She looked out of place in his apartment. It was a constant thought that plagued his mind the second they started living together.

Hinata's beauty and elegance was otherworldly. Something that couldn't be hidden under his old ratty shirts that had stains of Boruto's spit up on them or the fact that she hadn't washed her hair in a week.

Hinata simply didn't belong in his apartment. Didn't belong in his neighbourhood. Hell, she didn't even belong in his half of the city.

It's unfathomable to him how she gave up living in a mansion with a butler and maid to live in his one bedroom apartment, eating instant ramen all the time because that's all they could afford.

She deserved better. Belonged somewhere better.

But somehow she was okay with it.

And when she welcomes him home with smiles and kisses and stories about how Boruto did the cutest little burp for her that day, he's okay too.

"We'll get there eventually." She whispers to him one night before bed, both of them cuddling under the sheets.

"How can you be so sure?" Because sometimes in the hours of back to back overtime and coming home with a pay check that isn't enough, hopes of a better future seem to move further and further out of his reach.

"Because I believe in you. I believe in us."

She sounds so sure, so adamant and he's amazed how much faith she has in him when he really hasn't done anything to deserve it.

But Hinata was weird like that. His weird weird girlfriend who he loved so much.

"Tell me where exactly it is we're going?"

"Somewhere suburban. A nice big neighbourhood where Boruto can make friends that aren't far. And our house… the front would have a garden where we can plant all different flowers. Lillies, peonies, sunflowers…" She lets out a dreamy sigh, smiling. "We'd have a big backyard where I can grow vegetables and herbs and where there's lots of room for our children to—"

"Children? We're having more than one?"

Hinata tenses in his arms.

"O-Only if you want to, of course!" She sputters and he almost feels bad about the panic in her voice. "And when we're in a better position financially. I know we never talked about it but H-Hanabi and Neji-niisan were— are very important to me and I think Boruto would really benefit from having—"

"Hina, slow down!" Naruto laughs. A little too loud because now he's bothered Boruto who lets out a loud whine from his cot. It's Naruto's turn to whine when Hinata pulls away from him and is up on her feet to check on their son. Naruto follows behind.

Boruto's cries ease the second Hinata lifts him up into her arms. "Silly Papa was too loud, wasn't he Boruto?" She whispers, gently swaying from side to side and rubbing his back.

Naruto wraps his arms around Hinata's waist, mumbling a half-hearted apology as he pulls her close to his chest.

"Of course I want more kids." His voice is quieter now. He didn't want to bother his son again. "And I have no problem offering my baby making skills."

He doesn't need to see her face to know it's bright red. Ignoring his teasing with a little huff, Hinata continues where she left off.

"Our house has two storeys. All the bedrooms are upstairs but there's an office downstairs just for you."

"Wow so I'm gonna be some big shot who needs an office at home?"

Hinata hums. "That's where all your precious ramen posters will go too."

"Oiii you said you liked them."

"I do but not for our bedroom."

Their bedroom. Naruto already had his own thoughts of what that would look like. One with a big bed that wasn't springy or second-hand and preferably nailed to the wall to prohibit the sound of their private affairs to unwanted ears.

"The walls would be filled with memories. From when we were younger with all our friends to our children as they grow." Hinata carefully places a peacefully sleeping Boruto back into his cot and turns to face Naruto, looping her arms around his neck. "Photos of us…"

She pulls him into a much-needed kiss. When they part, he leans his forehead against hers.

"I know it's been difficult." She whispers. "I know that you're frustrated that things aren't how you want them to be yet but just being by your side, no matter where we are, that makes me happy. Have patience, Naruto-kun. Like I said before, I believe in you. We'll get there."

"Yeah… we will." He agrees. A grin cracks across his lips. "Just you watch, one day I'll carry you through the doors of that two storey suburban house, up the stairs and give our little Boruto at least five more siblings."

Before she can retreat from his arms, he assaults her cutely embarrassed face with his kisses. Her cheeks, forehead, eyelids, nose until she's giggling at his ridiculousness. That's the moment he captures her lips.

