Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor am I affiliated with the series. The series belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Studio Pierrot and VIZ Media. I don't work for those companies; I write for fun and for free.
Pairing: NaruHina
Rated: T
Prompt: [AU] You had a party and I got really drunk and stole your toaster, so I showed up the next day to return it and you were really hungover so I made you breakfast (but I burnt all of it).
Toaster
Hinata Hyuga groggily wiped her tired, sore, lavender eyes as she picked up litter from her carpet to dispose in the trash bag around her wrist. To say last night was enjoyable would be an understatement—she had the best time of her life! At least she was sure of it. Her mind was a bit muddled and foggy due to the copious amounts of plum wine she consumed; so her memory was clouded. Wearing only an oversized, orange t-shirt with a red swirl pattern on the front and nothing else, she didn't question whom the garment might belong to, or why she was naked underneath it. It was comfortable and practical to do household chores in.
As a stressed-out, 19-year-old college student, Hinata's best friend Ino Yamanaka assumed a wild party would help her relax. Dealing with headache-inducing exams, deadlines, arduous professors and finals, Hinata was only too eager to agree. A respite of drunkenness and problematic activities was the perfect cure for her college-stressing aliment.
The onyx-haired brunette combed her fingers through her matted, long hair and winced in pain when her fingers jerked a few tangled strands. "Ow!" The sting of tugging her hair only added to the intense throbbing of her hangover. Her hair felt like straw and if Ino saw her right now, her loud friend would scold her for not taking care of priorities first. Because cleaning her apartment after a wild party isn't nearly as important as taking care of her hair.
Hinata smiled at the thought.
Dropping the trash bag abruptly to the floor, Hinata took heed to Ino's mental advice and raced to her bathroom to wash herself.
The late morning sun beamed warmly over the young man as he walked along the sidewalk. "Damn," 19-year-old Naruto Uzumaki scrubbed his palm over his face as he morosely approached the apartment building of the young woman residing there. Carrying a white toaster underneath his armpit, his other hand fisted the pocket of his orange zip hoodie. The blond student climbed the steps apprehensively and, remembering the apartment number his roommate Sai gave him, worriedly lifted his fist to her door to knock.
What would he say? What would he tell her?
Hey, I got shit-faced at your party last night and my friend Kiba dared me to take something as a memento. So I took your toaster. Sorry. Here. Have it back.
"Okay, that's just stupid," he muttered at the absurdity of his thoughts. Naruto did everything he could to try and convince Sai to tell his girlfriend Ino to return the toaster instead. After all, Ino and the woman living here were close friends, but Ino heatedly refused, saying it was his problem, not hers.
Despite the heavy quantities of alcohol he drank last night, surprisingly Naruto didn't suffer from a massive hangover. And he remembered everything, too. Returning the stolen toaster wasn't the only reason why the blond was anxious about dealing with the woman behind the door. He watched her get a little too rowdy last night and he doubted she remembered anything that transpired. He did. And mentally recalling her rambunctious actions the night before made him blush furiously and a gentle stirring erupted in his belly.
Shrugging the memories away, Naruto sighed in defeat. "Oh well. There's no getting out of this now." He knocked on the door and patiently waited for the woman behind it to answer.
Feeling refreshed after a nice, long scalding shower, Hinata pinned her freshly-washed hair in a bun, dressed in a sweatshirt and ankle-length skirt and completed the task of cleaning her apartment. Setting the filled trash bags by her front door, she jumped slightly when she heard the knock. Wondering who was on the other side, she looked through her peephole and was surprised at the image of a handsome, blue-eyed young man raking his fingers through his blond locks.
Moving the trash bags aside, Hinata unlocked and opened her door just enough to poke her head past the threshold. "Um, good afternoon. May I help you?" she asked the man politely.
Giving the cute woman a wide, humorous grin, Naruto introduced himself and extended a hand out to her. "Um, hi. I'm Naruto and I was at your party last night."
Lifting a curious brow at him, Hinata opened the door a little wider to shake his hand in greeting, although she remained quiet.
"And um…" Naruto kept his grin plastered on his face, but he consistently fingered his hair which gave away his nervousness. "I kinda… sorta… took your toaster…"
Hinata's lavender eyes perplexingly locked on the metal contraption underneath his arm and she frowned confusingly at him. "Why…?"
Thrusting the toaster in her direction, Naruto's words raced quickly from his lips. "Look, I'm sorry! It was a stupid dare that bastard Kiba made me do! But I never intended to keep the toaster, so here! Have it back!"
Fully opening the door, the brunette reached for the toaster and slowly, cautiously removed it from Naruto's hands. "Um… okay…" Hinata was at a loss for words. It wasn't everyday a cute man knocked on her door returning an item he pilfered from her home. How drunk was I last night? Trying vainly to recall the jumbled memories of her party made the brunette clutch her head as a tremor of pain riddled through it.
