Neji x Reader- WTF LEE??

"Honey, i'm home!" (fluff/ angst)

A/N: Sorry in advance! Some of the Naruto related words might be spelled wrong (google translate could only help me so much lol) BUT I hope you enjoy this short story, i'll be posting new chapters every couple of days :)

(Reader POV)

The savory smell of curry drifted out of the pot I was stirring making my mouth water. I knew that my husband should be arriving home any day now and I always made enough dinner for two people around the time he was expected to return from his missions (just in case he came home hungry.) Neji had been away on a mission for nearly two weeks now and my heart ached from missing him so much. To most people, Neji came off as stuck up and cold. In fact, no one ever expected him to fall in love and get married to someone as caring and upbeat as me. But behind closed doors, my husband would do anything to make me feel loved and safe. He was my everything, and I was his.

Just as I sat down to eat I heard the sliding of our screen door and a gentle thump as it bumped open.

"Darling, I've returned from my mission," Neji's smooth voice announced from behind me. I whipped around to see my husband standing in the doorway. His clothes were rather tattered yet not a hair on his head was out of place. Typical, I thought with a chuckle.

"Neji!" I squealed in excitement and scampered over to him. I nestled my face in his chest as his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me tight to him. Our bodies fit perfectly together as if we were two pieces of a puzzle. Resting his head on my chin, Neji closed his eyes and breathed in my familiar scent, glad to be home. His warm hands idly rubbed circles on my back as I nestled into him deeper. We just stood like that for a moment, perfectly content to be in each other's arms. Holding each other close until our heart beats began to synchronize.

"I missed you," I sighed into his shoulder feeling relieved (but not surprised) that he had made it back to me alive and well. Feeling him pull away I looked up into his mesmerizing eyes. A small smile flashed on the corner of his mouth before he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I missed you too, my love," his soft lips tickled my face. The fabric of our clothes rustled as he drew his hand away from my back and placed it gingerly on my stomach. "Any news?" He inquired in a hushed tone and looked eagerly into my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a lump rising in the back of my throat. I looked down at the floor unable to hold his gaze. Silently, I shook my head. This was the third time that the test had come back negative since we had started trying for a baby a few months ago. With every negative test, I could feel my heart breaking a little.

It was Neji who had initially brought up the idea of expanding our family. "It is my duty, as the one with the strongest Byakugon in the Hyuga clan, to further the bloodline," I remember him stating that day. He always acted so serious whenever we spoke of it but his actions told me he was just as giddy about the idea of babies as I was. As soon as I had said 'yes' to trying, a huge grin had spread across his face (I hadn't seen him smile like that since our wedding day) and he immediately got to work putting together a nursery. Watching him fuss over appropriate baby books and cribs those first few weeks was priceless, but progress slowed after we received the second negative test result. When I got my period a few weeks after our next attempts, Neji couldn't even bring himself to go near the room anymore. While he would never admit it, I couldn't help but wonder if he had given up hope.

Neji took my hand in his and placed a tender kiss on it before leading me back to the dining room where our dinner was waiting.

"It's alright darling, we will just have to keep trying," he said softly as he pushed in my seat for me. Even though he remained as stoic and proper as ever, I could tell how crushed he was at the news.

"Maybe we just weren't destined to be parents," I murmured before scooping some food into my mouth.

"Nonsense!" Neji exclaimed loudly, causing me to jump in my seat. "I used to believe that we were all slaves to destiny and couldn't control our own fate. It wasn't until my battle with Naruto that I realized how wrong I was..." For the rest of dinner Neji reminisced about his fight with Naruto during the Chunin exams as I patiently listened to the story for seemingly the hundredth time. I had forgotten that "destiny" and "fate" were topics to never bring up in front of my husband.