Naruto stamped his seal on the list before him. "Done. I ratified the list as it was. You can let the responsible for the graduation know and order the headbands."
Shikamaru took the paper sheet. "Okay. Now, please take a look at Sai's numbers. He has been asking me about it every time we meet."
"Oh, yeah. I'm pretty behind schedule with ANBU... When is is my meeting with them?"
"Next week. Thursday morning." Shikamaru answered. "And that is when Kiri's messenger will come to deliver and receive the master plan."
"Right. I've got it covered already. But why the hell do we do this like that? Why can't we just e-mail the master plans?"
Shikamaru tilted his head. "I think it is for enhancing boundaries between the Villages. I mean, my goddaughter is born just because of this stupid tradition."
The Hokage made a gesture of disbelief. "Nonsense. I'm still gonna suggest that on the next Kage meeting. We can make a big party every year to replace that."
There was a knock on the door.
"Yes?"
"Hello." Greeted Sasuke, opening the door slowly and getting inside Naruto's office.
His old friend smiled. "'Sup, teme! How unexpected."
Sasuke gave an awkward smile to Shikamaru, who corresponded amusedly.
"I came here to make an invitation to you guys." The Uchiha announced. "Are you free tonight?"
"Huh?" Naruto dropped the report he was reading. "You're inviting us for something?"
Sasuke nodded. "Sakura has something to do with Ino, so I thought I could ask the guys over for a barbecue and to play... darts. I'll cook!"
Naruto knitted his eyebrows at him. "You? Barbecue? Asking the guys? Darts?"
"Anything you forgot to highlight?" Sasuke asked back, sarcastically. "It is a serious invitation. I've already Choji, Sai, Lee, Kiba and Shino. They'll be there at eight. What about you two?"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "As suspicious of this invitation I might be… I'm free if you are."
The jinchūriki gave it a thought. "I think I will go through Sai's graphics and give the final touch on Konoha's master plan then call it a day. We can go."
Sasuke smiled. "Great! Thanks a lot! You can keep doing… those things you're doing and I will tell you wives about it! Have I already thanked you? Thanks, I see you at eight. My place. See ya."
And then he fled.
The two remaining shinobi exchanged a look.
"He's up to something, right?" Naruto spoke.
"Maybe the food will be poisoned?" Shikamaru joked, half kidding, half serious.
"Or maybe he just has too much time on his hands now he's permanently back."
Shikamaru snorted. "Anyway, if I were you, I'd also give the final touch on my last will."
In the end, nobody got killed or poisoned.
Naruto and Shikamaru got at Uchiha's at eight sharp. Choji, as might be expected, since there was food involved, was already there with a meat stick on each hand.
"Oh, good, so we are the 2nd place to get here." Naruto stated.
Someone coughed. They looked aside. Shino was already there too.
"Oops, sorry, huh… Shinichi?"
Shino sighed loudly and took a big gulp of his beer. Shikamaru, smiling, tapped the insect user on the back.
"Hey, Shino, how you're doing?"
"Can't complain." He answered. They heard the doorbell and soon Sai, Lee and Kiba were there too.
They all just sat on the counter near the grill drinking beer while Sasuke kept grilling meat sticks. They all laughed at the strangely domestic image of the Uchiha taking care of the BBQ with his "kiss the cook" apron. And they did play darts.
At first, it was just something to keep their hands busy - hitting the bull's eye was something easy for any shinobi - but, as the pile of empty beer cans in the garbage grew, their aim started to get a little impaired and the darts they threw started to hit increasingly distant from the target.
"Hey, you!" Kiba called suddenly, sitting on the stool beside Sai. "You're good with women stuff, right?"
"I... guess...?" Sai answered confused.
"So - hic - is it true that when women say no they mean yes?"
Sai shook his head. "No one does that! But, sometimes, a woman might say something different from what she wants because the choice is not up to her."
That got Shikamaru's attention. "For example…?"
"If you ever ask a woman what does she wants for her birthday, she'd probably say 'nothing', but that doesn't mean she doesn't want a present, it just means she doesn't want to impose on your choice."
"Even Temari? She wouldn't want to impose on me?"
Sai was about to answer something but Kiba was faster: "So when a woman says she doesn't want to get married - hic - it means she doesn't want to impose on me but she actually doesn't want to get married?"