When he pulls away, his heart is full.

"I'm gonna give it all to you one day."

Naruto's tongue slides over hers in desperation to quench a thirst he's had since the day she left. The taste of tequila is strong and if he wasn't already drunk, just her taste alone would've had him inebriated.

Kissing Hinata is a dizzying experience. It's always been like that. From the very first time he had kissed her as a dumb teenager to now. His mind went blank and yet simultaneously haywire.

The journey from the club to the cab is a blur.

The cab ride to his home is an even bigger mystery.

They stumble past the half-done garden Naruto never got around to finishing, up the driveway and towards his front door.

Naruto presses Hinata against the door with one hand on her waist and the other blindly fumbling with his keys.

It'd be much easier to get the door open if he'd stop shoving his tongue down her throat and swallowing each of her delicious moans but he doesn't want to. Not even for a second.

But it's taking too long and he's half-worried, he might fuck her right then and there. He can't do that. He absolutely cannot do that.

Cursing, he separates from Hinata, opting to focus on getting the door open. Too bad, Hinata was making it impossible to concentrate. Her lips found his pulse, pressing very distracting kisses along his neck while her nimble fingers fiddled with the buttons of his shirt.

Impatience was getting the better of both of them.

He's almost got the key in when she sinks her teeth into his skin. He hisses.

Hinata blinks up at him, innocently. "Oh I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…" She blows on the stinging spot and he shudders. "I left a mark."

It's sinful the way she looks at him afterwards. That subtle teasing smirk, mischief dancing in her eyes… She's not sorry, not one bit.

Something within him snaps.

Naruto jams the key in the door with expert precision and pushes her inside, slamming it shut with his foot.

"You're gonna pay for that."

She grins, unafraid and downright gorgeous. "I'm so scared."

Naruto swoops in and picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

Hinata's giggling, wiggling her legs as he carries her up the stairs. She's kicked off her heels and thrown her purse somewhere, he doesn't really care enough to look.

When they enter his room, he tosses her on the bed, hastily moving to get his clothes off. He easily shrugs his shirt off but his pants are a battle. He wrestles with his belt, cursing the universe for putting yet another obstacle in the way.

"Naruto-kuuuuun…" Like a drunken siren, Hinata's needy voice rings in the air, beckoning his attention.

Her dress is on the floor, along with her underwear. She spreads her legs, putting everything on full display for him.

A soft simple command leaves her lips. "Come here."

He descends upon her like a madman.

Hot, openmouthed, sloppy kisses are pressed to her lips, to her breasts, trailing all the way down to her dripping cunt.

Naruto knows exactly what to do to get her to unravel before him. So that's exactly what he does.

He presses his face into her, licking, sucking, teasing. Above him, Hinata gasps, her thighs shaking under his bruising grip.

His cock strains against his pants, throbbing at the sound of his name escaping her lips like a continuous chant.

She's close. So fucking close. He could tell by the way her pussy clamped around his tongue as he drank down her arousal.

But right before she could reach that point. That climax, she was practically begging him for, he pulls away.

Hinata whines, his warm mouth now replaced by the cool air.

Eyes clouded with lust, Naruto takes off his belt and pants, peeling off his underwear. His cock springs free, rock hard and leaking.

He's so fucking horny, it hurts.

Naruto climbs on top of her. He grips his cock, running it through Hinata's sensitive folds, purposely bumping against her clit. Just a few strokes and he was slick with her juices.

"N-Narutoooo…" She whines.

Impatiently, she reaches between them to guide him inside but he snatches her wrists.

"I warned you, baby." He says, leaning down to kiss her neck. Hinata lets out an almost pained cry. "You were gonna pay."

He's a sick bastard because he enjoys it.

Watching her writhe under his grip, squirming for him to hurry up. He wants her to feel helpless just as he has all these years.

She looks up at him, tears in her eyes and whimpers, "Please."

