Naruto One-Shot (Yaoi)

The Challenge of Being Us

By tsunderekat

I've never regretted not having children. My mindset in that regard has been constant. I objected to being born, and I refuse to impose life on someone else. ~ Robert Smith

"Naruto pass the bread."

Naruto smiled and passed it down the table. He watched Shikamaru intercept the basket to drop a couple of rolls on his plate before passing it on to Choji.

"Oi I asked first!"

"That's why." Shikamaru muttered. He cut one roll in half and buttered it liberally.

"Sharing is caring Choji." Laughed Ino.

"What about self-care, huh?" He turned towards her, giving Shikamaru an opening to pinch a pickle off his plate. He sliced it finely, layered it on the bread then slid it over onto Temari's plate. She leaned over, and without breaking her conversation with Neji, gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Pickles, huh?" Asked Hinata, looking pointedly at Temari's plate. "Cravings?" Shikamaru sighed. "It's your second right?"

"Third." Shikamaru said. He didn't hold it against her. Living in Suna, they barely ever got to come down to Konoha.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks, I guess." Temari turned and smacked him on the arm.

"Ow." He deadpanned.

"Try sounding a little more excited, won't you?"

"I am."

"What about you Hinata?" Temari asked. Hinata blushed and looked away.

"We're expecting twins in November." She said, looking over at Kiba who had his hand resting on the back of her chair, chatting with Shino.

"Oh my god! Congratulations! Twins are a blessing."

"What are you talking about? Twins are a complete nightmare!" Exclaimed Ino from where she sat two seats down.

"I remember when I had mine, I couldn't get out of bed for a week."

"That's because you had Akimichi babies. We're good stock." Said Choji. Ino smacked him.

"More like freakishly huge stock."

"Ei woman, stop molesting me in public!"

"What?! Me molest you? Ha you wish! Just for that you're sleeping on the couch."

"Pfft you can't kick me out. You need my counter weight on that mattress to stop you from rolling off." He said, patting her heavily swollen belly.

"I'll get a boulder." She looked him over thoughtfully. "Maybe two."

"Oi!"

"Haha you two never change do you?" Laughed Naruto.

"Well we can't all be Lord Hokage." sighed Shikamaru.

"Hey, you're married to the Kazekage, what are you complaining about?" Shikamaru looked at Temari.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet." He conceded, without much enthusiasm. She gave him a wink and took a bite of her bread.

"What about you Naruto?" Asked Kiba. "Are you and Gaara planning to start a family anytime soon?" Naruto shrugged.

"When Gaara's ready he'll let me know." He said. Truth was this wasn't the first time a question like this popped up around the table. Out of all of them Naruto and Gaara were the first to bond. They'd been together for over a decade - twice as long as Kiba and Hinata.