A Night Together

By: Kandomaru

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that appear in this story. I achieve no monetary gain by posting this story here in this website.

Author's Notes: I was browsing NaruHina pictures and my muse started beating me over the head with a kitchen sink while screaming, "Write a NaruHina fic right now!" Me, not wanting to disappoint her, did just that. I hope you like this relatively short story.

A lone girl stood behind the corner of a building, keeping a close eye on a public ramen shop out in the middle of the road. The air was heavy with humidity and the clouds in the sky were as dark as gray got without turning black. It wasn't a question of if it would rain, but when.

The possibility of being rained on didn't bother the girl. Unfortunately, she had left her umbrella at home that day. It didn't matter. Just as long as she could get at least a brief glimpse of that young man with the bright blond hair. That was all that mattered.

She knew he would arrive sooner or later. He always ate here. In fact, he practically lived in the place. If you were to stack up all the money the blond had spent on ramen in the past year alone, you'd have a tower as tall as... something really tall.

A slight drizzle started to fall; just a minor warning of the torrential downpour that would come next. It was as if the sky itself was saying, "This is your last warning! Get inside or get soaked!" The girl ignored the warning.

If she could be near him... If she could just gaze on that confident smile for a few minutes... Then it would be worth coming back home soaking wet.

Loud laughter warned the girl that the subject of her obsession was fast approaching. Activating her Byakugan, she looked through the walls of the buildings, searching out where he was coming from. She saw the blond, laughing heartily about something.

He was headed straight for the ramen shop, as expected. She deactivated her Kekkei Genkai now that she knew which way to look. She saw him round the corner and her heart skipped a beat. It always did that, whenever she saw him.

A slight blush enveloped her cheeks and one simple word flowed from her soft lips, "Naruto-kun..." She reactivated her special ability once the blond was inside the shop, so she could see him through the curtains. She kept a close eye on him, ignoring the uncomfortable wetness.

He asked for a large selection of noodles and slurped them up hungrily. The boy just ate and ate as quick as one would throw away an invitation to a Mother-In-Law Convention. He was like a bottomless pit!

The girl smiled, finding his voracious appetite and his lack of manners endearing. Naruto spent nearly half an hour inside the shop, eating and talking to the owner and his daughter in between bowls. Once the blond had no more money to splurge on food, he said goodbye to the nice pair and left.

Right then, in that instant, the sky decided to let lose all the heavy rain it had been holding back. Naruto yelped as did the shy girl who was hidden behind the corner. The girl slapped a hand over her mouth and placed her back against the wall, wondering if he had heard her.

She looked around the corner, spotting the boy headed her way. "Hey, Hinata!" He ran up to her hiding place, noticing that her clothes were soaked. "What are you doing out here?" Naruto kept talking before she could answer, "Never mind that. Let's get inside. My place is closer. You can dry off and wait until it stops raining."

He grabbed her by the hand and ran to his place, not about to take a no for an answer. She followed, inwardly glad that since he was leading her he couldn't see how red her face was. Soon, they arrived at his house.

He had a modest apartment fit for a bachelor. It had everything a single guy needed. A kitchen, a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom. "I'll go get a towel for you," he said, feeling wet footprints in his wake.

"O-okay," Hinata stuttered, staying perfectly still so she wouldn't leave a mess on the floor. At least, not more of a mess than Naruto had made when he ran to the bathroom for those towels he mentioned. The blond came back shortly after with two towels, handing one to Hinata while he used the other one on himself.

The girl blushed as Naruto was now shirtless and his bare midriff was right there in all it's muscular glory. She had never seen inside his clothes with her Byakugan, deeming it an undesirable invasion of privacy. She had been tempted. Oh, how tempted she had been! But, she cared about him too much to do that to him.

Hinata dried off, fighting for something she could say to break the silence. An explosion of thunder roared in the sky, making Hinata shriek and jump into Naruto's arms. She clenched her eyes shut, trembling slightly as he held her close to his warm skin.

"It's okay," he said, laughing slightly. "It's just some thunder. That's all." Hinata remained still, suddenly realizing what she had done and where she was. Part of her wanted to jump back and apologize profusely, the other part wanted to just sink into the blond's embrace and never let go.

He said something which she didn't quite catch, too busy arguing with herself over which course of action she should take. Hearing her name, she looked up into his cerulean eyes. Blushing with embarrassment, she stepped back and said, "S-sorry, Naruto-kun. What did you say?"

