Hearts Torn Asunder ღ [Modern Naruto Story]

-Epilogue-

Love is always a war, no one gets out unscathed. But, eventually there is peace. 

        [Name] was relaxing on her leather sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows in her hand. She smiled, she was so happy. Maybe for the first time in a lone time. She started thinking back about the time that led her to here.

        "[Name]!" Naruto's voice called out for her, she didn't want to stop, she didn't know if her heart could take talking to him. There was so much left unsaid. When she finally stopped on the sidewalk, she didn't turn around, her back faced Naruto while he was bent over, hands on his knees and gasping for air. 

        He stood up, his voice dry and hoarse, "[Name].."

        She gulped, gripped at what resolve she had left and turned to face him. Her eyes had tears falling from them, and she couldn't talk as Naruto stood there staring at her.

        "[Name], it's not what you think it is. Hinata was just wanting to tell me that she was there for me, if I needed her. It was her and Sasuke's idea." His blue eyes took in her disheveled appearance, clothes messed up from running so hard, her eyes were puffy and red, his heart was breaking in half just by seeing her this way. "I told her that I appreciated it and that I'm sorry, but... that I still loved you..."

        [Name] stopped breathing, her eyes widened and she stood there, waited for this to turn out to be one of her dreams.

        Naruto continued, "You really hurt me, and we've been through a lot together.. so much. I decided not long after we talked that, I was going to push my hurts feelings out of the way, just to tell you that if the baby is mine," a couple of tears strayed from his eyes and his voice shook, "if the baby is mine, I will be so, so happy. However, that doesn't mean I'll forgive you for cheating on me, at least not yet. It will take a while, honestly, I might never forgive you. But, if the baby is mine, I want to be part of it's life, I want to be there. I can't promise that I'll be the best dad, hell I've never had a dad in my life myself, but I'm going to try. I'm going to protect him, I'm going to provide and be there for you both." The back of this hand wiped away at the ever-flowing tears that just kept coming from his face.

        [Name]'s tears fell so hard, so many from her eyes, that she wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh at everything. But, she couldn't, her heart was being grasped and she felt like she was having a hard time breathing. How could she tell him now? How would he react about the DNA results that she had just received?

        She took a deep breath in before releasing words passed her mouth in one exhale," Naruto, the baby.. it's yours."

        Now it was time for Naruto's breath to escalate, his world just somersaulted. The happiest feeling he had ever felt in his life seared through his heart and exploded into fireworks. His knees felt so weak, he hit the cemented ground beneath him and his hand muffled the soft sobs that slipped past his lips.

        The baby was his. The baby was his. God, it was his baby!

        He wanted to run and wrap [Name] tightly in his arms, tell her how happy he was. But, like she was reading his mind, she ran over, dropped to her knees and grabbed his hands to hold them in hers.

        Her name came whispered past his lips before he pulled at her arm and wrapped her up tightly in his embrace. He smiled into her shoulder, then he pulled back, one arm still around her, and placed his free hand on her belly. He smiled brightly, happy tears still falling and said, "I'm going to be a daddy."