This was originally posted on Tumblr, and I meant to put it on here, I really did, but it slipped my mind completely. Happy holidays by the way.
So, this is new. I went from guns and drugs to tutus and classical music, oh lord. But I think this is a nice change of pace. A big thanks to lovebugdarien for being my beta. I don't how I'd manage by myself. (By the way, check her out on here and on Tumblr, she's super cool.)
Alright, enjoy.
Chapter 1: Ballerina
Carnations.
The elderly woman who came into the Yamanaka Flower Shop a few days earlier asked Naruto what they had meant. He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, and admitted that he didn't know. Boy, if Ino had seen him then, she surely would have berated him for never bothering to learn the language of flowers.
To his surprise, the old woman smiled earnestly. Her wrinkles had become more pronounced. She held the bouquet in her arms, and told him that each color meant something different. It just so happened that her husband's birthday was on that same day, and she purchased red carnations to show her deep her affection ran for him.
But if she wanted to do that, couldn't she have gotten him some red roses? That would've conveyed the same message to him, wouldn't it?
When he asked, she laughed. Then she said something very profound.
"I chose these flowers today because I want to show that my love may come in different forms. But no matter how many forms it comes in, it's always the same love – my love." Then she paid for her bouquet and slowly hobbled out of the door.
For some reason, it left a rather warm feeling in Naruto's chest.
Today at the shop, Naruto could hardly focus on watering the plants correctly. To think that old people could still be madly in love after years of being together. His mother and father were like that as well, always so happy together. Would the two of them grow to be just like that old woman and her husband? He gave a snort. Maybe it was possible. After all, not everyone was bitter as Granny Tsunade and that old pervert Jiraiya, and they weren't even a couple.
Or so Tsunade said anyway.
"Hey Naruto," Ino cried. "You're over watering the plants! Quit it!" The water in the flower pot had begun to overflow, spilling all over the white, ceramic tiled floor.
"Ah, shit! I'm sorry!" Naruto set down the watering can, frantically searching for something clean the mess he made. Ino had come to the rescue with a few small towels in her arms. "Uh, thanks Ino," he laughed sheepishly.
"Don't give me that kind of laugh! Honestly, if I wasn't running things around here, this shop would've burned to the ground ages ago," she frowned. When she wasn't at work, Ino was the most carefree, fun-loving person he had ever known. Beside himself anyway.
She had a passion for flowers, and lived by her own motto: There's no meaning to a flower unless it blooms.
It was something that Naruto thought about quite often. So often that he decided to ask her about what it meant a few years back when he first began working at the shop. That was when she told him about the language of flowers, and that all flowers, alone or arranged in a beautiful bouquet, had something they were meant to say. If they never bloomed, then they would never be able to convey that message, so what meaning could they possibly hold?
Under her breath she mumbled, "That goes for people too."
If he remembered correctly, Ino told him that when she and Sai had been "dating" but not exactly dating. She was quite frustrated with him for not being able to say what exactly it was that he wanted from their non-relationship at the time. But in the end, everything worked out for those two.
"Hey, are you going to help me clean this up or not?" Ino asked, and Naruto mumbled a small apology before kneeling down to clean the mess. "What were you even thinking about that made you screw up this bad?"
To tell her about how an elderly woman warmed his heart a few days ago would be embarrassing, and he blushed. Wrong move, because to Ino, a pink hue on the cheeks meant that he was thinking of someone fondly. The large grin on her face was starting to annoy him. "Cut it out!"
"Oh, come on! Don't be shy," she purred. "Were you thinking of a cute girl? A few of them did come in today. There was one with curly hair and a very cute face – she looked like your type." Suddenly, Naruto stood up to wring out the towel in the sink.
"I don't have a type," he commented nonchalantly. This was true. In middle school, he had only a fleeting crush on Ino's best friend. In high school, romance was completely lost on him. Now? Well, he had gone steady with a girl for a while, but it didn't really work out. After two and a half years, something just felt off, so he cut it off.
For an entire six months after the break up however, there was a lot of making up, dating for a week or two, and then breaking up again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
"Everyone has a type, Naruto. I'm sure you do too," Ino walked over to the sink, wringing the water out her towel. "Come on, what do you like in a girl? Any specific hair and eye color? What about facial features? Not even a body type?"
"I don't care about her hair or eyes or her face, and if I answered your last question, I'd just sound like a pervert to you," he said, before snatching Ino's towel out of her hand to toss into a small hamper. He walked back to resume watering the plants and Ino trailed him.
"You don't care about her face? What if she's ugly? You know, with a weird expression and a runny nose," Ino teased as she contorted her face into some weird looking scowl. "Her mouth would be open like this and snot would get in it. Then you'd have to kiss her. Gross!"
Naruto cringed. "There's no one that looks like that for one, and two, how old are you? Also, why would her nose be runny all the time? Is she sick or something?" Ino only laughed. "Besides, I wouldn't date her if she looked like that."
Ino put on her infamous 'gottcha' face. "Aha! I knew you cared about that kind of stuff!"
Naruto groaned in response.
