For the first few days they had their son at home, neither of them slept. It was such a big responsibility and it was hard not to think about all the things that could go wrong. Their son was so small and fragile, and they both wanted to watch over him every moment to make sure he was safe and well. In the end though, they'd had to admit that they needed to take care of themselves too, so they'd started taking things in turns, like feeding him, changing him, checking him when he cried, and getting sleep themselves. It was Neji's turn to rest, but he could hear the baby crying and went to go see what the matter was.
He found Naruto rocking their son, speaking to him, trying to get him to settle. He looked like he was having some trouble, and that he was running out of ideas on what to do. Neji knew Naruto was used to being able to force things, his fierce determination had always yielded results for him, but babies didn't work like that.
"Let me try something…" Neji offered, more than happy to share the load.
He cradled the baby, hovering his hand over him and releasing a small amount of chakra, just enough to press against the baby's skin without flowing into him. Almost immediately, the baby began to calm and settle.
Neji shared a look with Naruto.
"How'd you do that?" Naruto wondered.
"When you were pregnant and I would share my chakra with you, when you were feeling depleted, I would watch him, and he responded positively like you did. I thought he might have grown used to my chakra and associate it with feeling comforted."
Naruto looked at him in awe.
"Neji… You were right. He really does know you. And you know him too. You're an amazing father."
Neji smiled, hearing that from Naruto filled him with pride and joy.
"Not just me. We made him together, Naruto. He's ours."
Naruto's eyes became glassy.
"This is what family feels like…"
"Yes," Neji confirmed, recalling the feeling of belonging from his earliest memories before his father died.
"Neji, I feel like I'll never be able to thank you enough," Naruto told him.
Neji smiled again and reached out, cradling their son in one arm and pulling Naruto in with the other. He rested their heads together and they both looked down at the child they had created.
"You're the one who made this possible," Neji reminded. "I think you've done enough."