Only because she asked so nicely.

Naruto lines himself up with her entrance and sinks in.

"Oh fuuckk…" He groans, bottoming out.

He stays like that for a moment, basking in the heavenly feeling of being buried inside her. Nothing but the sound of their heavy breathing fills the air.

Slowly, he begins rocking in and out of her. Hinata's filthy mewls serenade him as he quickens his pace.

There was no decorum in the way he fucked her. Hard, fast and without abandon, grinding his pelvis against her clit, every chance he got.

Her makeup runs down her cheeks as she gasps for air. "Ahh… N-Naruu…"

The arousal that oozed from the both of them was intoxicating.

Hinata's legs raise up, wrapping around his waist. Her heels dig into his back prompting him to go deeper. She pulls him down to her, crashing her lips against his.

Naruto swallows every sound of pleasure, pounding into her relentlessly.

The tell tale signs were there. Half lidded eyes, shuddering breaths, palpable desperation… Hinata's face contorts in pleasure, moaning loud. Her walls tighten around him, quaking at each erratic stroke of his dick.

Her orgasm washes over her and Naruto fucks her through it, hissing profanities under his breath.

Sparks of white enter his vision and he tries to rapidly blink them away. High off adrenaline and lost in pleasure, Naruto's cock twitches, spilling into her warmth.

"We…" He mutters, breathless. "We're not done yet."

He flips her over, ass up and face down on the mattress. Hinata turns back and locks eyes with him.

Seven years. Seven years since she had left him all alone. There's no way in hell one round was going to cut it.

.

.

.

.

.

Naruto's awoken when a cold draft breezes underneath the sheets and he feels movement on the other side of the bed. He doesn't mean to but it's almost like a panic response. His eyes shoot open and he seizes Hinata's arm before she can stand up.

"Where are you going?" He demands.

"The bathroom...?"

"Oh…" Fuck, he totally just overreacted. He swallows down the embarrassment, loosening his grip on her. "It's right through that door."

There's a slight dip in the bed as Hinata leans over to him. She presses a kiss to his cheek.

"I'll be right back." She assures him.

When she disappears into the ensuite, he slumps back into bed, exhaustion from the night creeping up on him.

Slow blinking eyes watch the glowing outline of the bathroom door, worried that if he looked away for even a second, she might leave without saying goodbye.

He hears the faint sound of the toilet flushing and moments later the shower starts.

Realising his state of dishevelment, a shower would be the best course of action for him too. He sits up and groans at the headache he has, thanks to the alcohol.

He enters the bathroom, almost blinded by the bright overhead light. Staring at himself in the mirror, he examines the aftermath of their night.

Scattered across his neck and chest were a plethora of hickeys and bite marks. On his back and his shoulders were angry red scratches, curtesy of Hinata's nails.

"I'm sorry, I should've asked before I used your shower but… you made a mess."

Memories of her thighs sticky with their mixed juices flash in his mind.

Naruto steps into the shower. "We made a mess."

He drinks in the sight of her naked form, marred by the marks he left on her. The bright red handprint on her ass was his favourite.

Despite their escapades, the shower is peaceful. They really were just trying to get clean. Naruto, being considerate as always, even helped Hinata out. His large hands made sure every inch of her tits were covered in soap. Sure, he massaged and squeezed a little more than necessary but he got the job done.

Hinata stands behind him with a towel wrapped around her as he rummages through his closet for something she can wear. He throws her an old shirt with a cartoon toad on the front before finding himself a pair of sweatpants.

All dressed and squeaky clean, they're back in bed, comfortably tucked under the covers.

"I…" He swallows. It's on the tip of his tongue. How much he loves her. But he can't bring himself to say it. So he settles on something much safer and not any less true. "I missed you."

It tastes like a confession anyways.

"I missed you too." Hinata whispers, her voice every bit of soft and sincere.