The ringing of the bell caught their attention and Ino made her way over to the register to greet their current customer. He had come in to pick up a bouquet today. And speaking of bouquets, "Hey that reminds me," said Ino. "Naruto, there are a few flower arrangements in the back with addresses on them. Mind delivering those for me sometime today?"
"Does it have to be today?" Naruto mumbled.
"Yes, today. That's what we were paid extra for!" She cried.
He got the message loud and clear.
He knew he shouldn't have been reading the cards attached to the flowers, but a lot of these were pure gold. One person wanted to apologize to their significant other because they were caught cheating. They weren't actually sorry for the act of cheating, just sorry that they were caught. Another sent flowers for their sister's wedding with the words, "I hope you're happy you piece of trash," scrawled on it.
Naruto had half a mind to draw a garbage can on it.
Shifting through the flowers to find which one was closest to his current destination, a bouquet of red and pink roses caught his eye. Well, it wasn't so much that it caught his eye, but more so that it was the biggest bouquet there.
He opened the card to read it, but it was written in a different language. Naruto didn't even know what language it was, nor did he care to know. Though, it would have been nice to know what the card said. The name was written in a language he could read – thank goodness for that.
Hinata, it read.
Well, whoever she was, she was certainly loved. Were roses her favorite or something? They always seemed kind of gaudy and cheap to him. They were the hackneyed symbol of love and passion. Everyone that came by the shop always purchased them for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day. It brought in very good business, he had to say, but those flowers were also a source of chaos too. When out on display, people would snatch up a rose or two to give to their date.
Ino always rushed out screaming like a banshee to have the flowers returned. Naruto couldn't really understand why. One little rose didn't really seem like it was worth the trouble. He never voiced that opinion though, due to his fear of Ino's wrath.
Blue eyes scanned the paper of addresses, and Hinata's was a little weird. There were no residential places in that area, just a huge, fancy plaza. Then it dawned on him that she might have worked there. That plaza was one of the biggest tourist attractions in town and the stores were pretty high end. I was a great place for spending time with friends, but Naruto didn't like the fact that he'd have to find parking in such a crowded area.
Would he be able to deliver all of these flowers today?
No, there was no question about it. He had to. His salary depended on it.
The low humming of his car put him at ease and his fingers tapped lightly on his lap. There wasn't too much traffic today, but a lot of people were out and about; their hands full with shopping bags. Speaking of shopping, Sai and Shikamaru had reminded him of Ino's upcoming birthday.
Hell, Ino reminded him of her upcoming birthday.
He'd have to go shopping to get her a present, but after years of knowing her, he never really knew what to buy her. Shikamaru and Choji always treated her to dinner. It was always some kind of thing they had together.
Sai was artistic, so he could get away with painting her a pretty picture. But what was Naruto to do? He wasn't exactly loaded, nor did he know how to shop properly for a woman. And if he didn't get her a gift, he'd never hear the end of it.
Naruto had become lost in thought, and in no time he had reached his destination.
"Huh, it's that big theatre house." he mumbled. He had never been one for seeing plays or ballets. Quite frankly, he found them to be a bit boring. Sai loved to watch them and invited Naruto when Ino couldn't make it. He'd always end up dozing off, and by the time he woke up, the show was already over. Sai would always pester him about it, saying, "Why'd you come with me? If you were going to sleep, you could have just stayed home."
Naruto only thought he was just being nice by accepting the offer. Now that he knew how annoyed Sai was when he fell asleep on all that fancy, aristocrat stuff, Naruto had begun declining the offers ever since. Why he still insisted on inviting him was lost on Naruto.
With Hinata's bouquet in hand, he walked into the theatre, and immediately regretted the decision. The halls were as grand and golden as he remembered them and the red carpeting always managed to stay so clean. If memory served him right, the theatre was never this full. The crowd was absolutely overwhelming, to the point where he hardly had enough room to breathe.
After wandering around idly for some time, he reached a spot much less congested, and sighed in relief. It was amazing that the bouquet wasn't ruined in that sea of people.
"Oh my, what beautiful roses! I wish someone would send me roses like that."
The woman admired the roses with a hint of envy in her eyes, but her smile looked genuine. Naruto gave a small smile in return. "Yeah, they're wonderful, and they belong to Hinata. You wouldn't happen to be Hinata, would you?" To both their dismay, she replied no.
"She's actually one of the girls performing in The Nutcracker," the woman pointed to one of the nearby posters. If anything, those girls looked pretty ridiculous, with their long, white skirts and silly crowns adorning their heads. "I can take you to her, if you'd like. The show doesn't start until another half hour."
"Oh, thanks! That'd really make my day," he beamed. As the two of them walked down to the dressing rooms, Naruto noted that most of the posters on the walls were for this show that Hinata was in. "So, what's all the hype about this show?" he asked.
It was just another Nutcracker show. They put on a whole bunch of them during the holiday season, so what was so special about this one?
The usher hummed in thought. "Well, for me personally, The Nutcracker is my favorite ballet, and I hear these women are very talented. They've been taught by one of the best dance teachers in the world, so everyone's very excited to see how the show will go."
