The ink of my pen almost smeared by the speed of my signature. I had another mountain pile of paperwork to go and it's already eight o'clock at night. If I don't finish one more, I will be way behind schedule. As if I'm not already falling behind.

The door of my office opened but I ignored it. In came my advisor, reeking of cigarette smoke and most likely ready to lecture me on trying to finish.

"How's Temari and your boy, Shikamaru?" I intercept him just as I felt his mouth open.

Shikamaru shrugged. "The same as always. I have to head out though. You know how my wife is. She's not gentle and understanding like Hinata. She'd kill me if I'm late for dinner again."

I tried not to smile with the utmost pride for the compliment on my wife. It wasn't a huge one but everybody in the village adored her for her kind nature even though she's from one of the most ferocious clans in all of Konoha.

"As I was about to say before you rudely interrupted me..." damn. Can't ever get anything past him.

"Naruto I think you need to go home."

I shook my head. "No can do, bro. I still have so much work to do."

My advisor crouched down, with his hands resting on my desk. His gesture for saying stop what I'm doing and pay attention to him for a second. I can't afford to so just this once, I let my eyes scan over the paper in front of me.

"When was the last time you were home before midnight?"

My eyes stopped skimming.

I had to actually rake my brain to see if I could remember. The last time I actually made it home before midnight...I know it wasn't anytime this week nor last week. I had to start reading over the applications for the Chunin exams coming up at the end of the month. This year, there amount of participants increased at an amazing rate. Three times more than last year which was absolutely shocking.

"Naruto, you have a family."

"Yeah which is this village, believe it." I cut him off.

"But what about the one in the building a couple blocks from here with the nice big garden?"

A sudden pang hit my heart hard.

He's not wrong.

"What about them?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "When was the last time you played with Himawari? I remembered before you took on this job, you made sure to spend at least three hours with her each day."

The memory of my amazingly beautiful daughter mimicking a deep voice for her panda I got her when she was just a newborn flooded my vision. All the times she made me take over because I have a deeper voice and ended up just falling asleep in my arms after too much playing.

"Or how about the time you attempted to teach Boruto the shadow clone jutsu?"

I blinked again and there I was; standing in the garden while my identical little copy tried to remember the exact jutsu to replicate himself just like me. I had crossed my arms and told him not to rush it. But he's a prodigy, just like his mother. After failing twice, he caught on quickly and before I knew it, there three of him standing in front of me ready to pounce.

"Naruto you are the Hokage so yes, your responsibility is with this village but how about your first responsibility?"

He acts like I don't see it. He thinks I don't understand that I have been basically absent from my immediate family at home. Do I want to sit here all night, cooped up and signing paper after paper with only cups of instant ramen to feed my growling stomach?

No.

"The responsibility you promised Hinata when you were at the alter ready to make her your wife."

His words were an arrow that struck my heart dead-center.

I don't wanna sit here all night, all alone in the dark with the only light source is a desk lamp.

I want to be at home with my children. I want to laugh with them and teach them when they mess something up; answer any curious questions my little princess has for me. Boruto might just ignore me when I'm talking but I know his tiny ears are still picking up the words I say.

Then there's Hinata.

My sweet, beautiful, loving Hinata.

I owe her the most for being so damn patient with me; from when we were barely 13 years old she was already waiting for me. She used to always stay up waiting with some warmed-up dinner waiting on the dining table and her sleeping nearby. I hated seeing her like that so I told her one night not to wait up anymore. She's busy during the day making sure the house is clean and helping Hanabi run the clan. The goddess didn't need to wait up for me.

That was months ago...

"How is she?" Shikamaru asked. "Temari mentioned she hasn't seen her for weeks."

"She's been really busy. With the clan and everything. They're prepping the young ones for the next set of exams."

Bullshit.

In all honesty, I wouldn't know.

When was the last time...we even had a conversation? I have been crashing in my office at home because I didn't want to wake her up. Our house came with 2 bathrooms. Since the one I share with Hinata is in our bedroom, I avoid using it at any cost. She is a light-sleeper; she'd wake up from even the slightlest air flow change in the room.

