Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Happy Birthday Hinata and happy holidays to everyone else :D

I wanted to put this to my Tales of an Uzumaki-Namikaze Chibi verse, but it didn't really fit, so I made this a one-shot. But I did write a holiday chapter with Hinata, so go check that out for more chibi Naruto :)

Enjoy ;)

A five-year old Naruto scuffed at the sidewalk splashing mud onto his sandals and his white T-shirt. Well, he was a boy after all and boys didn't usually mind mud. Naruto had previously spent many hours wrestling in the mud with Kiba at the park, even Akamaru joining in causing his white fur to turn brown to match the mud.

After an especially rainy week, the fields surrounding the nearby hills were soaked with water undoubtedly causing the most fun the boys had ever had. That day, Choji and Naruto took turns trying to coax Shikamaru into joining them.

The lazy Nara was more than content to lie on the wet grass and stare at the clouds. Of course the other boys wouldn't allow him to miss out on all the fun so a game of seeing who could push him down the hill the fastest took place. Choji won when the prize of the game was made to be a bag of chips.

This just supported the fact that all boys liked to play in the mud, well with the exception of Shino who despite being in vicinity with the other boys managed to not even get one speck of dirt on him.

Now girls on the other hand were much different. They did not like mud or getting dirty. Perhaps when they were older and became trained Kunoichi would they look back at their childhood and laugh about how girly they were being back then. Or not, like in Ino's case of even after being Jonin would she squeal if Choji accidentally flicked some barbeque sauce into her hair.

But at age five, girls really do not getting dirty. Now Naruto didn't know this, so when his plan involved getting dirty, it undoubtedly failed.

"Ne, Hinata-chan do you want to come play by the hills with me?" asked Naruto.

Hinata blushed, not used to hearing a request like that before. She looked back at her parents who were tending to her baby sister, Hanabi and to Ko-kun who was supposed to watch her when she left the Compound.

"S-sure N-naruto-kun," replied Hinata.

Naruto grinned widely, "Don't you worry Hinata, I got this awesome game we could play. It will be really fun."

Hinata couldn't help but go along with his enthusiasm, it was so contagious and despite knowing that she could get in trouble for not telling her parents, she still found herself following Naruto.

Suffice to say, Naruto's plan didn't work. The minute they got to the wondrous hills that over looked the picturesque view of Konoha all that fun Naruto intended to have went south.

Naruto gave Hinata a foxy grin before saying, "You'll enjoy this Hinata," and gave her a shove down the slippery banks of the hill.

Hinata gave out a tremendous cry before tumbling down the wet bank. Unlike boys who enjoyed the thrill of the speed and didn't mind the cuts and scrapes that went along with it, girls however did mind.

Naruto, who didn't hear any shouts of exclamation from excitement or happiness of the game, raced down the hill to find out why Hinata didn't enjoy it as he always did.

There he found the five year old girl sobbing, confused a why Naruto would do such a thing to her. She thought he liked her, well she was so wrong if he would do such a thing. Before Naruto could questioned her, Hinata got up and ran away from him before he could explain anything. Hinata ran all the way back to Hyuuga Compound sobbing. She was covered in cuts and scrapes, had ruined her new kimono she had just got to wear on her birthday.

Naruto just stood watching, confused at what had just happened. All he'd wanted was for Hinata to have fun on her birthday.

~0~

Age 9 didn't work out any better. Now going to the Academy, Naruto was insistent on trying again, and this time a lot better. Naruto had decided on baking Hinata a cake, despite having no idea of actually knowing how to bake a cake.

Naruto had taken to practicing at every moment he could after finding an old recipe at the back of his cereal box. Well, you know after kunai and shuriken training of course. Naruto still had to keep up with his training so he could wipe the smug look on Sasuke's face when he'd hit all of the targets and Naruto didn't.

Naruto's first attempt hadn't been too successful. His first attempt had him almost burning the kitchen down after leaving it in the oven too long. The recipe had been old and the ink had been smudged, but Naruto had been sure it said to leave to bake for 400 minutes, right?

Naruto's second attempt had him taking the cake out soon leaving it still very doughy.

Naruto's third attempt had him forgetting one tiny key ingredient and having the entire cake not rising.

Naruto's fourth attempt actually had been more fruitful, well actually a little fruity. All had gone well except for the fact that Naruto might have accidentally dropped an apple into the batter and not noticed until the cake had been baked and he tasted it.

