The Uzumaki/Hyuga Household - 3 days later

Hinata

"Here," I said, extending my hand holding the hot chocolate. He looked up from the article he was reading from his laptop. 

"Thanks," he flashed a warm smile before patting the empty spot beside him; aka my side of the bed.

We landed maybe two hours ago and after luggage pickup along with picking up my car parked a good block away, we headed straight for Sakura's and Sasuke's house to get our sons. Since it was almost one in the morning, I didn't want to wake either of them so I made Naruto climb through the window of the room they stayed in when Sakura watches them. He left a note saying he's kidnapping our kids, though so hopefully the couple doesn't freak out if they woke up and realized they lost their best friends' children.

Both Hajime and Boruto were sound asleep; didn't stir at all as their father loaded Hajime into the car seat and held Bolt while I drove us home.

Now here we are, three in the morning and wide awake. It was such a good thing I haven't thrown out any of Naruto's clothes yet. It was something I was going to do once I returned from Oscura. 

"What are you reading about?" I asked, leaning against my boyfriend's shoulder with my own cup of hot cocoa.

He scrolled down the page a little bit, "Just catching up on what's going on. What's all this going on with Taylor, Kanye and Kim anyway?"

"Seriously?"

Naruto caught my eye with a soft chuckle before shutting the laptop, "I'm kidding, baby. I was only waiting to hear what's happening in your life after I 'died'."

"A new home as you can see," I sighed. "Just mainly recovering from the thought that I might never see you again."

He kissed my hair, "Well, I'm sorry I disappeared for an entire year."

Alright, here it comes, "Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Okay, ask away."

Many have probably been why I haven't asked what the hell happened? Why did he remain hidden even though he was alive for an entire year? 

Why didn't he come back to his family and let them know that 'hey, I am perfectly okay. Oh but I did lose an arm back there'?

That was because I didn't want him to remember what happened to him. I did at some point as Sasuke what would happen to Naruto if he really was alive. The former deputy's response was one that I didn't want to hear.

"Tortured. Chances are killed later on or left for dead."

So to simplify all those questions into two words I asked the captain.

"W-what happened?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. He kept his chin rested on my head for a few moments longer, probably crafting a creative and dramatic way to tell his amazing story. I sat there listening to his heart beat against his bare chest, tracing random circles under his collar bones. He did tense a bit though.

"Where do I begin?" he finally murmured softly.

"How about when you couldn't get on the same plane as the rest of y-your team?"

I felt him nod once, "Okay."

I stopped my random tracing, waiting for the moment he spoke. 

"The explosion was what took my arm," he lifted it just high enough so both of us could gaze at the bandages that wrapped it. "And the gunshots that the team heard was fired from my gun. Some of the terrorists were gaining up on me so I had to shoot blindly at them. I guess at some point my radio went completely dead."

Naruto suddenly adjusted his position, dragging me upwards and spread his legs. My entire body was on top of his, my head resting directly under his collar bone. I blushed a bit since this was a pretty...insert-word-here kinda position.

"It was landmine," he sighed gently. "I didn't step on it but it was planted in front of my cover. One of the enemy did so I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I looked up at him, "You said you d-didn't survive the explosion, though."

"I barely did 'cause it knocked me out cold plus I was in too much pain. I laid there, y'know, on that dirt ground when some pretty miserable thoughts."

Naruto shifted a bit and in a more vulnerable voice he continued almost too softly for my ears to pick up, "'I can't believe I'm leaving Hajime even before I get to see him walk. I don't even get to hear his little high-pitched squeal screaming Daddy, Daddy!"

I felt his arms suddenly drop from it's folded position behind his head to encircle my entire body as close as could to his.

"'I can't believe I can't ever hug or kiss Hinata; hear her call me 'Naruto-kun' with that adorable shy voice that makes me fall for her every single time. Or ever tell her how much she means to me...how much I love her.'"

"Naruto-kun..." my heart literally slowly cracked at his response. Every single word made every single cut he put there in the first place deepened, heal, then get worse again.

My boyfriend smiled a bit, wiping one of his tears, "Sorry. It was just so many damn dark thoughts that being here with you...I-I still trying to get used to it."

"Y-you don't have to continue."

"I want to," he looked down at me. "I need to."

I'm worried, "Alright. But at your own pace, okay?"

Naruto stroked my hair once then continued with a little stronger voice, "When I woke up next, I was in some kind of dark cage, couldn't see anything but all I could hear were random footsteps and doors closing in the distance. I was in too much pain to know what was really happening but my captors had taken care of the stub at the time. I was down there for maybe at most three months or so without any visitors. I had a giant pack of water and food enough to last me months, actually."

"At first I thought I was in hell. Might as well been hell, y'know since it was so dark and as hot as oven anyway. Every day grew more miserable than the last and at one point, I considered actually going ahead and dying. I didn't deserve to live because I was scared that I could never see you again. I'd rather be dead then have that happen."

"What changed y-your mind?"