Sai gave it a thought. "It depends. Have you asked?"
Shino chuckled darkly. "You're still on that? Gee, get over it! You and Tamaki-san already live together!"
"Exactly! So why did she say 'no' when I asked her to marry me?!" Kiba whined, bumping a fist on the table.
"There's no need. You guys already seem married enough to me." Shino answered.
Kiba snorted. "HA! And what do you know, Shino? The only girl I've seen you with is Mirai-chan!"
Shino tilted his head. "Well said: that you've seen me with."
"What do you mea…?"
"Women, you can't live with them and you can't… live with them too." Lee said with a faltering drunk voice.
"That's not the quote." Shikamaru spoke.
"But you know what harms you a hundred times more than a rejection of a woman?" Lee said raising an index finger. Then he added before anyone could guess: "The rejection of your own kid."
That made Naruto laugh. "What are saying, Gejimayu? Did Metal stop wearing your green jumpsuit?"
"Of course not! Our jumpsuit is a present given to us by Guy-sensei himself! There's no way Metal Lee would ever not wear this!" He cried, elated. Large tears formed in his round eyes. "But Metal, he… he… said he doesn't want me to accompany him to the city gates when he is going on a mission with his team anymore."
Lee cried hard and hugged the person who was closest to him - Sasuke -, who just awkwardly stood there while he cried on his shoulder not even breathing.
Choji tapped Lee's head, comforting him. "Don't worry about those stuff, Lee, kids are just like that. Take my girl, for example! Whenever she has a friend over, I can't even walk around my house on my pj's!"
"And they are on an odd age, aren't they? It seems like just yesterday I knew everything there is to know about Inojin and now I just… don't." Sai commented, looking at the bottom of his beer mug like it held the answer to something.
There was a general agreement. Kiba laughed.
"I'm thankful for not having kids." He said.
"You don't have a wife." Shino reminded him.
Kiba narrowed his eyes. "You don't even have a lover!"
"That you know of." The bug user added.
Naruto laughed. "Good one, Shigeru!"
It was Shino's turn to bump the fist on the granite counter.
"Hey, you! That's enough! I don't care if you're the freaking Hokage or whatever but you can't take you guessing my name wrong anymore!" He shouted. That was a bit shocking. None of them had ever heard Shino raise his voice.
The Aburame got up and walked to Naruto, grabbing him by the clothes. "I'm your colleague! I was your wife's teammate! I was your son's homeroom teacher! I am your daughter homeroom teacher! I've tried to help you find this guy!" Shino exclaimed, pointing at Sasuke. "There's no way you wouldn't remember my name by now, no matter how quiet I may be!"
"Huh… Shino, could you back off a bit?' Naruto said, taking the other man's hands off his clothes. That cooled his anger a bit.
"You… know my name?"
Shikamaru chuckled. "The very first thing Naruto did when he became the Hokage - I mean, after being beaten up by his little daughter - was memorize the name of every shinobi of Konoha. Of course he knew your name…Even before that, I suppose."
Shino sat back down on his place near Sai. "Oh." He said simply.
The ANBU commander turned to him. "You see, I think Naruto was trying to approach you guys by creating an inner joke." Sai explained, innocently.
Shino nodded. "Yeah. I got it now, Sai, thank you."
"I'm sorry." Naruto said. "I should have known that was a bad joke."
"No... I didn't know I was so complexed either."
"Since we're having a revelation moment" Choji said holding up a meat stick "I'm gonna reveal something too: this might be the best BBQ I ever ate. Sasuke, I didn't know you could cook so well."
There was another general agreement. Sasuke felt his face get a little hotter. He didn't like being the center of attention. Specially when he was wearing a apron and had a guy's snot on his shoulder.
"It's just meat and vegetables on a stick." He said with a shrug.
Shikamaru coughed. "I also have something I want to say...actually, to ask... right now. Naruto, two weeks from now I want to take a week off. I would appreciate if you could give Shikadai a break then too."
Naruto and the others frowned a bit with the sudden change of subjects.
"Hmm, sure. But why did you ask now?" The Hokage scratched his head.
"I figured it would be easier for you to say yes far from the huge pile of documents on your desk." Shikamaru answered.
"Documents..." Sai repeated. "Have you seen my graphics?"
"And why such a specific date?" He inquired.