Naruto leans down, capturing her lips into a tender kiss that she welcomes. It's funny, he thinks. How such a simple act can encapsulate so much raw emotion, so much intimacy, so much longing. Even if he can't say it, he swears he can feel it.

They part and Hinata rests her head on his chest, cuddling closer to him. His fingers absentmindedly play with her silky dark locks and they lay like that, limbs tangled together.

Despite everything, Naruto finds himself at peace.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispers. Her voice seems to be quieter now, a little weaker, a little…sad. "Can you tell me about them?"

A warm feeling fills his chest. There was nothing he liked more than talking about his kids.

"They're beautiful, you know." He starts, already smiling. "Sometimes I look at them and I just can't believe they're mine. Like how could someone like me bring those two perfect, precious little people into the world?"

Hinata doesn't move, nor does she speak and Naruto figures that all she wants to do is listen.

"That Boruto though… sometimes he can be a real pain." He admits, begrudgingly. "Always talking back and playing on his damn game past curfew no matter how many times I tell him not to. Don't get me started on the phone calls from school." Naruto was getting riled up just thinking about it. "He's always goofing off, talking when the teacher's talking and even sleeping in class!"

Hinata hums and it's like he can hear her smile. "That reminds me of a certain someone…"

"Heyyyy, I only did all that stuff 'cause I didn't understand shit that was going on." He says as if it's a good defence which it really isn't. "Boruto's different. No matter how much he goofs around, he's always top of his class."

"Hima, on the other hand…" He beams at the thought of his little princess. His sunshine. "She's the sweetest little girl you'll ever meet. She can be shy at first but once you get her going, she'll talk your ear off! Everyday when I get home from work, she jumps into my arms and gives me the biggest hug."

"Both of them have lots of friends and they get along with just about anyone. They're good kids. Great kids, actually. I'm lucky to be their father."

He was so proud of Boruto and Himawari. There was always that persistent worry in his mind that they'd experience the loneliness he had as a child. He was thankful that wasn't the case.

"But I don't know…" His voice softens."Sometimes I think I'm doing this whole parenting thing wrong."

It's hard not to have doubts when Boruto lashes out at him or when Himawari holds back on her interests on more girly things because she thinks he wouldn't understand.

"I didn't have anyone to show me how to do it so what if I'm just fucking it all up?"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shifts her entire body to look at him so quick, it almost gives him whiplash. "How could you say that?!"

Naruto's caught off guard. It's the loudest he's heard her voice this entire night. Well, if you don't count the sounds he was fucking out of her.

"Well! Boruto's… B-Boruto's…" He's so adamant in defending himself that he admits something he's never told a soul. "Boruto's so mean, you know!"

His face heats up, embarrassed at how much of a loser he was. What grown man was intimidated by their soon-to-be twelve year old son?

"Preteens are the harshest critics of all. It's normal." Hinata reassures him. The firmness in her voice has a gentle edge to it. "You weren't really the nicest to Sasuke-kun at that age were you?"

While everyone was showering Sasuke with sympathy, Naruto had been pretty flippant and spewed some nasty words to the guy. It wasn't like Sasuke didn't say some equally fucked up things right back at him. They were ruthless and like Hinata had alluded to, mean twelve year olds.

"You were a child and eventually you grew out of it." She assures him, sounding all wise and knowing.

Naruto finds himself nodding along. Sure, Naruto and Sasuke still had their arguments but it was more like harmless banter now. They were best friends after all.

"Boruto will be the same."

Naruto's worries ease until a startling thought enters his mind.

"Wait, does this mean Hima's gonna be mean to me at some point? I don't think my heart can take it if she is. I think I might actually die."

Hinata laughs, body shaking in giggles.

"Hinata, this is serious! Stop laughing!"

"Do you see what I mean? How can you say that you're doing parenting wrong when every time you talk about them, there is so much love." Hinata settles in his arms again, her head on his chest and holding him close. "Just as you're lucky to have them, they're just as lucky to have you."

There's that feeling again. Similar to that of the sun on a warm summer's day.