"Oh…" Feeling weak and dizzy, Hinata dropped the toaster and held tightly to the door to balance herself.
Noticing the way the woman swayed and the waves of pain contorting her face, Naruto's instincts quickly kicked in and he reached out to her to grab her so she wouldn't keel over. "Hey, hey there. I got you." The first thing he noticed as he held her was the fragrance of her floral-scented shampoo permeating from her shiny, black hair. She smells really, really good, he told himself. The second thing he noticed was their vast height difference. Her head rested securely underneath his shoulder and a soft rouge warmed his cheeks at the feeling of her heavy, large breasts pressed firmly against his chest. They're really, really soft, he perversely mused. The third thing he noticed was how comfortable and right she felt in his arms with their bodies melded together. He hugged her closer to his body, basking in the warmth coming from her petite, curvy frame. This feels really, really nice.
Before he could mull over his fledgling attraction to Hinata, Naruto felt her stir in his arm and he picked her up bridal style. Kicking her door close, he stepped around the trash bags to lay her softly on her sofa.
"Ugh…" Hinata groaned as she draped a lazy arm over her eyes to shield them from the sunlight coming through her blinds. "My head hurts."
"Someone had a little too much to drink last night," Naruto joked. Before he could stop himself, he traced her bangs with his forefinger and marveled at the beauty of her pale, round face. Quickly yanking his hand away like he burned it on something hot, Naruto waited for Hinata to scold him for touching her without permission, but it never came. His bright, azure eyes focused on the way her chest was heaving evenly and her soft, pink lips parted and he knew she was asleep.
Looking around her apartment, Naruto surmised she was in the middle of cleaning after the party last night and decided to complete her chores. It was the least he could do after stealing her toaster.
Slowly blinking her eyes open, Hinata languidly lifted her head from her sofa and breathed in the delightful aroma of food. Massaging her forehead with her palm, the brunette rubbed away the remnants of her hangover. Blushing slightly, her lips stretched into a gentle grin from the sounds and feeling of her rumbling, empty stomach.
"But…? How…?" Lifting herself from the sofa, Hinata stretched her limbs and looked around her home, surprised it was immaculately clean. She turned around and looked at the front door where she left her trash bags and was puzzled at their disappearance. Her carpet was freshly vacuumed, the periodicals on her coffee table were neatly stacked and, along with the smell of food, her furniture smelled of pine oil, indicating someone dusted.
Feeling nervous and quizzical about someone cleaning and cooking in her apartment, Hinata took tentative steps towards her kitchen where the sounds of something frying in a pan and the constant opening and closing of her cabinets were coming from.
"Oh, hi there!" her uninvited guest greeted her merrily with a wave of her spatula.
Standing in the entryway of her kitchen, Hinata's dark brows deepened into a frown. Instead of returning his greeting, she slowly, yet calmly asked, "Why are you still here?"
"Oh, um…" Naruto shifted his weight from each foot and kept his grin stretching his face to hide his embarrassment. He understood her caution and concern. He wouldn't be too open and cordial with a stranger cleaning and cooking in his home, either. "I returned your toaster when I swiped it from your kitchen from your party last night." He noticed her eyes briefly move to the offending machine plugged into an outlet on her counter before settling on his again. And in that moment there was a resounding 'ding' that alerted them the toast was ready. Blue and lavender eyes watched as two charred pieces of stiffened bread pop from the appliance.
Naruto would've laughed at the odd situation if it weren't for the serious expression of the woman facing him.
Clearing this throat, he turned his head and focused on flipping the omelet in the pan. "You passed out shortly after I came over. So I laid you down on the sofa and I noticed you were cleaning your apartment. So I decided to help you out a bit. It was the least I could do after stealing your toasting." If Naruto was looking, he would've noticed the gentle smile that began to stretch Hinata's lips, but she quickly returned to her stoic expression.
"And I thought when you wake up, you'll be hungry. So I wanted to make you some breakfast."
Looking at the clock on her kitchen wall, Hinata slightly frowned and replied, "It's after 1:00."
Facing the cute woman again, Naruto chuckled and said, "Yeah, I know it's crazy to cook breakfast in the afternoon, but I wasn't planning on staying long. I actually wanted to finish before you woke up and kinda surprise you. But you're up now, so I'll just leave. I'm sure you can finish this by yourself."
The comfort of having someone as sunny and upbeat and kind and attractive—attractive?—okay she'll admit the stranger cooking her breakfast was indeed handsome in her home soothed her. And Hinata didn't want him to leave. Naruto could've taken advantage of her if he wanted to, and yet he took care of her instead. That was admirable in her book and it showed his true character. She stepped further into the kitchen and reached for the spatula he was holding and told him, "Please stay. I…" Hinata looked around the interior of her kitchen, anything to avoid looking into those bright baby blues that's making gooseflesh tingle against her skin.