"It will be the week of Temari's birthday. I'm going to plan something nice for her birthday since she said she doesn't want to do 'nothing'." Shikamaru explained. "What a drag! Why couldn't she say exactly what she wants? Now I have to make a huge effort to be sure my plans for her birthday is just tol-lol because I don't know what she's expecting!"
"I think I know why Tamaki doesn't want marry me!" Kiba announced. "It's because she's still not over you."
Naruto almost dropped the meat stick. "What? She is still into me? That was just a innocent flirt!"
"Not you, you freaking idiot! Him!" Kiba pointed angrily at Sasuke.
"Oh, your woman used to be in love with Sasuke too? Join the club!" Sai spoke with a sarcastic smile.
"I wish I would love to see Ino reaction to you calling her 'your woman' but I think I'm more aghast to know that you learned how to use sarcasm." Shikamaru stated.
"Don't blame on Sasuke-kun." Lee said, wiping his tears. "It's not his fault he's so handsome!"
The host's face got red and he hid his face on his hand. Naruto chortled so hard he ran out of breath.
"Hey, you two!" Kiba said, pointing at Naruto and Sasuke this time. "Say something bad about your lives too!"
"Ahh…" Naruto exchanged a look with Sasuke.
"Oh, come on, Kiba, Naruto is married to our Hinata. What he would complain of?" Shino spoke, hitting his old teammate's arm.
"'Our' Hinata?" The Hokage asked.
"Yeah…" Kiba agreed with Shino. "'Oh, man! My beautiful loving wife loves me too much-ttebayo!'"
"Our Hinata?"
"'Her food is way too good-ttebasa!'" Shino also mocked. They all - but Naruto - laughed.
"Actually, there is something about Hinata I always wanted to ask you." Sasuke said slowly. Naruto eyed him. "How is she when… you know…"
Naruto's gaze turned into a glare. "When she's what...?"
"When she's mad." Sasuke finished.
"Oh. That." He relaxed and gave it a thought. "I don't know... I don't think I ever saw Hinata get mad, even though she might get really serious sometimes."
"Never? Not even when... I don't know... the kids break a window or a vase? That makes anyone mad." Sai said. For some reason, Sasuke shivered when he said that.
"Not Hinata. Whenever we screw up she gets 'very disappointed' or 'heartbroken'." Naruto explained. "I know it might seem easy but, trust me, no one would ever want to see Hinata with her heart broken." He also shivered.
"Oh, you also have a spouse with problems to convey feelings. Maybe you and Ino should hang out to eat something and talk about it." Choji suggested.
Naruto waived. "No… Sai is a wackadoodle, Hinata is just meek."
"I get it! I will sneak around Metal whenever he goes out to a mission and see him off anyway!" Lee stated, getting up. "And if I fail and he ever notices me, I will hop around the village on one foot a hundred times!"
"But then your other leg will become less strong than the other." Shikamaru noted.
Lee turned to Shino fiercely. "Are you picking up a fight with me?'
"I haven't said a thing." Shino answered.
"Oh, so you are trying to pick a fight with me!"
"No, actually, Lee, it's was Shikamaru who commented…" Sai tried to explain.
"Et tu?" Lee said to Sai narrowing his eyes.
"What?"
While their conversation turned to try to convince Lee that nobody wanted to fight him, Naruto got closer to Sasuke.
"Now, you. Spit it out."
Sasuke just raised an eyebrow slowly.
"Why did you call us here?" Naruto asked.
"As I said, Sakura is doing a all-nighter with Ino at the clinic and Sarada's out on a mission, so I thought it would be nice to call you guys over."
"What? You're lonely?" Naruto mocked. Sasuke made a head gesture that could mean anything. "Shut up! I know Sarada's team left the village right before you came to my office…"
A light bulb lit up on Naruto's head. "Sarada left just before you called us over! Let's see, Sakura is not home, Sarada leaves and you immediately find a reason to leave too and then bring us over… It all must be connected."
Sasuke sighed and grabbed a dart. "Think whatever you want…" He threw the dart. Bull's eye. "Dobe."
The Seventh also threw a dart, but his landed on the floor, way before the target. Sasuke chuckled. Naruto frowned and handed his friend a cup of sake.
"Here. Drink this up and try again."