"You're doing a much better job than some people who did have parents after all." She mutters as a cruel afterthought. Naruto doesn't miss the self-loathing in her voice.

"You were nice at twelve." He finds himself saying. With a nostalgic smile, he remembers that little girl with red cheeks and short hair who couldn't even look at his face as she offered him ointment for his cuts and bruises. The one who showed him kindness when no one else had the patience to. "Even to me and I was an annoying little shit most of the time."

She frowns. "You were energetic."

Naruto chuckles at the correction. He almost wants to say 'I was annoying, Hinata. Cmon, you can admit it. I won't be mad.' But he knows it'll be useless. She had always been a stickler for defending the actions of his younger-self.

"I'm just saying that there's hope for Hima. Maybe she'll take after you in that regard too."

Hinata stiffens in his arms. "…she takes after me?"

"Sometimes when she smiles, she looks just like you."

"O-Oh…" Her voice is warbled and she squeezes him tighter. His hand is in her hair again, massaging her scalp in a way to comfort her.

"How have you been by the way?" He asks as delicately as possible.

"I've been…" She takes a deep breath. "…fine."

That's a big fat lie if he's ever heard one. But he won't push…

… okay maybe he'll push a little.

"Just fine, huh?" He repeats, skeptically. "I find you in Konoha's most exclusive nightclub which I hear is so hard to get in that celebrities even get turned away—"

"That's not really true…"

"—looking just as smoking hot as you did a decade ago in that sexy little red dress—"

"Stooooop." She groans, drowning in embarrassment.

"—flirting with my co-worker who's a lunch money stealing brat—"

"…lunch money stealing…?"

"—And you had access to that fancy break room I almost fucked you in—"

"Do you have to make it sound so vulgar?"

Naruto feels like a detective piecing together clues to a cold hard case. He was going to figure it out. He was so close, he felt it in his bones.

"Are you a stripper there?" He asks, bluntly.

A strangled gasp escapes Hinata's throat. "NO! Not that there's anything wrong with the profession. Most are the girls there are really sweet."

"Sweet? Then why the hell was I stuck with the mean one?"

"Y-You were with Delta?"

"For the longest thirty minutes of my life." Naruto didn't want to talk about Delta so he moves on quickly. "So you're not a stripper… then are you a bartender?"

"No."

"Waitress?"

"No."

"Um… accountant?" She was smart as hell, he could totally see her doing that.

"No."

His curiosity was getting the better of him. What the hell was she doing at Kara then? She couldn't just be a regular because regulars don't get access codes to restricted areas and know exactly where they keep their ramen.

He was stumped.

"What are you doing? Sleeping with the owner or something?" He says, offhandedly as a joke.

Hinata doesn't answer. She seems to sink further in his arms.

"You're… sleeping with the owner?" He repeats slowly, a bitter taste on his tongue.

"We're not together or anything." She quickly says, as if she needs to explain herself. As if she owes him something.

And it's irrational. The way the itchiness worsens under his skin. She's just sleeping with him, it's not like she's marrying him. You're the one with the fiancé, you bastard.

"It's more of a transactional relationship." Hinata explains, cautiously. "I give him what he wants and he…" She looks at him, her face a mix of shame and guilt. "… gives me what I want."

Oh.

He gets it. He really wishes he didn't.

His voice is a soft murmur. "You're still…"

Ashamed, she nods.

"You can't see the kids…" He realises out aloud.

"I'm sorry." She says it the same way she did when she left and his heart aches.

Naruto was reeling. He could no longer delude himself into thinking her leaving wasn't always going to be the outcome of their night.

And it hurts. It hurts so much.

He rolls over to his side so that they're face to face, their noses almost close enough to touch. There's that clarity in her eyes that he's grateful for. She's studying him, nervously, scared as to what his next move will be. He leans in, kissing her just as tenderly as he did before.

"Please eat more." He whispers after he pulls away.

Hinata blinks, half confused, half worried. "Hm?"

