Requester: Phoenixprose
Author: Yukari Rin
Pairings/Characters: NaruHina
Genres: Fluff/Gen
Rating: K
Word Count: 1,308
Squicks/Spoilers: None
Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this to you, I got hit by a rather nasty virus. I hope it's worth the wait. Future-ish, somewhat AU.
"Breakfast at Uzumaki's"
He was so tired he wondered if he'd even make it through the gate standing up. The mission had been harder than expected, his first real A-rank mission since becoming a Jounin. He bumped into his squad's lookout with an "oof".
"Naruto-kun, are you all right?" her soft voice asked gently. Naruto lifted his heavy head and rubbed his eyes. She was watching his every move, concern etched into her pale face, dark brows knit together in worry.
He lets out a faint chuckle. "I'm fine, Hinata. Just tired, is all. When we get back home I'm heading straight to bed."
He offered her a smile and stepped around her as the remaining members of the squad caught up to them. The mission had ended in success, but it had been a nearly constant battle, one enemy after another, as they worked. All four of them were weary, but they were alive and able to continue working. Hinata turned and watched Naruto stumble over a fallen branch and clutched the hidden scroll underneath her vest. "Naruto-kun..." she whispered and began walking again, scanning the forest for danger.
---
She had knocked three times prior, and was now quite worried about the blond. She glanced right and left to make sure no one was watching before turning the doorknob and poking her head through his front door. "Naruto-kun?" she asked hesitantly. What if he wasn't home? Or in the shower? The last thought created a fast, burning heat that shot from her chest up to her face. She knew her face was flushed and tried to calm herself. "Just stop thinking about it, Hinata," she told herself, sliding through the opening and placing her bags on the floor quietly. As the kunoichi unbuckled her sandals she looked around the boy - no, young man's - apartment.
It wasn't spectacularly clean, but it wasn't a complete pigsty. The bed was hastily made, dirty dishes lined the counter in a vague form of organization, piles were kept against the walls to keep the floor clear, and there was a bag of garbage waiting to be taken out. Hinata swallowed and stepped out of the entry way. "Naruto-kun?" she called once more.
The sound of a toilet flushing came from her left and she felt her face heat up once more, though not as much as before. She glanced around nervously for a place to hide, but the door to Naruto's bathroom opened before she could leave the apartment.
His walking out in a pair of pants with a towel over his bare shoulders was not what she had been expecting. She didn't try to hide the blush that blossomed immediately, though she did avert her eyes. "Na-Naruto-kun, I-I'm sorry for ba-barging in. I wasn't su-sure if you, uh, he-heard me earlier." Her hands gripped the bags she had brought so tightly that her knuckles were a bright white.
Naruto's blue eyes widened in surprise, but his usual casualness prevailed. "Hinata...? Are you okay?"
She lifted a trembling hand, plastic bag rustling as she points a finger at him, forgetting to be polite. He looked down at his chest where she was pointing and immediately understood. "Ah, sorry 'bout that, Hinata." He quickly stepped to his dresser and took out a clean shirt, pulling it over his head and shaking his still-damp hair. "Okay, I'm decent," he informed her with a playful smile.
She peeked out behind her bangs before lifting her head slowly, shoulders drawn up, body tense. "I wa-was worried about you, Na-Naruto-kun. You slept an entire day."
He scratches the back of his head in his shaggy blond hair (he hasn't gotten it cut in several months and hasn't really thought about doing so). "Ahh, but I'm fine now," he tells her confidently, flexing an arm in demonstration. "I'm ready for another mission."
"Ah, but, first, I-I think you should have some breakfast," she announces quietly. Her grip on the bags loosens and Naruto notices them for the first time. Hinata notices his gaze and holds the bags up a little higher. "I wasn't sure what you had here, since you've been so busy, Naruto-kun, so I bought some ramen for you, if you don't mind." The last part of her sentence was so rushed it was a mumble Naruto couldn't make out. He understood the part about ramen being in the bags.
"Gee, Hinata. That's really nice of you," his smile could light up the night sky she thinks as she blushes. He comes and takes the bags from her and carries them to the small table. "And it's Ichiraku, too!"
"I... I don't ever see you eating anyone else's ramen," she smiles faintly, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Naruto's never bought a second chair for his table. He's never needed it, and no one has ever come over to eat with him. It's always been that he'd meet up with others at Ichiraku or another place. But never his apartment. "Um, Na-Naruto-kun, if you don't mind, I-I could wash the dishes for you." Hinata needs something to do. She feels her hands coming together, her fingers itching to slide against each other, but she's been trying to break herself of that habit. (It's a bit fruitless, though.)
"Why would you want to do that?" he asks her, noodles hanging from his mouth.
"I... I don't mind housework. I-I like keeping my hands busy." She admits, embarrassed.
"Is that why you're always fidgeting with your hands?" he raises his brows and slurps in the ends of the noodles. She ducks her head in reply. "If you don't mind, then I guess it's okay. You're sure, though?" The thought of cleaning as fun never occurred to him.
She nods and nearly dashes to the sink, finding the dish soap exactly where she thought it would be (a place she never would have put it herself, though). She turns the hot water on and turns the faucet to direct the water into the bucket in the sink. She squirts in some soap and swirls it in the water, watching as soap bubbles multiply. She carefully adds in a few dishes and pulls the dishrag from the drain pan.
They remain in a companionable silence as Naruto finishes the first bowl and starts onto the second. The sounds of his slurping mix with the cold water rinsing the clean dishes as Hinata makes her way through the piles. She finishes while he's on his third bowl and she uses the rag to clean the counter down. He watches her with a sharp interest. He wonders how long she'll go, how much she'll clean before he can stop her. He finishes the third bowl as she returns from taking out his garbage.
"Hinata-" he stops her from doing anything else. "Would you like the last bowl? You've been working pretty steadily."
He face heats up once more and she freezes near the door. "I-I'm sorry!" she apologizes. He doesn't think he's ever heard her that loud.
"It's fine, it's fine. I've had three already, that should be enough for breakfast. You have the last one while I get a start on my laundry, and then we can go see Granny Tsunade about another mission. Whadda you say?" His happy smile makes her smile in return. She nods shyly and takes his seat as he heads to another part of the room and lifts a basket full of clothes. "Eat up" he orders.
She nods and looks through the bags for an extra pair of chopsticks. She doesn't find them, and he hadn't had any extra that she had washed. The two eating utensils he had used were lying on their holder beside the last bowl. "Thanks for the food," she murmurs to herself, picking them up slowly and picking up some noodles.