Remember the past to better move towards your future.

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Written for NaruHina week 2019

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They remembered everything as if it happened yesterday.

The first picture on the second page showed Hinata, sitting in a comfortable chair in their house garden. Her feet on a small stool, she held a dessert spoon in her hand and a banana ice cream box was placed on her eight-month pregnancy belly. The sun caressed her face radiating with joy as she was trying not to roar with laughter at the jokes Naruto was telling her while snapping away at her with his camera.

The second picture on the fourth page showed Naruto, slouched on the old hospital chair. His elbow on the edge of the plastic bed, his head rested heavily in his hand. With his mouth slightly opened, his face was relaxed as he was sleeping over Boruto who he was supposed to watch. Hinata had quietly searched in their backpack and had taken the camera to capture the moment.

The third picture on the seventh page showed Boruto with a paper birthday hat on his head, wearing an orange short and a white t-shirt with the Uzumaki symbol in the back. The picture dated back to Shikadai's first birthday. Surrounded by his friends, their son was trying to wiggle his hips at the pace of the song, ignoring his father's calls, saying that it was time to go home. Hinata hadn't been able to hold back the desire of taking a picture of her son in this happy atmosphere.

The fourth picture on the eighth page had been taken by Hinata. Something she was proud of when she showed it to their friends who couldn't believe that Naruto, the hero of the fourth ninja war, could be overpowered by his baby. The picture showed her husband, laying in their bed to heal his wounds made during his mission quicker. Except that Boruto was nearly sitting on him and made his little cars roll on his father's face who could only raise his voice to drive away his son who had a big smile, laughing heartily at his threats in the air.

The fifth picture on the tenth page was Naruto's pay back. One night, he had heard Hinata get out of bed to go downstairs. First, he had just followed her to be sure that everything was ok. He knew their unborn daughter was not as easy as Boruto was. But guess what. He was surprised to find his wife in front of the open fridge while eating some cookie dough. Without thinking twice, he had taken the camera and had captured this proof to solve the mystery of the cookie dough reducing a little bit more every day.

The sixth picture on the eleventh page had been taken by Iruka during Boruto's second birthday. Clapping with their parents, the group of children was around the uge birthday cake Choji had made for the occasion. Boruto had taken a big breath in and had blown his two small candles at the moment of the snap. Right behind him, Hinata had her back against Naruto's chest and he had his chin on the top of her head and his arms wrapped around her big belly carrying their daughter. While congratulating her son, Hinata wiped a happy tear.

At the end of each of his parents' explanations, Boruto would turn the page of the photograph album until stopping on one of the pictures and to land his finger on it. It corresponded to one of his first memories which made him happy. "Look Hima," He smiled. "It's you!"

Sitting between her father's legs, the youngest Uzumaki leaned toward the album to have a better look and to try to recognise herself.

The seventh picture on the thirteenth page showed Boruto sitting next to Hinata, laying on the hospital bed and rocking Himawari in her arms. Naruto had taken the picture when his son's face showed his wonderment and his curiosity for his little sister.

"Yeah, I had much more hair than nii-chan when I was born." she said to tease her brother.

He stuck his tongue out at her and replied, "You were redder than me, for sure."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other while their children kept arguing gently.

They did remember everything as if it happened yesterday.

During that day, the temperatures were terribly high for the season and Naruto was happy to be back to the hospital, cool thanks to the air conditioner.

With his head up in the white corridors of the building, he was looking for Hinata's room number. His tired eyes were still stinging as he held back a yawn.

Half asleep in his arms, Boruto's head was resting on his shoulder. His whiskered cheek against his collarbone and the tip of his nose in his neck, his tiny fingers were unconsciously wrapping and pulling on his short spiky blond hair at the back of his head level.

Despite Boruto being used to falling asleep easily, Sakura had told Naruto that his son had trouble falling back asleep after being woken up, then carried to the Uchiha's house. The first born Uzumaki must have felt that something abnormal was happening to his parents and it had worried him enough to disturb his sleep.

"It also has been a surprise for us, Bolt." Naruto said as an apology to his son when he had taken him back from Sakura's.

Unlike her brother who was born in the middle of the afternoon after hours and hours of labour, Himawari had decided to arrive three days earlier which wasn't an issue for Naruto.

No. What he reproached Himawari was to be born in the middle of the night.

Once again, the Uzumaki couple arrived at the hospital in a hurry after leaving Boruto and their daughter must have been in a rush to meet her family because Hinata didn't have to wait for long before seeing the doctor coming back to say that everything was ready for the baby.

When Naruto saw his wife's room number, he smiled before opening the door a little. He glanced inside and noticed that nothing had changed since he left to pick up Boruto.

Hinata and Himawari were still sleeping.

Walking on tiptoe, he approached his daughter and made his son face the bed while calling him.

"Look Boruto," he murmured with an excited voice. "It's your little sister. It's Himawari. She's born yesterday. That's why you were with untie Sakura."

Looking down at the reason he had a short night, Boruto blinked a few times before tightening his fists around his father's t-shirt and leaning over what seemed to be a breathing yet inanimate thing in the bed.

This was his sister?

Not wanting to be his chatty self, Boruto pouted, rubbed his eyes and laid back on his father's torso.