Naruto changes their position so that he's hovering over her. He leans in and steals another kiss.

"When I picked you up before, you were really light." His hand glides under her shirt over her tummy and ribs. "You're too light. You have to eat more."

His lips move to her neck and Hinata tilts her head away giving him better access. Her arms come up around his neck, hands sliding into his hair to gently rub his scalp like he did for her before.

"I suppose, sometimes I do forget…"

He knows. She used to do that a lot back then too. It became a bigger problem when she'd forget about Boruto and Himawari.

"Promise me." He mutters, against her skin.

"I promise." She whispers.

Naruto finds her lips again, craving her sweet taste. Their mouths move together but it's different this time. More slow. More meaningful. He frees himself from the confines of his sweatpants and lines himself up. When he enters, their moans are simultaneous.

He can't help the emotions that overcome him when he starts moving inside of her. The memories that he had locked away long ago, the ones that haunted him, manifest in his mind.

"Why the fuck are you still doing this shit? You have kids now for fuck's sake."

Kiba's screaming catches Naruto's attention from across from the bar. Normally, Naruto would chalk it down to him being an annoying loud drunk but this time was different because the one Kiba was screaming at was Hinata.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I wasn't born yesterday. Don't play fucking dumb—"

"Fuck off, Kiba." Naruto shoves him away, enough to have him stumble back into the wall. He expects a fight which he sure as hell is ready for. Friend or not, no one talks to his girlfriend like that. But Kiba's not angry at him. His furious eyes are still on Hinata.

"If you don't tell him, I will."

Naruto looks at Hinata for answers but she can barely meet his eyes. That's when he notices that she's hiding something behind her back.

Naruto rocks into Hinata at a steady pace.

"Fuck…" He hisses. "Fuck, Hina…"

"You can't hang out with him."

"Toneri is my friend."

Naruto bites back a scoff. Toneri wasn't her friend. Kiba and Shino were her friends but she didn't seem to be talking to them lately.

"A friend who eye-fucks you every time you're in the same room. Hinata, I'm serious, you can't hang out with him."

"You don't know him like I do. If you actually gave him a chance—"

"Can't you see he's in love with you?"

A beat of silence. She knows. Of course, she fucking knows.

"Why does that matter when I love you? Don't you trust me?"

That's the problem. He didn't.

His lips are on hers and his hands greedily paw at her soft supple breasts. When he pinches her nipples, she gasps.

The apartment was a mess. Worse than when he had left in the morning. He followed the sound of Himawari's crying to the kitchen and what he sees crushes him.

The kitchen looked like a tornado had swept through the place. The fridge was left wide open and there was food everywhere. And in the middle of the chaos were his two children.

"Cmon, Hima! It's good, I promise."

His three year old son was sitting on the floor with his baby sister, trying to feed her a spoon full of strawberry jam. Himawari turned her little face away, crying even louder.

Boruto's shoulders slump and he discards the jam to the side where a tipped over box of cereal, an open jar of peanut butter and other half-opened food laid.

Naruto rushes to them, picking up Himawari to soothe her. The minute she's in his arms, he knows exactly why she's crying. When was the last time she was changed?

"Dad!" Boruto's tugging at his shirt. "I think Hima's hungry cause she's crying but she won't eat anything."

"It's okay, Boruto." He says, ruffling his son's hair. It's breaks his heart because he's so small. He was still a baby too. "You did a good job. You're such a good big brother." He swallows the lump in his throat , desperate to keep the panic out of his voice. "Where's mom?"

Boruto points to the bathroom where the light was on and the door was slightly ajar.

"Mama fell asleep."

He's close. He grinds into Hinata harder, ragged groans of satisfaction rumbling out of him.

Naruto's so lost in the pleasure that he doesn't hear the front door open.

He doesn't hear as three pairs of feet enter.

And he doesn't hear as one of them slowly ascends the stairs, nearing his bedroom.

The door swings open and the light flickers on.

At the doorway was his fiancé.