Title: Storms
Summary: The weather's always worst when you just want to go home.
Disclaimer: I am far too lame to own Naruto, which is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, and I have no affiliation nor do I profit from this fanwork.
Hinata sighed, shrugging off her flak jacket and tossing it near the fire to dry as she stared down the deluge. It would be her luck that it would start pouring down rain just as they were nearing the village. She and Sasuke had been on a scouting mission in Kusagakure for the past week and a half and, while she wasn't entirely sure how the Uchiha was feeling, she was sure that they both just wanted to be home already. Unfortunately, they were stuck an hour away. A wide outcropping of rock served as shelter enough for the two, assuming this storm would pass quickly. Hinata hoped it would pass quickly, at least. A tap on her shoulder shook her out of her reverie, and her eyes turned to meet with a towel clasped in an outstretched hand.
"Ah, thank you, Sasuke-kun," she said, accepting the towel gratefully. The man nodded and returned to tending the small fire. Swiping the towel down her arms and ruffling her hair some with it, Hinata was glad to be a bit drier than she was before. When she turned to set the towel near the fire, she noticed Sasuke was still dripping some.
"You need to take care of yourself, too," she chided lightly. Sasuke snorted.
"If I let you catch a cold, the dobe would never let me hear the end of it."
"But if you catch a cold, Naruto-kun will be stuck in the apartment during your sparring sessions. The furniture might suffer. It did last time you came down with something," Hinata retorted with a smile, holding the fabric out to him in offering. Sasuke reached for the towel, running it over his face.
"For the furniture," he smirked. They spent the next few minutes in a comfortable silence, the crackling fire and rain almost lulling Hinata into a peaceful state of mind, if not for the booming thunder that interrupted. The rain roared to life again, extracting a slight groan from both ninja. Between cracks of thunder, a long growl could be heard, creating a look of confusion on Sasuke's face and the darkening of cheeks on Hinata's.
"Naruto-kun and I should be at lunch right now. That's why I had a light breakfast," she explained, still somewhat red. "I wonder if he went ahead and ate? I wouldn't blame him."
"If he hasn't sent a search party out for us first," Sasuke quipped. He paused, mulling over his statement. "Please tell me Naruto won't actually send out a search party for us because ramen is on the line."
Hinata swore she tried her best to refute the Uchiha's words. Nothing came to her mind, however. Sasuke, taking her silence as confirmation of his fears, heaved a sigh, and quiet conquered again.
"Remind me," Sasuke began, breaking the silence and snapping Hinata out of her daze, "to give Kakashi a really lame excuse as to why we're late when we go give the mission report."
Once she snapped out of the shock that came with Sasuke Uchiha making a joke, Hinata couldn't help but laugh.
"Naruto-kun says he uses the one about getting lost on the path of life most. Should we think of something worse?" she asked. He smirked.
"Of course."
Two hours after they were supposed to be home, the two had woven what they believed to be an acceptably ridiculous story to relay to the lazy Hokage.
"So let's see if we have this straight. We were on our way home after reuniting a lonely old lady with her lost kitten when we came across a group of orphans," Hinata began, eyes closed in concentration.
"Hn. The orphans had just lost their home to a fire and were looking for someone to house them, guide them, and be a role model. We wanted to stay and help them, but we needed to get back to the village. We remembered the lonely old lady from earlier and how nice she was, so we led the group of orphans back to her house," Sasuke continued.
Hinata nodded. "We didn't stay long enough to find out if the old lady had enough room or was even capable of taking care of the children, but we have faith that she'll love them just as much as she loves her kitten."
"On the way back, though," Sasuke began, "the bridge was out, so we had to take a detour through the village of ladders. Unfortunately, all of their ladders were opened and set out; there was no way we could get through without walking underneath one."
Hinata tried to stifle her giggle as she added onto the story. "We couldn't risk having the thousands of years of bad luck that walking through was certain to give us, so we had to go around the village. On the way back, you tripped and lost your weapons satchel. There were some expensive kunai in there, so we had to go find it."
