on her stomach. She whispers something quietly, completely unaware of his presence.

He stops in the door, feeling that he intrudes some special moment, something he should never disturb. He casts one more glance at her - his eyes filled with love, a warm smile on his face - and turns back, intending to walk away quietly and come back later, when whatever Kushina is doing now is finished.

He stops short hearing her words.

"I know he will love you no matter if you're a boy or a girl, but men always think about having sons first," she mutters. "Besides, he would be upset if his guess appeared to be incorrect. So... what about being a boy, little one?"

Minato can't help but smile. He loves them both to bits.

For him they are his whole world.

3.
He watches Kushina while she's sitting on the sofa; the curve of her stomach visible under the loose blouse she wears. Suddenly she flinches. Her hand rests on her stomach and for a short while she freezes - it almost as if she was listening to what happens inside of her.

Minato knows the reason - the baby moved again.

"He inherited your personality," he states.

"And what makes you think so?" She glances at him, a smile on her face.

Minato grins in the reply. "He's like you. Lively and full of energy. Besides, judging by what I can see, he loves to kick."

Kushina shoots him a warning look, her eyes narrowed. "And what does it have to do with your statement?" She asks, her voice suspiciously calm.

"Our first meeting started from a kick. Your kick." Minato reminds her, sitting by her side.

She blinks, stares at him and then she bursts out laughing.

"All babies do that." She ruffles his hair. "He's doing it all the time, though." She adds after a while.

He watches her rubbing her stomach. He loves the expression that appears on her face in such moments - it looks as if she's smiling, thinking about some secret that is known only to her.

"If he has your personality, he should have my look." He states, a gentle smile curves his lips. "Blue eyes, blond hair. That would be fair."

She gives him a speculative look and leans back, closing her eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asks her after a while, his curiosity piqued.

"Imagining." She replies, with a grin on her face. "I'm trying to imagine how it would be to have two such handsome men around me."

He chuckles. Is there any way he could not love her?

4.
From the moment he read Jiraiya's book he's known that Naruto is the right name for his son. In Minato's opinion it should work as a lucky charm for the boy, helping him to become a great man one day.

Kushina, however, has a different opinion on the matter.

"Do you really want to name our son in this way?" she grumbles.

"What's wrong about this name?"

"Ramen." Kushina scowls at him. "It will remind everybody of ramen."

A quiet sigh escapes Minato. He has no intention to turn this... discussion into some quarrel, which, undoubtedly, it would soon become. Very soon. Kushina has been rather moody recently and he's already learnt that the best way to avoid troubles - big troubles - is to not irritate her. It would be much safer to face a group of rogue shinobi than to anger her.

He doesn't intend to give up, though, so he hands her the book.

She moves her eyes to it.

"Just read the book," he suggests.

She says no word. She takes the book, glances at it and puts it on the drawer. For the rest of the day she wanders around the place, darting angry glances at the book, grumbling and mumbling something under her breath.

Later he sees her reading the book.

She's sitting on the sofa, with her legs folded to the side. A single strand of her hair - which in some mysterious way has managed to escape her loose ponytail - partially covers her face, but she ignores it. He's sure that she's not even aware that he's entered the room and now he is watching her. She's lost in her little world, focused on the book he gave her. She bites her thumb and turns one page after another.

His face breaks into a wide grin.

It seems that Naruto indeed is a good name.

5.
He doesn't regret the life he has had. He doesn't regret any single day of it. What he regrets is that he could spend only so little time with her.

A sudden stab of sharp pain shoots through his chest when he thinks about Kushina.

She's gone, he won't see her again.

He glances down and his features soften when he gazes at the boy he cradles in his arms.

Their son. Naruto. The only part of her that's left.

Minato's fingers brush Naruto's face gently and Naruto squirms.

Minato has made the decision. He's already lost Kushina; there is no way he'll lose his son as well. He knows that he has no other choice and what he plans to do is the only solution left. His last hope, his last chance to save everything he loves and everyone about whom he cares.

A sad, weary smile plays across Minato's face.

He won't regret dying if in this way Naruto can be saved, but not being able to see Naruto grow up is one of a few things that he does regret.

"One day... we'll meet again," he whispers and kisses Naruto's forehead. "I hope that your mom would forgive me what I have to do. I hope that she would understand."

The baby in his arms sleeps soundly and doesn't wake.

6.
Sixteen years. Long sixteen years spent in a place beyond time and space.

Sixteen years has passed since he saw the boy last time. Sixteen years since he lost her.

It doesn't matter now.

He eyes his son, feeling how pride and love fill his heart.

Just like him, Naruto has blond hair and blue eyes, but when Minato takes a closer look at the boy, he can see Kushina in the way the boys smiles, speaks and behaves. Naruto is as energetic as she was and they both seem to share love for bright, vivid colours. His eyes shine with emotions in exactly the same way like hers did. Minato also thinks that Naruto and Kushina seem to have similar shapes of eyes and faces.

That's Naruto. Their son. The boy whom she believed to become a great hero one day.

That's Naruto. The boy who is so much like her.

THE END