Anyway fast forward to the day of Hinata's birthday. Naruto had woken up bright and early to bake the cake in preparation of the big day. Now, getting up early may or may not have been Naruto's forte. He wasn't a ninja yet so he was not yet used to the rigorous mornings of training were he would need to get up early.

He was however still an Academy student…in which he would ignore his alarm, mumble about waking up in five minutes and inevitably go back to sleep. His usual morning included realizing he was late for school and have him race there half-dressed so he would not be late.

Now on Hinata's birthday, Naruto however had made a conscious effort to wake up early. He wasn't going to win any awards for waking up early, but Naruto had made an attempt and that's all that mattered.

Not used to getting up early, Naruto was still half asleep when he mistakenly added the eggs for the second time. Yeah not only that…maybe Naruto should label his containers especially since sugar and salt look so much alike.

"Hmm, well Hinata likes sweet things, maybe a little more sugar won't do any harm," Naruto murmured to himself as he added a couple more spoons of er, sugar.

Naruto smiled happily at his accomplished work. The cake had come out looking better than he thought it would.

"Now, I hope Hinata likes it." Naruto placed the carefully iced cake into a box hoping it wouldn't get smashed.

It was only then that Naruto realized what time it was. "Oh crap, I'm gonna be late for the Academy!"

Naruto raced, trying to get ready as quick as he could, not even bothering to clean up the mess he had made in the kitchen. Not even caring about the smudge of cake flour on his cheek, Naruto grabbed the cake in one hand balancing it dangerously as he grabbed his bag with the other. Naruto smirked, he was going to be a ninja, after all.

As Naruto neared the Academy he remembered one vital flaw in his plan. He was supposed to get her flowers as well! But the Yamanaka Flower shop was all the way on the other side of the village. Oh well, he was going to have to improvise, grabbing a handful of er, something that resembled flowers out of a nearby pot, he ran to the Academy.

"Hey Hinata-chan," called Naruto.

Hinata turned toward the call of her name. She blushed bright red when she saw it was Naruto. "H-hello, N-naruto-kun,"

Naruto pulled out the cake and flowers from behind his back and held the out to her. "These are for you."

"F-for me?" stuttered Hinata surprised. She took them hesitantly and examined them carefully.

"Try the cake, Hinata-chan. And do you like the flowers?" asked Naruto.

Hinata bit her lip, "Um, N-naruto-kun, these are w-weeds," and seeing Naruto's face fall she quickly took a big bite of the cake.

In retrospect, she should really have taken a smaller bite. The taste of the cake had her nearly gagging and she desperately wanted to spit it out, but Hinata didn't want to hurt Naruto's feelings. With a grim smile she attempted to placate the grinning Naruto as the salty taste assaulted her mouth.

"Ne Hinata-chan? Did you like it," asked Naruto stepping closer to her automatically.

Hinata, realizing how close Naruto had gotten to her, immediately blushed bright red, forgetting about the awful taste in her mouth Hinata only saw Naruto.

Understanding the predicament, Hinata promptly yeeped and fainted to the ground.

Naruto just stood there bewildered at what just had happened. And he never got to find out whether Hinata like the cake or not!

~0~

Age 13 didn't really go anywhere.

Naruto, a recently graduated genin of Konoha, was too busy training to attempt anything. Now, on their path to becoming better shinobi, Naruto really didn't have any time.

Naruto spent most of his time with his squad. When he was not sparring with Sasuke-teme or Kakashi-sensei was not teaching them anything, they were going on missions. It was still menial work, not something Naruto enjoyed, but was still a mission. And the way Kakashi-sensei drove them, even with his endless amount of energy, Naruto was in bed fast asleep by eight o' clock at night.

Naruto knew it wasn't just him.

He'd seen Team 8 training as well, maybe not as hard as them in Team 7, but hard enough. Kurenai-sensei was not to be under-estimated by being a new jonin sensei. Naruto also knew that despite Hinata's training with her squad, she had to endure training with her clan too. Hinata was working very hard to prove herself, to prove that she wasn't as weak as everyone thought she was and that's she was in fact strong and able to rise above her difficulties. Naruto was very proud of this, now if he could only find a way to tell her…

~0~

Age 16 was different, but Naruto was a coward.