I've been using the kids' shower to rinse off and then just go into the couch in my office and pass out. In the morning, I'm the first one out of the house and I'm back here either finishing up more useless work or preparing for the next meeting.

Holy shit.

I looked at the family picture on my desk; one right before I became Hokage and we were having a family day at the park. Himawari was on my shoulders with Boruto smiling brightly throwing up the peace sign on both hands at the camera. Hinata was standing so close to me I even remembered smelling the shampoo she had on.

It smelled like strawberries; something different from what she usually uses. I even recall questioning her afterwards about it.

"Naruto?"

I snapped back to the present time immediately, shaking my head to clear it. "I'll go home right after I finish a third of this stack, okay?"

Shikamaru stood back up, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I think you should just go home now."

"Stop repeating yourself." I shot him a glare. "I need to finish my work here before I can, believe it."

He stayed where he was for a couple seconds longer, his face completely scrunched up in an emotion I couldn't read. Shikamaru doesn't bother hiding how he feels. He thinks it's too troublesome to be mysterious so all his emotions are out there for everybody to see.

Seeing him like this right now...there's something wrong.

"What is it?" I posed the question.

My advisor looked at me for a bit, his small charcoal eyes danced with something completely unreadable.

"Shikamaru..." I dropped the piece of paper I was reading. "What is it? Tell me now."

He released a sigh. Not his usual 'this is troublesome' sigh. This one said he gives up.

"Yesterday on my day off, Temari and I were walking through the village when we came across Hinata..." He trailed off.

"Hinata what?" I raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru casted his gaze downwards. "We came across her...laughing and talking to a different man."

The room suddenly stopped.

The heart in my chest churned into a painful knot like someone just reached in there and grabbed it.

Hinata...with another man.

No.

She's not that kind of person.

"You saw wrong, believe it." my voice cracked as I said it. Who was I trying to convince?

Hinata, for years, has only loved me and was always there for me. I can't - it can't be true. She is my everything from the moment I found out I was deeply in love with her when that bastard Toneri tried to take her away. I vowed then and there I would be the man worthy of her. I would never let her out of my sight and I will do everything in my power to love her enough to make up for the years I was so blind to her feelings for me.

When she was pregnant with Boruto, I never left her proximity. Even when he was born I would send clones to run the shopping errands whenever wevneeded something. Then Himawari came along and I had started preparing for my Hokage reign. But that didn't mean I neglected my wife and our children.

"I'm pretty sure it's nothing." Shikamaru tried to dissolve my worries but it was too late.

When was the last time I even said I love her? I see her briefly but never more than a couple minutes.

Do I ever say 'I love you' in that time?

Does Hinata think...I don't feel that way anymore? She never contacts me at work either because she didn't want me to divert my attention. She used to sent me encourgining texts throughout the day when cell phones became a thing here.

That eventually stopped, too since all I can send back was 'thanks' or just leave her on read.

Hinata is the most beautiful woman Konoha has ever come to have. All the times when we used to appear in public as a couple, I don't miss the eyes of almost every single man we passed watching her with complete hunger. Who wouldn't?

Her navy hair was absolutely beautiful: short and long. Even though she birthed two kids, her body was still in the best shape it ever was. Her curves came back almost immediately with the same strong stomach sometimes even outlining the abs underneath. The only difference would be her hips were a little wider but that doesn't make any difference other than making her even sexier than before.

I always had this strong sense of jealousy when I catch these guys trying to undress my wife with their eyes. I know I can't rip those images out of their minds but the moment I throw my arms around her waist, shoulder or give her ass a little squeeze, they back away immediately.

Hinata Hyuga is literally a goddess in disguise; breathtaking both on the inside and the outside.

Any man would thank the stars for sending her their way.

I was the one that could seriously thank Kami she was all mines.

Was all mines...

"Naruto?"

"Go home, Shikamaru!" I roared.

He didn't stay this time around.

And I'm left alone in my own dark thoughts for the rest of the night.