"I said 'you could let go.'" He smiled at her and added, "Man, Hinata... You sure act pretty weird sometimes..." She smiled, happy that she had been that close to him, even if it had been just a brief moment.

Once more, the pair descended into silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable, desperately searching for something to say silence; but a nice quiet moment between friends. At least, that was what it looked like to Naruto.

The girl desperately looked for a way to express to the boy just how she really felt about him. They were alone, no one would bother them, and it looked like it wouldn't stop raining any time soon. If ever there was a time for Hinata to confess her love to Naruto, it was now.

Unfortunately, at the rate she was going, she'd end up saying what she wanted to say right as it would stop raining. Naruto looked at her, noticing how she fidgeted nervously while avoiding looking in his direction. "Is everything okay?" He asked, breaking the girl out of her thoughts.

"N-nothing's wrong, Naruto-kun." She found herself drinking in his exposed torso and looked away, blushing furiously. Naruto shrugged. He could tell something was bothering her, but if she didn't want to say, she didn't have to.

Naruto had just about finished drying off, as had Hinata. Though his pants and all her clothes were still quite wet. "Wait here," he said as he ran off to his bedroom. Hinata waited as told, looking around the room.

This was the first time she had ever seen Naruto's room. Just like with his clothes, she had also avoided looking into the boy's apartment. For one thing, there was that whole privacy thing; on another note, there was always the possibility that he might be nu-

Hinata shook her head, concentrating to keep thoughts like that at bay. Her father had been harsh in the way he trained her for combat, and he had also instilled in her the desire to look and act like a proper young lady. She was elegant, and elegant people didn't peep into other people's bedrooms.

Naruto came back a minute later, thankfully sparing Hinata any further thoughts on the etiquette of peeping. He had on a different set of clothes, though they looked the same as the other ones. An orange and black outfit. The same outfit he always wore.

You could tell these clothes were different because they were dry. "You should change out of those wet clothes." He suddenly said. "I don't have any girl clothes, so you'll just have to wear something of mine."

"I-it's okay, N-Naruto-kun... I don't mi-"

"Nonsense! You'll catch a cold if you keep those soggy clothes on! I insist!" Pulling on his collar, he joked, "I've got like dozens of the same outfit. You can keep it if you want."

Hinata turned her head away to hide the blush that enveloped her entire face. To have an article of clothing with her that Naruto once owned... Hinata went to the bedroom, silently accepting Naruto's offer.

She closed the door and locked it, then looked at the clothes on the bed. Some orange pants and a black t-shirt laid there in plain view. Thankfully for the innocence of Hinata's imagination, Naruto had not left some underwear for her.

The dark haired girl shed off her clothing, using the towel she had with her to finish off drying. Once she was properly dried, she grabbed the pants and put them on. Afterward, she grabbed the shirt, noticing a brightly colored article of clothing beneath it.

Hinata gasped, her entire body turning red with embarrassment. It seemed as though Naruto had indeed left out some underwear for her after all. She looked away from the blue boxers on the bed, putting on the shirt over her still slightly wet bra.

Hinata had put her wet underwear back on right after drying herself off. No way was she going to walk around without any underwear on! It just wouldn't be lady-like for her to do that...

The girl stepped out of the bedroom, noticing that Naruto had dragged a chair to a window and was looking outside through it. "It sure is raining," he commented, appearing as though he was talking to himself. "It doesn't look like it's gonna let up any time soon."

Hinata pulled a chair and sat close to him, also looking out the window. What time was it? Was it night, or did it just look that way because of how dark the sky was? When you lived the quick and hectic life of a shinobi, you tended to lose track of time.

Judging by the fact that she had watched Naruto eat dinner prior to coming here, Hinata deduced that the sun had probably already set. "It looks like you're going to have to spend the night here," Naruto commented out of the blue. "You can't go home in this weather."

"Spend the night...?" Those words repeated themselves in Hinata's mind over and over. If blushing was a major in a university, then Hinata would have graduated with honors because of how much of it she did.

"I-I-I d-don't th-think th-that w-would b-be a-a g-good i-idea, N-N-N-Naruto-k-kun." Hinata barely managed to respond, developing a bad case of the stutters. She poked the tips of her index fingers together, looking down at the ground.

Naruto asked, "Why not?" Hinata's face became as red as a tomato, imagining what could happen if a boy, Naruto, and a girl, herself, spent the night together alone in his house. "Are you okay?" Naruto swiveled around on the chair and placed a hand on her forehead, his face showing a clear sign of concern. "Your face looks all red. Do you have a fever or something?"