Sasuke did so and hit the target perfectly again. As Naruto kept glaring at him, the Uchiha grabbed the bottle and poured himself another large dose that he took in with a gulp. He took another dart and threw it. This time he hit Lee's head.
"OH, COME ON NOW!" The taijutsu user complained.
"That was close!" Sasuke explained to a laughing Naruto. "I just need to get used to the new length of my arms!" He threw another dart that did hit the target… but didn't stay there because Sasuke threw it pointing the wrong way.
Naruto laughed even harder and tried to throw another one, hitting it perfectly this time. "Yee haw! Seems like you're the dobe now, Sasuke!"
Sasuke frowned. "Better of three?"
"The sunlight is too bright! It burns my eyes!" Sai complained, covering his eyes.
"Honey, it still night. That's a light pole." Ino corrected.
"Oh." Sai uncovered his eyes. Then he realized he was walking home with his wife beside him. "Oh, hey, Ino! I thought you're going to work all night!"
"I was. But when I got a text from you saying you were going to tattoo my name on your cheek I figured I should go pick you up. " Ino explained.
"Oh." Sai said again.
"The barbecue must've been good, huh?" She asked with a gentle smile.
"Sasuke's a good cook. But I'm sure I'm better. Lee tried to punch me. I'm a better cook. There was… he cried a lot. I love those guys." Sai said, nodding to himself.
The blond laughed. "Right. I will ask you again in a few hours."
Sai suddenly hugged her from behind. "Ino. Say you love me."
"What's gotten into you?" She said, trying to escape his iron clasp. He held her tighter.
"Say it." He repeated on a demanding voice.
"I l-love you." She said, breathless, leaning on him.
"Hm." Sai said simply, burying his face on her neck.
"What you're gonna do?" She asked, half surprised, half thrilled.
The was no answer.
"Sai?" She called, turning her head to look at his face.
He had fallen asleep.
xxxx
Kiba kicked his bedroom door open. That made Tamaki wake up from her sleep.
"Kiba, what are you doing?" She asked, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.
"Tamaki, I've decided! We are going to get married!" He said.
"What?" She said, narrowing her eyes.
"I heard me!" He spoke, crossing his arms. Tamaki gave the look that always made him feel like his soul was being read. "I-I-I mean, if y-you want to…"
She smiled. "Yeah. Sure. Now, please, take a shower and come to bed. I'm still sleepy."
xxxx
The insistent scratch sounds on the front door lock where quite distinctive. There was definitely someone trying to open the lock. Temari sighed and got up.
Seriously? An amateur thief on a ninja village? She thought to herself as she walked to the door. Getting there, Temari pulled it open with a brusque move.
"HEY!" S he shouted to the thief… who was actually her husband. "Whatta…? Have you forgotten your keys?"
"No." He answered showing her the key to prove. "But for some reason it wouldn't open."
Temari rolled her eyes, pulled him in, taking the keys off his hands, then she closed the door and locked it again, using his keys.
"Done." She said, handing it back to him.
"Weird." The shadow user stated.
Temari laughed. "The great strategist of Konoha, Shikamaru Nara, having problems to open his own house door? Man, I should challenge you to a shogi match right now."
He chuckled. "You could beat me even without me being hammered."
"Wow, I think that's the biggest compliment you ever made me." She said, jokingly.
"Maybe, but that's because I get embarrassed easily around you even now, not because you don't deserve more compliments." Shikamaru explained.
"Wow, you're the honest kind of drunk! Who would ever guess!" She noticed, pressing her lips together.
Shikamaru said something unintelligible and walked to their room. His wife followed him, crossing her arms.
"Say, Shikamaru…" She started, sounding hesitant. "Last week you said you weren't having so much fun in watching the clouds with me anymore. Did you mean you don't like watching the clouds or that you don't like doing it with me?"
Shikamaru frowned. "Have I ever explained to you why I like watching the clouds?"
"Yeah, you said that you have a soothing feeling when you watch clouds freely drifting in the sky. Like you're alone in the world." She said, raising her hands impatiently.
"Yeah. But I've the same feeling when I look into your eyes... Except the it ain't like I'm alone in the world, it's like I'm alone in the world with you. That's why I said that. Looking at the clouds is no fun when you're around." He answered.
Temari felt the room got oddly hot. "Yeah, you would never answer me that sober." She whispered.