"Wait, I thought we said it was your satchel that got lost?" Sasuke asked. Hinata began to laugh, the smile on her face a little more than reminiscent of her boyfriend's. Sasuke sighed, a small smile on his face.
"Alright, fine, it was my satchel," he said. "We found it, and were on a path just a little ways outside the village. We were almost home when we realized we were lost. Finally, we came across a street sign."
"There weren't any directions or messages on the sign. There were only two words: Life Path," Hinata finished. She began to giggle again as Sasuke let out a few chuckles himself.
"Perfect," he said. "Maybe we should bring Sakura and Naruto along to listen; I bet they would be amused." Hinata smiled, and for a few moments, only the raindrops spoke.
"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata questioned, breaking the silence. He glanced over at her. "Thank you for coming home, and for taking care of Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan," she said with a smile. He stared for a moment, then nodded.
"Hn. Thank you for caring for my family while I was away." Aside from a few rumbles of thunder, the comfortable silence settled in again.
When the third hour past their expected time of arrival came and went, Hinata found herself glaring at the rain. Maybe they should just go on home, bad weather be damned. It was then that the Uchiha stood, kicking a bit at the ground. He was growing restless, too.
"Should we just go? I don't think it's going to stop any time soon."
Hinata had opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a shout in the distance.
"Oi, Sakura-chan, Shino! I found them-ttebayo!" yelled a familiar voice. Sasuke pressed his palm to his forehead.
"Of course he did," he muttered. Hinata shrugged at him and soon had her balance thrown off slightly by a tight hug from behind. Giving in, she tilted her head and kissed the thoroughly soaked blonde man.
"Hello, Naruto-kun."
"Dobe."
Naruto glared and pouted at his best friend. "Teme. I thought I told you to bring her home safe?"
"She's safe, isn't she?" Sasuke gave Naruto a flat stare.
"Naruto-kun, I'm fine. Sasuke-kun was very kind."
Naruto smiled and twirled the dark-haired woman, blue eyes alight with mirth. "I missed you!" he exclaimed, nuzzling her cheek with his own. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the display as Sakura laughed, she and Shino approaching him quickly. He nodded in greeting at the two. Shino nodded back, but Sakura shook her finger toward him, brows furrowed.
"Sasuke-kun, didn't I say to take some spare ponchos with you in case it rained?" she admonished, pulling one out of her pack and handing it over. He sighed.
"I know," he groaned lightly, but he accepted the garment gratefully. Taking the second poncho from Sakura, Shino walked over toward Hinata, who had finally been allowed to meet the ground again by an overeager Naruto.
"Hinata, I know the mission wasn't for very long, but you know you need to pack a little more than you did. Why? Because the weather is unpredictable, and we don't want you to get sick," Shino said, rolling up the poncho and swiftly placing it over Hinata's head. She pulled it on, an embarrassed blush on her face.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Shino-kun. Thank you for worrying about me. But," she paused, looking toward her waterlogged lover, "where is your poncho, Naruto-kun?" He laughed nervously.
"You see, being as cool as I am, I'm impervious to—"
"What he means to say," Sakura interrupted, "is that he ran off to find you guys before Shino and I were even ready because he was so worried."
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, cheeks reddening slightly. Hinata pecked him on the cheek while Sasuke mumbled something unintelligible and most likely insulting, a small grin etching its way onto his face.
"A-anyway, it's about time we head back home, isn't it? I'm starving! I bet you are too, aren't you, Hinata? We should all go get lunch. Or dinner, whatever. Sakura-chan, Shino, let's go. Oh, and I guess you can come too, Sasuke-teme," Naruto stuttered out, grabbing Hinata's hand and marching in the direction of the village.
"I'm holding you to that, idiot," Sasuke remarked. "We need to report to Kakashi first, though. You guys should come with us."
"Huh? Why, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Hinata chuckled.
"You'll see," Sasuke said with a smirk.