"I mean Konohamaru has a point. Getting barbecue for your bachelor party is pretty lame."
Naruto halts, his toothbrush hanging halfway out of his mouth. The point of him complaining about his day to Kaiyo was for her to agree with him, not for her to take stupid Konohamaru's side. He spits out the foaming toothpaste into the sink and rinses his mouth before walking back into their bedroom.
Kaiyo's already in bed, her hair down and scrolling through… was that his phone?
"It wasn't lame. As a matter of fact, it was really fun." He defends, slipping into the sheets beside her. "And the pork slices I had were pretty damn good."
"I'm sure they were but you could go there whenever you wanted." She points out, like it's something he should have taken into consideration.
"Shouldn't you be happy that I don't want to go to a strip club?"
Kaiyo exhales, putting his phone on the bedside table. She crawls on top of him, legs on either side of his waist. Naruto looks up at her.
"I'm just saying that you deserve one last night of being reckless." Kaiyo says with a little shrug. "I know for my bachelorette party, there's going to be some sexy stripper dressed like a fire fighter giving me a lap dance." She starts to rock back and forth on top of him. "Just thinking about it makes me—"
"Excuse me, the man you're about to marry is right here!" Naruto complains, placing two firm hands on her hips to stop her.
Kaiyo grins cheekily at his very prominent frown but then her expression softens. "You've been constantly working your ass off at the office and with the kids since the day I met you. You deserve one last wild night of fun." She leans down close. "One last night before I lock you away forever." She whispers, her lips brushing against his ear.
She leans back and they stare at each other like some sort of standoff. After a few seconds, Naruto closes his eyes, admitting defeat.
"Fiiiine, I'll go." He concedes.
"Perfect." She smiles, victoriously. "I already texted Kono that you're in. He's picking you up tomorrow night."
Naruto lets out a loud dramatic groan. So that explains why she was on his phone.
"You only want me to go so you don't feel guilty about Mr Fire Fighter right?"
"Oh no never." She winks at him and Naruto decides that he's had enough of her teasing for tonight. Kaiyo yelps when he grabs hold of her waist and effortlessly, rolls them both over.
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"Are you sure about this?" Shikamaru asks him at the final fitting of their wedding attire.
Naruto spares him a quick glance as he does the last buttons of his shirt. "The bowties? I mean I don't know. Sakura-chan said both would look good so I can pick either." He says with a noncommittal shrug.
Kaiyo had given him complete control on what he was wearing to the wedding. A terrible decision on her part since Naruto had no fashion sense whatsoever. Luckily for him, Sakura stepped in.
"If you're standing at the end of that aisle in some god awful orange suit, I'd never forgive myself." She had said like a woman on a mission.
She chose a deep navy suit in the end, spouting some nonsense about how it complimented his eyes or something. With his hair freshly cut, face cleanly shaven and the suit tailored to his exact measurements, he looked good and it was all thanks to Sakura.
"I'm not talking about the bowties, I'm talking about getting married."
With knitted brows, Naruto grabs his black bowtie and begins to tie it. "Is that a joke?"
Judging from Shikamaru's lack of response, it wasn't.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I want to get married." He focuses on his fingers, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "I'm not some asshole who'd ask a girl to marry me for the hell of it."
"I never said you were." Shikamaru says, casually. Like he hadn't just brought the mood down on their peaceful afternoon. "I just want to make sure you've thought this through. It's not too late to pull out."
Stunned, Naruto turns his whole body to Shikamaru now, bowtie forgotten. "Okay seriously, what the fuck?"
He couldn't fathom why his friend could even suggest something so outrageous. The wedding was in five days. If he wanted to pull out (which he most certainly did not want to do), it seemed pretty late to him.
Shikamaru lets out a long sigh, muttering an irritated 'this is gonna be a drag' under his breath.
"Just listen to what I have to say before you get all pissed off." The calculating composed aura of a lawyer emanates from Shikamaru so Naruto gestures for him to continue. Whatever he wanted to say obviously seemed important to him. "I don't think you're in love with Kaiyo. I think you're in love with the idea of her."
Naruto's brain short-circuits at the words because what the fuck did that even mean? Not in love with Kaiyo? He loves Kaiyo.
"You had a fucked up childhood, alright? And now you're trying to give your kids everything you didn't have. You have the nice house, the good job and you're a great dad." Shikamaru pauses momentarily, almost hesitant to say his next words. "The only thing missing is the mom."
The change in atmosphere doesn't go unnoticed by Shikamaru, who warily glances at Naruto's balled up fists and the unusual dark look in his usually bright eyes. But he doesn't waver, he continues.
"Kaiyo fills that role perfectly. I think you latched onto her because you think that's what the kids need. A mother. There's nothing wrong with wanting your kids to have a mom but be mindful of Kaiyo's feelings. Anyone can see she's head over heels for you and you…" His calm even tone turns somber. "I've seen you in love… With Kaiyo, you're different."
Naruto knows that he should shout at Shikamaru. He knows that he should deny everything and reaffirm his love for Kaiyo but instead, he says nothing. He feels sick to his stomach as the guilt within him festers.
He gazes at his reflection in the room's full length mirror. With his bowtie in place, he looks like the picture perfect groom.
He imagines himself standing at the end of the aisle. Shikamaru and Sasuke are behind him. On the other side, Sakura and Ino are there in matching lilac dresses. He looks out to the audience and it's filled with the people who supported him throughout his life.