Well, coward being a relative word. He had just saved the village from Pain and persuaded Nagato to reconsider the ideal of peace. In doing so, Nagato revived the villagers that were recently killed with the cost of his own life.

But despite being a hero, despite being acknowledged by the village and achieving his life-long dream, Naruto felt incomplete. Perhaps it had been because of his cowardice.

Naruto had been avoiding Hinata since her confession. She had jumped out to save him only to be stabbed. He'd watched her lay there bleeding and he had lost control.

Naruto couldn't face her, not with all that's happened, after she had seen him lose control. Her confession had taken him by shock, he didn't know she had felt that way. Never did he even realize, but an unmistakable joy welled up inside of him when he heard those words. But still, he couldn't face her.

What would she do if she saw him? Would she scorn at him and call him demon? No. Hinata wasn't like that. She was a kind and loving soul yet Naruto couldn't bear the thought of her revulsion of him.

Naruto paced outside of the makeshift hospital. After the invasion, the hospital had been one of the first things Captain Yamato had built. He hadn't had time to build it to the way it was as currently it housed only the necessities. There still had been many injuries and while the number of people still injured slowly dwindled to the point where they had got up and gone to rebuild the village, Hinata was not one of them.

She still lay in her bed, as far as Naruto could see from the tree he was sitting. She looked so peaceful, maybe he should come back later…

"Naruto-kun?" a soft voice called out to him.

Naruto froze. Oh crap, maybe he can pretend he didn't hear it.

"Naruto-kun, is that you?"

Naruto turned around slowly which was quite an effort given that he was three stories up in a tree. Eh, he was a ninja, it's not like he can fall.

Naruto scaled the hospital window effortlessly and silently and entered her room. The first thing he noticed was the amount of flowers that lay next to her, the vase overflowing and another one on the opposite side.

Naruto resisted the urge to smack his head, why the hell didn't he think of that!

Naruto was silent for a long time as he gazed at Hinata who stared equally back at him. Her face soon rose to a blush at the eye balling Naruto gave her. Naruto bit his lip, unsure at what to say. From the corner of his eye he swore he saw Hinata's face dropped slightly.

Hinata broke the silence first. "Naruto-kun, why didn't you use the door instead of the window?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Umm, I, er wanted to be different. Yeah, that's right, I didn't want to do what regular people did…"

Naruto resisted the urge to smack his head again. Why was he saying such stupid things? Why couldn't he just talk to her normally?

Hinata smiled slightly and was silent once more.

"So, um, Hinata-"

A door opened, sufficiently cutting his conversation. A nurse walked in and frowned when she saw him. She checked on Hinata's charts before speaking to him.

"You know you might be the hero of the village and all, but its past visiting hours and that applies to you too." She smiled at him as she said this.

Naruto blinked in shock. It was going to take him a while to get used to this newfound admiration for him.

Naruto spared Hinata one last looking before turning to jump out the window, "So, I'll see you later Hinata."

Hinata paused before smiling, "Sure, Naruto-kun."

Naruto ran from the hospital to the Hokage Monument. He needed to think. He could do that here. He came up with most of his pranks here. He would look out over the mountain to see the entire village-

Maybe he shouldn't be here right now. All he saw now was a giant gaping hole where his home used to be.

"Ahh, I thought I'd find you here,"

Naruto looked up and immediately smiled, "Iruka-sensei."

Iruka, seeing Naruto downcast expression sat down next to him on top of the Yondaime's head. He patted Naruto's back in an attempt to reassure him.

"Don't worry Naruto, the village can always be rebuilt."

Naruto shook his head, "It's not that, it's Hinata."

"Ahh, I heard about that, don't worry Naruto, she'll be fine. She be recovered soon-"

"It's not that!" shouted Naruto before burying his head in his hands. "Well, actually…"

He peeked out from under his hands. Iruka's face stared back at him, not wanting to pry unless Naruto shared it with him.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Iruka-sensei, I like Hinata-chan."

To his surprise, Iruka started laughing, "That's great Naruto!"

Naruto blinked, surprised at his former sensei's reaction. "What?

Iruka turned to Naruto seriously, "Hinata has liked you for a long time Naruto, from during the Academy days."

Naruto stared for a moment before groaning loudly. He ran his fingers through his hair, wanting to pull them out in frustration. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"Sensei? What do I do?" Naruto asked softly.