The girl closed her eyes and fought off the sudden urge to faint that threatened to overtake her. "I-I'm fine," Hinata responded, opening her eyes once she had gotten herself under some semblance of control. Naruto nodded, though he still appeared to be worried about her.

Naruto yawned loudly and stretched, leaning back on his chair. "Man... Rainy days always make me feel so sleepy." Naruto got up and headed for the couch, lying on it. "The bedroom is available if you want it..."

"Thanks..." Hinata smiled. That was so typical of Naruto, making himself uncomfortable in his own house just so she wouldn't be. She stared out the window some more, not feeling sleepy herself.

This was nice, being here like this. No need to try and please a father with high expectations, or try and get along with a sister that harbored some resentment toward you. Oh, Hanabi wasn't really all that bad, though she took being an heiress way too seriously.

Hinata yawned softly, realizing that she was actually more tired than she had originally thought. Maybe she would take Naruto up on his offer after all... The girl with the white eyes got up and approached Naruto, who appeared to be asleep.

He had taken off his orange jacket and was using it as a pillow, though he still had on the black shirt he wore underneath. The girl felt all traces of sleepiness leave her body when she saw how tranquil Naruto looked. She smiled, feeling like she could stand there looking at him sleeping all night long.

Another yawn reminded Hinata that, though the spirit was willing, the body had other things in mind. She leaned in and gave the seemingly asleep Naruto a kiss on the cheek. "I love you." No stuttering, no blushing, no mistakes.

She had finally said it! She had finally confessed her love for Naruto! Sure, he was sleeping and hadn't heard her... That didn't matter now. What mattered was that she had confessed her love to Naruto right to his... face...

Hinata blinked in shock as Naruto did likewise. He looked up at her, appearing quite awake. "What... did you say?" He asked as she righted herself up. The silence that hung in the air was so thick that not even a Chidori powered by the Nine-Tailed Fox himself would have been able to cut through it.

"You're awake!?" Hinata shrieked, ending that unbearable silence. "Wh-when? H-how? W-why?"

"I couldn't sleep." Naruto sat up, thinking to himself. "Did I... hear you say you love me?"

Hinata shrieked once more. If things kept going the way they were, she'd be doing a lot more of that the next few minutes. "I, er... Um... That is... I just..." Hinata fidgeted, poking her index fingers together, unable to string together a cohesive sentence.

"... How long?"

"Since our days in the academy!" Hinata quickly blurted out, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say it if she tried to say it calmly. She looked into Naruto's aqua orbs, looking for a sign of acceptance, or rejection, or... something. Anything to understand what was going through his mind.

Naruto's face was an expressionless mask that did nothing to betray how the boy really felt. He seemed deep in thought, apparently thinking something over. Hinata waited with bated breath for the blond to speak.

Unable to take the waiting any longer, Hinata asked, "Naruto-kun?" It wasn't much of a question, though the meaning behind it was as heavy as any philosophical question could be. Naruto's next words would forever alter the friendship he shared with Hinata.

"I... don't know what to say..." It wasn't exactly the response Hinata had been waiting for, but at least it was something. "I never really thought about you like that." The blond remained on the couch, looking off to the side thinking to himself.

Hinata turned her back on him; her mind a jumbled mess. She had taken the first step inadvertently, and now it was time to take the next one. The only problem was... What should that next step be?

Naruto turned to look at Hinata, who appeared to be lost in her own world. He looked at her. Really looked at her. He watched the shy girl, feeling like this was the first time he saw her. Truly saw her.

What was this feeling in his heart? Love? No... It wasn't love, but it was certainly something. Now if only he could figure out what it was, then maybe he would know what to say to Hinata...

Hinata once more turned toward Naruto, who blushed slightly and looked away. The blond stared at the wall of his apartment, finding it awfully interesting at this point in time; even though it had just been a wall a short while ago. It wasn't like him to stay quiet like this, but he needed to think.

The girl needed to think too, and her legs were getting cramped from all this standing around. Hinata sat back down on the chair and looked out the window. The rain was still in all it's fury. Had there been a storm warning?

The shy young girl stared out the window longingly. Just knowing that she had made that first step... She would be happy even if she went home without knowing how Naruto felt.

Looking back at the dark haired girl in his apartment, Naruto felt like an idiot. The fainting... The stuttering... The blushing... How could he have never noticed something that now seemed so painfully obvious?