Naruto's heart races and he stands up a little more straighter when the grandiose doors of the church open.
"You're going to die when you see her, Naruto!" Ino whispers excitedly before getting hushed by Sakura.
His palms moisten with sweat, his nerves going haywire but time doesn't seem to care. Time slows. His bride enters and with each graceful paced step she takes down the aisle, he finds himself becoming more and more restless.
When she's finally in front of him, the scent of flowers fill the air. He swallows the lump in his throat and gently, he takes hold of the thin fabric of her embroidered veil and lifts.
When he sees her, tears fill his eyes. She's beautiful.
Her angelic lavender eyes flicker up to meet his gaze and even through her makeup, he can see the pink tint of her blushing cheeks.
Her delicate hands take a hold of his much bigger ones, giving them a reassuring squeeze. One that said 'I'm here. You're not alone.' She smiles at him and all Naruto can think about is how much he wants to kiss her.
But then the scene stops. The dream fades away, shrivelling into the makeup of his old shitty apartment.
His 'bride' is there dressed in his worn out 'Ramen is Life' hoodie on his ragged two-person couch, crying.
This is the part where he's supposed to comfort her. Where he's supposed to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything is going to be okay, that they'll get through this together. But he doesn't have it in him to do it. Not anymore.
"I- I… I just—" Her voice shakes, every word riddled with tears. "I can't do this anymore."
"Then don't." He whispers.
Her lips part like she wants to say more but then she swallows down the words. She gets up, her hands fidgeting. He's thankful she doesn't come near him because he knows he'll unravel at the seams if she does.
"I'm sorry."
It hurts because he knows how much she means it. He knows how hard she tried. How miserable she was behind the smiling facade she showed their children. The children who were asleep, unaware that when they woke, they wouldn't have a mother.
He just… He never knew there'd be a time where his love wouldn't be enough for her.
She gives him one last meaningful look, biting her lip to suppress her sobs before turning her back on him and walking out the door.
That moment was rock bottom. The rock bottom that Naruto never knew he could get back up from. But he worked his ass off to do just that because Boruto and Himawari deserved a bright happy upbringing. Not like his. Not like hers.
It wasn't until Kaiyo entered his life that he realised that his personal happiness was just as important. For so long it was just him and his kids and having a life outside of them seemed absurd. Naruto had always been self-sufficient out of necessity but with her, he remembers how nice it is to not be alone. To not have to carry such a heavy burden on just himself.
He doesn't want to go back to doing it alone.
"I appreciate your concern, Shika." Naruto says, looking away from the mirror and back at his friend. "But I promise I'm sure. I'm marrying Kaiyo."
Shikamaru nods, accepting the response.
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"But daaad!" Boruto's complaining almost leaves Naruto's ears ringing. Sometimes Sakura and Ino tease him and say that Boruto is karma for being an annoying little shit as a kid and at moments like this, Naruto kinda believes them.
"For the last time, you're going." Naruto says, authority clear in his voice.
"But you're not going."
"That's because I have work stuff I gotta do." Naruto replies.
It's technically not a lie. But by work stuff, what he really meant was the bachelor party Konohamaru had planned. An event that Naruto really didn't want to go to either so if he had to suck it up, so did Boruto.
"But dad, if you're not there then they outnumber me." Boruto protests.
Himawari races down the stairs, her stuffed panda toy in one arm while Kaiyo is behind her with a pink duffle slung over her shoulder.
"Cmon Boruto, you know even if your dad came, me and Hima could just bully him into agreeing with us." Kaiyo says, having heard his son's tirade of protests from upstairs.
Boruto's cheeks turn pink and he crosses his arms, puffing his cheeks.
"Hey, that's not true!" Naruto complains before a few memories flicker through his mind. "I mean… mostly not true."
Sometimes Himawari was way too cute to say no to.
"I read the flyer and they said there's gonna be a ferris wheel there too!" Himawari exclaims to her brother, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "Maybe we could watch the fireworks from the top. Wouldn't that be the best, onii-chan?"
Boruto looks at his little sister's cheerful expression and he sighs, his shoulders sagging in defeat. He was also powerless against Himawari, it seemed.
"I'll buy you all the yakisoba buns you want too." Kaiyo adds in, sweetening the deal up even more for Boruto. His eyes light up.
"I'm holding you to that." He says before running up the stairs to get his bag.
Kaiyo's plan was to take the two kids to see the fireworks on the other side of the city and then spend the night in a hotel. That way they wouldn't have to see him black out drunk or violently hungover in the morning. It was also a good way she could bond with the kids before the big day, she reasoned. Naruto had no arguments to the matter.
"Have a good time and be good for Kaiyo okay?" Naruto leans down and kisses Himawari's forehead. He kisses Boruto's too, much to his son's disgust.
"Yup!" Himawari joyfully agrees.
"Cmon Hima, let's go so we don't have to watch them do all their gross couple stuff." Boruto informs his sister. Himawari takes her brother's hand and dutifully follows behind him to the car.
"You have a good time tonight too okay?" Kaiyo says, finding her way into his arms. "I mean that. Don't be a party pooper."
Naruto resists the urge to tell her that he'd have a much better time seeing the fireworks with them.
"Yes ma'am." He replies, still a little reluctant. "Make sure to text me the photos you take."
"I will." She leans in, pressing a kiss to his lips. "I love you."
He smiles, "I love you too."