Iruka smiled at Naruto, "Well Naruto, the best thing to do is talk from your heart. Hinata likes you for who you are Naruto, your faults and all. Just be yourself and speak honestly, that's all I can give you."

Naruto scratched his head, "That's it, be myself and tell the truth? That's easy!"

Iruka raised an eyebrow at him, "Then why haven't you done it already?"

By the time the next day had arrived, Naruto was ready. It was her birthday but this time he was going to do this properly .He was going to go speak to Hinata, he was going to tell her.

Most of the shops were still closed, but Naruto had managed to find some flowers growing in the nearby meadow. These however were actual flowers, not weeds he'd managed to pull out all those years ago. Naruto traced one of the shops which was still open and bought a box of cinnamon buns. He figured out years ago, he wasn't that good a cook, all he actually knew was how to make cup ramen and that mostly ensured pouring hot water and waiting.

Naruto made his way to the hospital, using to the door this time, and knocked on the door. No answer. It wasn't too early was it? Maybe Hinata was sleeping, or maybe she didn't want to see him. Before anymore thoughts could run through his mind he swung the door open and froze.

The bed was empty. The sheets had been made up and the flowers which had been sitting on the bedside tables were gone.

A voice from behind startled him, "If you're looking for Hinata-san, she went home." It was the same nurse from yesterday. She eyes found the flowers and box he'd been holding and smiled. Her eyes crinkled the same way Kakashi-sensei's did when he smiled.

It took Naruto a few seconds longer to realize what she had said. Clutching the flowers tighter, he grinned, "Thank you-"

Naruto didn't even wait for a response as he rushed to the Hyuuga Compound. As he made it to the entrance, he stopped. He was nervous again, and he was about to enter the Hyuuga Compound for the first time. Perhaps this wasn't a good time, what if he ran into Hiashi while he was busy or even in the shower! He waited outside in deliberation for a few seconds before he heard Neji approach him from behind.

"Hinata-sama is in the garden if you're looking for here."

Naruto saw Neji's eyes trail over the flowers and box. He knew. Neji smirked for a moment before walking in. "Come along, I'll show you where she is."

Walking into the Compound, Naruto took a moment to look in awe at the beauty of the place. Despite the obvious damage which was already in the midst of being rebuilt, he could see such beauty and design which could only come from a Hyuuga. He hadn't realized that Neji had stopped until he nearly crashed right into him.

"Hinata-sama is in there," Neji said point to a garden where a footpath led up to it.

Naruto walked in slowly looking down straight at the cobblestones which curved and trailed into a circular garden with a fountain in the middle. Beside it sat a bench with Hinata perched on top of it.

Naruto ignored all of his nervousness and sat down beside Hinata, knowing only one thing, to be himself.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata blushed slightly before answering, "Hello Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner and acted all weird at the hospital."

Hinata answered, "It's alright Naruto. I'm glad you came though."

Naruto grinned before turning to Hinata seriously, "Hinata, we should talk."

Hinata bit her lip before looking down, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun if I shocked you with my confession. I didn't mean to be some presumptuous-"

"Hinata-chan," Naruto said stopping her. He tilted her head up so he could see her better. "Don't ever hide that beautiful face from me."

Hinata immediately blushed bright red.

Before Hinata could say anything, Naruto continued, "I wanted to say this to you, Hinata-chan. I've liked you. I've liked you for a long time, I just couldn't tell you, I tried to but every time I attempted to, something went wrong."

Something dawned on Hinata, "All those times when we were children-"

Naruto smiled grimly, "My failed attempts."

"Oh, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave Hinata the flowers and box of cinnamon buns, "I wanted to do this properly this time."

Hinata took them in awe a smile tugging on her face. She frowned slightly when she remembered something, "But Naruto, why did you push me down the hill when we were little?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "Er, that didn't work out right. I wanted to show you how fun it was to go sliding down the hill. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Hinata giggled, "That makes more sense now."

Naruto took Hinata's hands between his and closed the gap between them. He kissed her softly before pulling back and whispering, "Happy Birthday, Hinata-chan."

Hinata's face was bright red and she was biting her lip in amazement of what just happened.

Naruto stood up and grinning his foxy grin, he pulled Hinata along with him. "Come on Hinata, I'll show you how much fun sliding down the hill is."

Rate and Review :)