"Ummm," he made this cute little thinking face, nodding a few times at one point, "The promise I made you that I'd come home to you one day was one of them. The main reason actually. I spent a week trying to saw down the metal bars with a key actually."

"I-is that how you escaped?" that is too much manual labor even for him. 

He shook his head, "A guard finally opened this door I never knew existed and was speaking some language but my ears were still terrible from all the silence. Before I knew it, he was killed because someone stabbed him then a few more gunshots echoed. Then I heard someone running towards my cage with a flashlight, yelling my name..."

Naruto suddenly chuckled nervously.

"What? Was your savior someone you knew?"

"You know her, too."

"H-her?!"

"You remember Kimmy the stripper right," he continued. "Y'know the woman that saved you and Hajime in Eskon?"

"Of course I remember Kim," hold on. "Eh?! She -"

"To my surprise as well yes, yes she was the one who led the operation to save me."

Okay now I'm hella confused.

"Kim is this top-secret spy from Australia under the UN that have been undercover for oh, a good five years now?"

That woman won't stop with them surprises and secrets, will she?!

"Her original assignment was to bring Nagato and his Akatsuki to justice which she successfully did about a month before I was trapped without anybody's knowledge."

"Was she working that job alone?"

Naruto looked at me very sadly very suddenly, "Hajime's biological parents...they were in on it, too. Kim's own personal spies to keep an eye and report everything to her so she could to the UN."

Oh my God. Nagato knew, too. That's probably what got them killed in the first place. I always thought that that man was some kind of psychopath who murdered people who just wants to leave his gang. 

"O-okay so Kim the stripper is actually Kim the Wonder Woman that somehow saved you...?" This is more for my understanding than his actually. I am still learning so, so many things about this world that - 

Kim is a spy?

"I was stashed in Sweden for the rest of my time, recovering from my injuries as well as making sure I could report everything to the UN about the group that my team was originally sent in to abolish."

Sweden?

"With Tyro, you remember Tyro?"

I giggled lightly, "Of course! Hisao-senpai still curses his name every time Hanako-senpai brings it up."

Naruto laughed as well, "Yeah well, I crashed with Tyro for the rest of my time keeping track of you at the same time. I knew that you were heading for another 3rd world country from Hinode's website. So when I was finally cleared for travel and life once again, I flew back to Japan to tell the head commanders I was alive and that I was stealing one of the coppers to go see you in Oscura while they had almost the same reactions as our friends did a few days ago."

"And here you are," I smiled.

"Yeah and here I am," Naruto sighed loudly, hugging me very tightly and rolling to his side to drop me on the bed, kissing my forehead repeatedly. "Home sweet home."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Uzumaki/Hyuga Household - Morning

Naruto

I sipped the coffee, watching my very elegant girlfriend expertly flip the pancakes without breaking a single sweat. I had nothing better to do with my life for now. I'm on sick leave for a month. This time I made sure the commanders understood that.

And Hinata had the day off today.

"Mommy!" A high shriek literally shook the house. Hinata became ungracefully for a few seconds when she nearly dropped the pancake on the floor. But her cat-like reflexes helped her catch it before it hit the floor.

Tiny feet scurried across the hardwood until a little one-year-old person ran through the glass door leading into the kitchen and straight into my legs. I merely watched with amusement as my son stumbled back a bit, shaking his head in the process.

"You okay, buddy?" I kneeled down in front of him.

Hinata told me last night when we were talking about Hajime in his one year of his life that she took him to get a haircut when he first learned to comprehend life a little bit. The poor kid had no idea that the barber was only going to cut his hair, not his entire head.

So now he has short, very spiky orange hair that made him look like he was kinda struck by lightning.

Or that could just be his bedhead.

"Daddy?" he looked at me with those adorable black eyes.

I nodded, "Daddy's home."

I felt Hinata beside me suddenly, "Are you okay?"

"Oh!" Hajime suddenly climbed to his tiny little legs. "Mommy! Bolty and I were telepowted last night!"

"...Eh?"

"We were at Auntie's house!" he started pacing a little bit. "And when I wokey up, we were home!"

"Really?" I nodded once.

"Yeah! It's awazing!"

Even though we're not biologically related, the way he talks and the way he acts...

He's my boy alright.

Hinata's phone suddenly vibrated on the counter, indicating a call.

She left me to listen to Hajime's ranting nonsense before heading over to answer.

"Hello?"

I couldn't make out any words but the frantic words that came through made me sigh when Hinata hung up with a heavy sigh.

"You have to go?" I looked up at her.

"Daddy! Listen to me!" Hajime suddenly jumped towards me, trying to grab my attention.

I grabbed his head and rammed it (gently though) into my white t-shirt while awaiting Hinata's answer. His little muffle shouts making me roll my eyes a bit.

Hinata nodded, "Some emergency at the hospital."

"Ehhhh, on your day off, too baby?"

My girlfriend leaned down and kissed me quickly, "I'll be home before you know it."