"Huh, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure on those girls then, living up to the image of a legend," said Naruto. Maybe delivering these flowers were a good thing. Receiving a large bouquet would help ease stage fright.
"Here we are," the woman said, opening the door to a rather large dressing room. Clothes were strewn about everywhere, and the room was so bright that it was almost blinding. There was only one person there currently, and the moment the door opened, she turned away from her vanity in one fluid motion. She was beautiful.
Her dark, silky tresses were pulled up into a neat bun. Her pale skin looked so smooth and radiant. Faintly, he was reminded of the moon when. She didn't shine as vibrantly as the sun, but he could tell that she was subtle, and truly shone out while in her element.
When she turned to look at him, her almond-shaped, white eyes widened slightly in curiosity, as if they were asking who he was and what he was doing here. Naruto could feel his chest tighten, and suddenly, he was feeling quite embarrassed.
"I have to go usher everyone inside," the woman said hurriedly, "but I trust that you'll leave promptly, right?"
"W-wait a moment –!" Naruto cried out to her, but it was no use. She was gone, leaving him and Hinata alone together.
People like this only existed in magazines and television, but here she was, standing right in front of him in all her beauty. His voice had gotten caught in his throat, and for a moment, he wondered if his breath smelled funny.
"U-um…" she spoke hesitantly. Her hands rested at her chest, and she looked to be concealing herself from him. Was she uncomfortable? Had he been making her uncomfortable?
"Oh! Uh, you're Hinata, right?" He grinned. Honestly, what possessed him to ask a stupid question like that? Oh course she was Hinata – the usher said she would take her to him, and there she was in the flesh! But he couldn't help it. For the first time in his life, he was rendered speechless, which was no easy feat.
Reluctantly, Hinata nodded, casting her gaze to the floor. "Um… y-yes…"
"Good! Uh, so these are for you! Those are a lot of roses. Someone must really like you a lot, huh?" He laughed. However, Hinata didn't seem to find him amusing. She nodded slightly, still unable to meet his gaze. This was getting awkward very quickly. "S-so uh… here. These are for you."
She had finally looked up at him to accept the bouquet of roses, but there was something off about her expression. She looked rather confused. "Ah… u-um…" she mumbled. "Th-thank you?"
Then it clicked.
Hinata didn't speak or understand English very well, did she? Her accent was pretty thick, and not to mention, the card on the bouquet was written in an entirely different language. Did she not understand what he was trying to do?
It seemed not, since she was ready to hand back the bouquet to him. Oh no, she had the wrong idea entirely! "No, no!" Naruto cried, pointing to the bouquet. "Card, card! There's something written on the… uh…" This was proving to be difficult.
Naruto pretended to write something on his left hand before pointing to the bouquet. Then he mimicked opening an imaginary card to read it. Hinata seemed to understand this time, and rotated the bouquet to find a small card attached.
He almost scoffed. And Ino said practicing miming was a waste of time during work. Look at the trouble it got him out of just now. Though, this also could have been avoided if he understood languages better. Hinata mumbled something in her native tongue before thanking him once again.
"No sweat!" Naruto grinned. "So um, you're a dancer, huh? That's pretty cool." Hinata tilted her head in question, and the uncomfortable look on her face returned. Naruto scratched the back of his head before assuming the fifth position, or at least, a very sloppy version of it. His arms were over his head but his feet were in the wrong position. Instead, he stood on his toes and attempted to spin around. "This! You do this, right? Dance?"
Soft giggles escaped from Hinata's lips as she watched Naruto's goofy attempt at ballet. Well, she didn't exactly do that, but she nodded in response. "Yes, um… on stage." Her smile was rather enchanting, and if acting a fool got her to smile, he'd consider doing it more often.
"Well, I should probably get outta here. I still have work I've gotta do. But hey," Naruto grinned, giving her a thumbs up, "good luck out there, alright?"
Hinata didn't catch most of that, but she responded well to it. She smiled, and gave a thumbs up in return. With that, she set her roses down at her vanity, and walked off to the backstage area. The show was going to start any minute now, and without a second thought, Naruto rushed back stage just to see her.
Hinata was a completely different person on stage compared to the woman he first laid eyes on in the dressing room. She wasn't the main focus of the show. She wasn't the only woman there.
But for some reason, Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Maybe it was because he was watching her in her element. The way she moved with such poise and grace made his heart race. Hinata was always precise with where her feet pointed when she landed or the position of her arms after gliding across the stage.
He was sure at one point that they had locked eyes for a second, but Hinata hadn't seemed to notice him in the dark corner. Naruto, however, felt like they had locked eyes for an eternity, and the feeling left chills down his spine.
His body felt numb and his face tingly. Calloused fingers gripped the red stage curtain tighter as she danced across the stage. Every pirouette left him breathless and her the look of confidence she donned put a tinge of color on his cheeks.
She was someone rare – someone that Naruto never thought he'd meet in his lifetime. She was enigmatic, but intriguing. Reserved, but not without a sense of her own self-worth. Hinata was, in every way sense of the word, beautiful. From the way the conducted herself to her movements on the big stage, she was just a delight to look at.
Now, Naruto decided, he was sure that he wanted to see Hinata again.