Shikamaru kept looking at her. "It's a shame, though."
"What's a shame?"
"That I probably won't remember the face you're making right now tomorrow."
xxxx
Naruto got up early - really early - on the next morning, feeling stiff. He realized he had fallen asleep over Sasuke's counter and had his face on a pool of drool.
He looked around and found Sasuke sleeping on the floor, using his apron as a pillow. Naruto wrote "I WON" on his forehead with a permanent marker he found near Sasuke and left.
When he got home, Naruto found his wife scrubbing the floor.
"I'm home…?" He said, confused.
"Oh, hi, dear! How was your night?" She said, still scrubbing.
"Good… from what I remember. Hinata, what are you doing?"
"Cleaning." She said simply.
"Hinata, it's 6 A.M." He told her.
"I'm doing a early cleaning." She joked with a smile. Naruto kept waiting, she sighed. "I can't sleep when I'm home alone."
"Home alone? Where is Himawari?"
"At my family's house."
"And why didn't you go to see me at Sasuke's?"
"I didn't want to impose on you. You were having fun with your friends." She said, putting the cleaning brush back on the bucket.
"They are our friends. You would have liked it, seeing they fret over relationship problems." Naruto said as he took off his jacket.
Hinata widened her eyes. "Were you also fretting over relationship problems?"
"What problems? I'm married to you!"
Hinata blushed and looked away. Naruto found it amazing that, even after all those years, he was still able to make her blush. For some reason, he heard Kiba's words on the back of his head. He just ran to her and kissed Hinata's lips eagerly. No, she's my Hinata.
"Naruto-kun, you taste like liquor." She complained softly when he pulled away.
"I think I'll send a kage bunshin to work today and stay home all day with you." He said, running a hand down her neck as he stared deeply into her eyes. "What do you think?"
For his surprise, she burst in laughing, burying her face on his chest.
"Have I mispronounced anything?" He guessed.
"N-Naruto-kun, I totally approve your idea but your face is kinda killing the mood." She said, still laughing.
"My face?" Naruto repeated. He grabbed a spoon on the kitchen and stared at his reflection.
On his forehead, written in bold letters, there was a big: "DOBE".
xxxx
"Papa, you have something on your face." A soft voice told Sasuke a couple hours after Naruto had left.
Sasuke sighed and got up from the floor. "Hey, princess, you're home already." He realized poking Sarada's forehead.
"Yeah, it was a simple mission. Daddy, what are we going to do? Mom will be home soon!"
Speaking of the devil, they heard the door open and Sakura's voice announce: "I'm home!"
"Don't worry. I've got it covered." He whispered to his daughter right before Sakura joined.
"Hey, Sarada! You're her… What did Naruto win? Don't tell me you were the one who ended up doing a tattoo on your face!"
"He didn't win." Sasuke said as an answer.
Sakura chuckled and started her way to the kitchen. "I'll make us a brunch. Sarada, can you give me a hand?"
"Y-yeah, sure." The girl got up and followed her mother. Sasuke gave her a reassuring blink before he followed them as well.
"You know, the house is way more tidy than I thought it would." Sakura told them. "When you said you're going to ask the guys over, Sasuke, I…"
The medical nin froze when she looked into the garbage. "Wh-what is my handmade clay vase doing on the garbage? Oh, my God! It's broken!"
Sasuke also froze. "I'm so sorry, Sakura! We were playing darts yesterday, one of the guys must've hit it… I didn't even realized! I'm sorry for being so careless!"
Sakura blinked. "Oh, it's okay. It's not your fault." She turned aside and an evil aura surrounded her. "Those guys are animals." Then she turned back at her husband. "But I'm not mad at you."
Sarada looked at her father with her mouth open.
"Aw, we're out of miso! Could you two go buy some?"
Father and daughter said at the same time: "We're on it!"
When they were already on the street, Sarada punched her father's arm lightly.
"You devious!" She exclaimed. "Papa, you put the blame on your friends for the vase we broke!"
"I put the blame on a friend. You mother will never know who was is and she can't punish all of them… Besides, our house gets way better without that thing."
"It's true. But I still feel bad for lying for mama." She shook her head. "But, thank you, dad, you pulled up such a major plan just to keep mom from scolding me."
"It's a father's duty to protect his daughter." Sasuke stated. "... Even from her mom."