#dad naruto

“Ngggh? Boruto?” he yawned and propped himself up onto his elbows. At the sight of the tears in the corners of his son's eyes and the slightly panicked expression, he smiled softly and reached out to gently stroke the boy's hair. “Did you have a bad dream?” he asked, and Boruto nodded sadly. The memory of the scary, dancing shadows and the phantom of whatever nightmare he had suffered surfaced once more, and the tears began to flow freely down his cheeks. As he began to sniffle, his father smiled wider and sat up fully. Boruto whimpered and raised his arms as Naruto reached down to pick him up and gather him into his arms. “Hey, little buddy, don’t cry,” he soothed.

“It was so scary,” Boruto sobbed and buried his face into his father's shoulder, grabbing onto his sleeping shirt as he cried quietly. Naruto wrapped him in a tight hug and rocked him back and forth gently, rubbing his back soothingly.

“I know. It was just a dream. Daddy won’t let anything hurt you,” Naruto murmured and slipped out of the bed to begin pacing slowly back and forth. Boruto sniffed and wrapped his arms around his father's neck, looking up at him doubtfully. Naruto smiled weakly and raised a hand to wipe his tears away, but it didn’t help much, because he was still terrified and crying.

“B-but… But the shadows, Daddy…” he mumbled, looking around at the dark bedroom. He hugged his father tighter as he imagined those shadows moving too, reaching out with spindly black claws to pluck him from his father's arms and take him away. He began crying again, and Naruto pushed his head into his chest while gently shushing him.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right,” he comforted him. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“B-because you’ll protect me, Daddy?” Boruto asked quietly as he looked up tearfully. Naruto smiled and stroked his son's hair comfortingly.

“Of course,” he chuckled softly and dried his tears once more. “Daddy won’t let anything hurt you. But there’s nothing here that can hurt you, Boruto.”

“There were shadow monsters in my room!” Boruto protested and looked out at the ajar door, imagining the phantasms lurking just beyond the barrier of the moonlight. “They’ll get me…” he whimpered and clutched tightly to his father, laying his head on his shoulder while he stared uncertainly at the door.

“Well, why don’t I go chase them away, okay?” Naruto smiled and held him in one arm while grabbing the door and pulling it open. Boruto whimpered and clutched onto his father tightly, looking around fearfully as they proceeded down the hallway. Naruto eased the door of his bedroom open and peered inside. Boruto whined loudly and covered his eyes with his hands, but could not help but peek through the gaps in his little fingers. It was still dark, and he felt his heart begin to pound furiously. Daddy is strong… He'll protect me… he thought as Naruto carried him over to the bed and laid him down, pulling the sheets over him and tucking him in. “Now, let’s see about those monsters, huh?” he smirked and looked around the room.

“They were everywhere, Daddy,” Boruto sniffled and shrunk down under the covers.

“Well, first, let’s check under the bed,” Naruto huffed and squatted down, turning his head sideways to peer under the bed. “Nope! None here. See?” he said and motioned for Boruto to take a look. The young boy blinked uncertainly, then hesitantly, he crawled over to the edge of the bed and slowly hung down to peek under the bed. He was met with nothing but dust bunnies. No shadow monsters… he realized, sitting up. Naruto jumped to his feet to stroll over to the closet and open the door. “No monsters in here, either,” he confirmed and shut the door.

“Can you check by the window?” Boruto asked quietly, imagining dark fingers sneaking out from behind the curtains. Naruto smiled and snuck over to the window to dramatically wrench the curtains aside. Moonlight streamed into the room, chasing away the rest of the lingering shadows. “No monsters here,” Naruto smiled at him. Boruto glanced around, then sighed deeply as he finally relaxed. I’m safe… “All right, now, go to sleep,” Naruto smiled and walked back over. Boruto snuggled back under the covers as his father gently leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. He then frowned and looked around doubtfully.

“Daddy… What if they’re only hiding? What if they are scared of you, and when you leave, they come out?” he whispered fearfully. Naruto cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, then smiled softly and stroked his hair again. “Will… will you stay with me for a little while? Because maybe if you stay, they’ll get scared and run away!” he thought. Naruto raised an eyebrow, then smiled slightly and nodded.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed, scooching Boruto over as he stretched out beside him. Instantly comforted, Boruto sighed happily and curled up beside his father, who yawned and wrapped an arm around him.

“Goodnight, Daddy,” he murmured as he yawned, sleep finally coming back to him. Wrapped in his father's arm, a smile formed on his face. Daddy will always keep me safe…

“Of course not!” he huffed proudly, screwing his eyes shut tighter so his daughter could see. “Now, go hide! One… Two…” As he began to count, Himawari screamed and took off into the house, and he heard the feverish pitter-patter of her steps echo throughout the building. He leaned back into the couch with a wide smile, reminded of how blessed he was to have such a wonderful family. “Fifteen… Sixteen…”

“Wait! Wait! I’m not ready!” Himawari wailed, and he heard her run from one end of the house to the other in her desperate attempt to find a hiding spot.

“Nineteen… Nineteen and a quarter… Nineteen and a half… Nineteen and three-quarters… Twenty!” he shouted and opened his eyes, giving a quick sweep around the room before rising from the couch and proceeding into the hallway. He slunk across the wooden floor, snickering. “Come out, come out, where ever you are!” he called into the house, and he froze for a moment when he heard a distant, girlish giggle. Adjusting his course to the sound, he proceeded into the master bedroom.

“Himawaaaaariiiii,” he called with a grin, and as expected, the young girl who thought she was clever couldn’t help but release a stream of laughter. It was much closer now, and he followed the sound to the adjacent spare bedroom. In the curtain was a suspicious Himawari-sized lump. Naruto straightened up, then grinned and made a show of making his rounds around the room. “Are you in here?!” he cried as he wrenched the closer door open, and the lump in the curtain quivered a little. “Nope. How about… under the bed?” he said loudly as he dropped to the floor to look beneath the bed frame. He could see Himawari's little shoes peeking out from beneath the curtain. “Not here, either? Oh, where is my little Himawari?” he sighed deeply and stood up. The lump giggled, then gasped and shushed itself. Naruto clasped his hands behind his back and strolled around the room in fake thought. “Oh, well. I guess she isn’t here!” he announced before leaving the room. He heard his daughter's giggles floating after him.

Naruto made a racket searching the rest of the house, occasionally inciting more laughter from the toddler, before he collapsed onto the living room couch with a dramatic sigh. “I can’t find Himawari anywhere!” he walked, placing a hand over his eyes in mock misery. “I guess she's gone forever… oh, what will I do?” he cried and then began to loudly fake cry. It wasn’t long before the feverish pitter-patter echoed through the house again.

“No, Daddy! Don’t cry! I’m here, I’m here!” she cried as she launched herself at him, and he grinned widely as he caught her under the arms and lifted her high into the air.

“There you are! Oh, I was do worried I would never find you!” he smiled happily and then dropped her into a tight hug.

“Ow! Daddy, you’re squishing me!” Himawari laughed as he rocked her back and forth, hugging her tightly. He propped her up on his knees to kiss her forehead. She smiled brightly at him and squirmed under his assault of affection. “Okay, Daddy! Your turn to hide!” she grinned as she waved her arms emphatically and pointed to the hallway. He set her down on the couch and took off as she covered her eyes and began counting.

I really do have the best family! He thought with a snicker as he listened to his daughter's voice echoing through the house. Now, where to hide?