The blond closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw Sakura. Pretty, nice, strong; the pink haired girl had been the girl of his dreams for so long, he had honestly never even looked at another girl that way. Now, it was different. He saw Hinata. Also pretty, strong in her own way, and one of the nicest people he had ever met.

Naruto's libido reminded him that Hinata certainly had a decent set of hooters too.

Blushing slightly and squashing that perverted thought down through sheer force of will, the young man sighed. Hinata heard Naruto's sigh and looked at him, giving him a sweet smile. The blond saw her smile and his mind went blank.

"Um... Hi..." Naruto said, not knowing why he was greeting Hinata when she had not left. "Nice... weather..." The blond silenced himself before he could say another stupid thing.

Hinata giggled slightly. She had never seen Naruto at a loss for words. It was cute.

"I'm going to sleep," stated Naruto, going to his room. Hinata looked on. He wasn't going to let her sleep in his bed? Had she angered him?

Naruto returned a minute later accompanied by three shadow clones, all carrying the bed. He exchanged the bed with the couch, then went back to his room. The dark haired girl smiled.

A while later, as the rain continued to pound against the window without mercy, sleep once more came for Hinata. Yawning loudly, the white eyed girl went to the bed. She laid on it, falling asleep within seconds.

Back in his room, Naruto stared at the ceiling. He tried closing his eyes on a few occasions, but sleep refused to come for him. Every time he did so, he heard Hinata say those same words to him again. 'I love you.'

Those were three words he had never heard someone say to him. Oh, he knew people cared for him, even loved him, but knowing and hearing were two different things. Especially when it was this kind of love. The type of love that developed between a man and woman.

The more Naruto tried to make sense of the situation he found himself in, the more things got confusing for him. "Ah! This is so... Argh!" Naruto yelled out in frustration, standing up and pacing. He walked laps around the couch, concentrating on the movements of his legs to try and clear his mind.

'I love you.'

He heard those same words again. The blond sped up, thinking that maybe he just wasn't going fast enough. Again, his mind replayed that same sentence for him.

'I love you.'

Naruto ended up running around the couch at stop speed, years of ninja training keeping his footsteps quiet. Was he trying to ignore what his heart was telling him? Or was he just trying to tire himself down so he could try and get some sleep? Honestly, he couldn't tell.

After what seemed like forever to him, the blond collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. His legs felt like noodles, his lungs burned, and he might have pulled a muscle or two. But at least, he had managed to blank his mind.

Once he had calmed himself down and was no longer panting, he got serious. "Okay... I'll just do that whole say something and then say the first thing that comes to mind thing." Closing his eyes and sighing, he said, "Hinata. Special."

He scratched his head, thinking about what he had just learned about himself. He needed to check something, so he repeated the process again. "Sakura. Friend." Now, the blond was confused. Friend? Didn't he care for Sakura like, you know, Hinata cared for him?

He needed to make sure he was actually speaking from the heart and wasn't just saying things at random, so he quickly went through the other girls he knew. "Tsunade. Old. Tenten. That girl. Hanabi. Hinata's sister. Ino. Loud. Shizune. Meh."

Naruto was glad he was alone. He had the distinct impression that he'd be in trouble if anyone had heard his little monologue. Well... He cared for Hinata, at least. So... He should go tell her... Or something...

Heading into the livingroom of his apartment, the blond saw the asleep Hinata. He sat down on the bed next to her, wondering if he should wake her up to tell her... What? What was he going to say to her?

Looking at the tranquil face of Hinata, Naruto felt his heart go bump. He brushed a few stray hairs that had fallen into her face, smiling happily. Acting on instinct and not really thinking about anything, he leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

A huge blush enveloped the blond's entire body as he stood up. "I can't really say I love you, but I do care for you, Hinata-chan. Maybe someday, I can say those words to you." He went back to his room, glad that he had said that, even if no one had heard him.

Once Naruto was out of the room, Hinata cracked open an eye and smiled. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she mumbled, touching her lips and getting the goofiest grin she had ever had. Before, she hated waiting around for Naruto to notice her. Now, waiting didn't seem so bad.

-The End-

Author's Notes: Well... This story certainly didn't go anywhere... Well, it did, but it was baby steps more than anything. Ah well... I guess baby steps is good enough.

Also, please excuse me if the characters are OOC. I always try to remain in character, but sometimes... Well, you know.