Finally settling her lavender eyes on her bare feet, she whispered, "Thank you for cleaning and cooking. I want you to stay and eat with me."
Naruto stepped away from the stove and radiantly smiled at the soft-spoken woman. Reaching for her hand he told her, "I'd love to stay."
"Heh, heh, heh, yeah… Sorry for burning your toast."
Together Naruto and Hinata exchanged laughs after sharing the omelet he prepared for her. They sat on her sofa after eating breakfast engaging in a peripheral conversation to get to know each other. Their discussion eventually changed to what happened at the party last night. Hinata asked Naruto for details about her actions and she became weary when he instantly clammed up.
"Naruto?" Hinata clutched his shoulders and matched his stare with her own. "Be honest with me. Tell me what happened and why was I wearing a shirt that wasn't mine." Her thoughts horrifically conjured the worst scenarios when she realized she was naked underneath the shirt. "And I-I was… I was… Did someone take advantage of me last night? Oh, no!" She covered her mouth with her palms and blinked away unshed tears from her eyes.
Sensing the rising panic and fear in Hinata, Naruto reached for her upper arms and told her to calm down. "Hinata! Hinata! Listen to me! Nothing like that happened! Look at me."
Gulping hard, the brunette soothed her breathing and the racing palpitations of her beating heart also slowed. She gently nodded her head and whispered, "Okay."
Keeping his fingers secured around her upper arms, Naruto bore his eyes deep into hers. Although he was tempted to look away because he didn't want to humiliate Hinata with details of the events of the night prior, he knew he owed her the truth. And he told her.
Gasping from shock and disbelief, Hinata palmed her brick-red face to hide her shame at what Naruto revealed. "I can't believe I did that!" her muffled words escaped from her palms. "Why would I dance naked on my coffee table in front of everyone?"
"I dunno… but you did." Naruto tried his best to keep his voice leveled and even so she couldn't tell he was grinning from the memory. "When you almost fell from the table I caught you and took off my shirt to cover you up."
"Ohmigod…" groaned the brunette with her palms still concealing her face. "My father's going to kill me if he finds out. And I'm going to be the laughingstock on campus."
Wishing there was something he could do to placate her trepidation, Naruto only massaged her upper arms through the sweater she was wearing, hoping it'll calm her some. Well, he mentally sighed. There's no turning back now. I might as well finish the story.
"When you landed in my arms you immediately passed out. Your friend Ino pointed to your bedroom and I," letting go one of her arms, the blond nervously scratched the back of his head and laughed. "I tucked you in, closed your bedroom door and joined everyone else again. Of course after the… um… strip show…"
Hinata only groaned again responsively.
"…was over, people started to leave. Your friend Ino stayed behind to make sure you were safe."
Hinata's eyes peeked from behind her fingers when she no longer felt Naruto's hands massaging her upper arms. She held back a smile when she saw the bright smile that she's become accustomed to adorning his face and his arms folded behind his head. Although she was humiliated beyond belief, again she was grateful Naruto was there to prevent anything from happening to her.
"And that's when Kiba dared me to take something. So I swiped your toaster and we left." Naruto looked over at Hinata peeking from behind her hands and playfully winked at her.
A series of light chuckles escaped her lips and Hinata lowered her palms to fold her hands in her lap. "I don't know what to say…" Finding the hilarity in the story after the fearfulness passed, she continued giggling and laid her head on Naruto's shoulder. "That's so out of character of me."
Casually draping his arm around her shoulders, Naruto pulled her closer to his body and said, "Don't worry. You're forgiven. You were drunk after all."
"But you know," resting her eyes, Hinata linked her fingers with Naruto's and happily sighed. "What I find the most interesting is our friends are dating and yet you and I didn't know we existed. If you hadn't taken my toaster, we probably never would've met."
"Ha, ha! Yeah being a thief has really benefited me." Rubbing her shoulder and resting his head on top of her hair, Naruto let her know, "I'm really glad I got to know you, Hinata."
Squeezing his fingers more tightly, Hinata replied, "Me too, Naruto."
I hope you enjoyed this cute, little NaruHina short. I don't know if anyone really paid attention, but I decided to write Naruto and Sai as roommates. And I'm not sure if people are wondering why I wrote Naruto and Sai as roommates and not Naruto and Sasuke. Simple: I've really enjoyed the portrayal of Sai and Naruto's relationship in the series. I think Kishimoto wrote them very well and I love how close they've become. I admire the NaruSai bond way more than I admire the SasuNaru bond. (Please don't kill me.)
I'm going to work on some of the prompts for NaruHina Smut Month.