Understanding his son was nothing but grumpy, Naruto smiled, amused, and then walked to Hinata to put Boruto on the bed. In a last effort, he crawled to his mother. The sound of the bedsheets got her out of her somnolence state and she saw the tired gaze of her baby boy.

"Good morning my love." she murmured before bringing him close to her. "I missed you."

Boruto let himself collapse against his mother's breasts for her to cuddle him until falling asleep. Hinata then looked up at Naruto and held her hand out towards him. He took it between his own to kiss it. "I'm quickly going home to take some stuff for Boruto. I'll be back."

"Stay with us and rest a bit, Naruto-kun."

He kissed her forehead, "I'd have the time once I'm back. Don't worry for me, ok?"

Hinata nodded and Naruto got out of the room.

She then took the opportunity of this moment of silence to catch up with her babies. The apple of her eye.

No words were spoken. Only light caresses in the blond hair tickling her neck, and loving gazes on the small body holding tight on the index of her hand were exchanged.

Hinata would've known how to explain it, but she felt like communicating, bonding with her children.

Until Himawari woke up and asked loudly for breastfeeding.

This unusual noise dragged Boruto out of his sleep. Grunting, he rubbed his eyes before looking again at the thing now animated. "What's happening, kaa-chan?"

Hinata sat up in the bed, "She's hungry." She kept Boruto on her knees while he watched her take this baby in her arms to feed her. The annoyed look he had on his face earlier had been replaced by a form of interest when he noticed the similarity between the young baby's eyes and cheeks and his own.

"She... She's whiskers on her cheeks. Like me and tou-chan." He dug his finger in his chubby cheek. "And the same eyes!" He commented when she looked at him.

"She does," replied Hinata as she took his hand to make him come closer. "She looks like you because she's your sister, a member of your family. It's normal."

Boruto nodded, all his attention now focused on Himawari. Hinata felt like seeing Naruto. "But she's the same hair as you, kaa-chan."

It's at this moment that Naruto, back with new clothes, saw Hinata's and Boruto's attention on Himawari. He didn't say he was here and took his camera to immortalise this second.

"Tou-chan, look!" Boruto exclaimed as soon as his father came into the room. "She looks like us all."

"She's cute, isn't she?"

Boruto nodded, his eyes brightening. Naruto put his bag on the floor and sat next to them.

"Do you want to take her in your arms, Boruto?" his mother asked.

Their son looked at them with worried eyes, but their smiles gave him courage. They believed in him because he was a big brother now.

"O-Ok."

Hinata reassured him, "I'll help you."

With Naruto's hand in his back to keep his balance, Boruto sat still on Hinata's legs, facing Himawari.

"Stretch out your arms towards me."

Really carefully, Hinata placed the baby in her brother's arms before sliding hers off. Impressed by her weight, heavy for his weak hold, Boruto stared at his little sister without moving.

"You're doing great, buddy."

"Better than your father."

"Hinata!" Naruto complained.

She sent him an apologetic smile while wrinkling her nose like a cheeky monkey, which deepened her husband's blush. She then let him off the hook and eyed her baby boy. "Are you happy?"

Boruto's eyes sparkled even more when he looked up and gave his parents a big toothy smile. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "We're gonna do a lot of things together and she'll be friend with my friends, right?"

"Of course my love, but not now, ok?" Hinata explained.

"Why?"

"She'll need a lot of sleep to grow up and become strong. Then, she'll play with you." Naruto continued. "Do you understand?"

After a pause, Boruto nodded before looking at Himawari who wriggled. So, Hinata took her back from her son's arms to feed her again. Boruto then stood up and went in Naruto's arms.

Once his son was on his lap, he leaned back against the back of his chair and took Hinata's hand. Mechanically, he caressed it as she smiled at him, "I love you" he read on her lips.

And for the umpteenth time, Naruto said to himself that he was so lucky to have everything he desired with him at this moment.

That's what he was thinking about when Boruto and Himawari got up to run around the picnic cloth, now in a mood for playing.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Hinata as the kids ran away.

Naruto looked at her before leaning and kissing her lips. "Them," he showed the children. He eyed her again. "You. My beautiful wife and mother of my children." He kissed her again. "I'm thinking about how much I love you."

With pink cheeks, Hinata smiled and led him to lie down with her on the square-shaped fabric. He wrapped his arms around her as she caressed his hair.

"Naruto-kun is a real smooth talker." She murmured and he laughed, his joy overwhelming in his chest and spreading to her.

They then stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon, bathing in the tranquility the Senju park was offering them today while their children were playing in the stream nearby.

At sunset, Boruto and Himawari came back next to their parents, completely wet.

"I think it's time to go." Hinata said, worried that they could catch a cold.

The Uzumaki family took their belongings, then walked on the way home.

With the basket in her left hand, Hinata felt her son's hand sliding in hers before taking Naruto's right. Perching on her father's shoulders, Himawari was giving directions to go back home while her parents made a Boruto laughing loudly fly in the air.

However, they could feel that it was harder to lift him today than usual.

Time was flying so fast. Naruto and Hinata just had to blink once for this day to become a memory and make place for the numerous next days to come.