Preamble/Preramble:

Hey, i'm back, and after over a full year of no substantial writing, I've decided to write again.

This isn't gonna be some Masterpiece, and it'll probably be a piece of sh!t. Nonetheless, it will be the first piece of sh!t i've written in a very long time, and even if it's just some stupid, one-shot, it's worth this effort. Give me all your criticisms, it fuels my Fire that keeps me writing.

***DISCLAIMER***

I do not own Naruto, It's Characters, or it's universe. This story is completely fan-made and based, and I make zero profit from the Show and/or this piece. Don't sue me, bro.

***END DISCLAIMER***

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It was the middle of the night, when Hinata turned in her bed, as usual. What was unusual, however, was the absence of one specific blonde lump of warmth beside her. She shivered, and groaned aloud "Naaaaruuutoooo, come back to bed. It's cold over here."

Nothing. There was no reply, at all. "Naruto?" She said once, more, expecting something. Still, the house was silent. She moaned and rolled over again, nearly yelling once more "Naruto! I'm cold!". She then sat up, looked around, and saw nothing out of place but an open window, with a chilling wind pouring in. She stood up, looked around, and saw no one.

Now, she was worried. Out of disbelief, she said once more, in a worried tone "Naruto? Naruto! Where are you?!" She now was scared, and began thinking 'What happened to him? Did the Akatsuki get to him? No, impossible. But then again.. That man "Pain", he was pretty powerful. Who Knows what else they're capable of!'

She was very scared, at this point. She began frantically preparing to leave the house, in search of the Leaf's Jinchuuriki and the owner of her Heart. She changed out of her night gown, into the clothes she wore on Missions, acquired her Ninja tools; a pouch full of Shuriken and Kunai, and she tightly tied her headband straight across her forehead, something she rarely did, unless the situation was dire. With great haste, she darted out of the house, and started scouring the Leaf Village in search of her most precious person.

. . .

Naruto had been sitting alone, towards the outskirts of town, in a forgotten grove with an old Pond he always went to as a child when he wondered about his parents. He hadn't slept much that night; he tossed and turned for hours before finally getting an hour of sleep, in which he had a dream of the last time he saw Sasuke.

It was the battle at the Final Valley, when he was cloaked in the Nine-tails' chakra, and Sasuke was transformed by the Curse Mark. Naruto lunged at Sasuke, and Sasuke flew on fel wings towards Naruto. Chidori vs Rasengan, Naruto remembered only clashing with Sasuke, making a mark on his headband, and then, nothing but a blinding white light. He awoke, that day, to find Sasuke was the one to walk away, and he did indeed do so. Sasuke left, and went to Orochimaru in search of Power.

Naruto relived that day, before waking up in the middle of the night. He decided to stop trying to sleep, and to find some solace in a place that's always helped him through the hardest times in his life. When he was a boy, without parents, he'd often go there to get away from the crowds who would point and stare at him. He'd find comfort, in the calm waters, the vibrant Maple trees planted purposefully around the pond, in the entire grove. It had nearly fallen to ruin, since nobody cared to maintain it. There were a few gravestones, but they were mostly crumbled, and the names and dates were barely readable.

Naruto sat and sighed, looking to the Waters before him to bring him comfort as they always have. The night air chilled him, but he didn't care. As he fought back the shivers, he looked at how still the water was. It looked like a pane of glass, yet he could tell by the occasional leaf that fell into the pond that it wasn't frozen.

As Naruto stared into the pond, he began to remember Sasuke. That time in the Final Valley, in the Village Hidden in the Mist, protecting the Bridge Builder against Zabuza and Haku. All the memories, all the time they spent together, gone. Gone with Sasuke, and his lust for revenge. He tried fighting back the tears, but he ultimately failed. He remembered everything, every single experience he had with Sasuke, his best friend, eternal rival, and the closest thing he'd ever had to a Brother.
Naruto sat there, alone, crying beside the Pond, in the dead of night. Nothing but the nightly chill and swaying trees to keep him company.

. . .

Hinata had been searching everywhere, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, looking down alleyways, hoping to see that blonde knucklehead more than anything. She had begun to run faster, and tripped on her own foot, nearly falling on her face on top of the Academy. She quickly caught herself, fortunately, and avoided a nasty scrape on her face. She still tumbled, rolled onto her side, and stood up again. She scanned the area, checking all the spots he'd go to as a kid. She knew his spots well; she followed him more often than anyone knew.

"Where the hell is he?! What is he even doing, at this hour? Maybe he did get abducted by the Akatsuki.. No, i won't believe it." she thought to herself, shaking her head and moving onto the next place.
She went to the Cemetery, where he'd sometimes go to think about past Hokage and what they accomplished with their title. Nothing. She went to the top of the Hokage faces, and still, nothing. She looked everywhere, for hours, and had nearly given up. The only thing that kept her going was the paranoia of him getting captured by the Akatsuki, and how she would be the one to save him if it had happened.

She was exhausted, and could barely run anymore. Failing to cover decent ground, she decided her efforts would be better spent in the Daylight hours, with more energy than she currently had. She was about to begrudgingly head back home, when she remembered one last place she forgot to check, where he just might be. "I suppose he may be there.. Though i don't know why, i may as well check anyways".

. . .

Naruto had been crying for a long time. He didn't know how long, but he had gone through everything; His possible parents, Sasuke, Jiraiya's death, everything in life that had made him sad, that had held him back. He cried it all out, and finally, he was ready to go back home. Back home, to his warm woman, the Love of his Life, and to a nice, soft bed. He stood up, bowed to the pond, and turned around. He expected to see an empty path, but instead, he found a very angry Hyuuga standing before him. It was Hinata, with her arms crossed, Byakugan activated, and an indescribable look of Scorn on her face.

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, and stepped closer to the Uzumaki. Taking a deep breath, she raised her voice "Do you have ANY idea how worried i was?! Do you have the Slightest idea of how irresponsible it is for you to just Leave like that?! For all i knew, you were abducted by the Akatsuki! Is this where you've been all this time? Here? Just staring at some water, while i scour the entire village for you?!" Hinata yelled.

"Look, it's not like i Meant to make you worry! I didn't even think you'd wake up, so, i just thought.." Naruto said, somehow innocent and guilty at the same time.

"And what? You thought you could just leave me, without a word, in the Middle of the Night like that?! I've been worried sick!" Hinata said, becoming increasingly frustrated with Naruto's half-assed reasons.

"I just wanted to be alone. This pond, it's always helped me through tough times, Times where i've been sad, where i've had no where else to turn to." Naruto said

"Oh, so you want to be Alone? Fine then, Be alone!" Hinata said, turning away from the blonde, ready to run all the way back home.

Naruto put his hand on her shoulder before she could leave. "Hinata. Don't leave, please.." he said, suddenly dreading the idea of being alone a single moment longer. "I don't want you to leave, i can't lose you too," Naruto pleaded, putting his other arm around the Hyuuga.

Hinata felt the warmth of her lover, the Warmth she had so long searched for, for all those years and this long night. Feeling herself begin to blush, she couldn't hold back a smile. She quickly turned around, wrapped her arms around Naruto's back and kissed him. Her face was probably beating red, but she didn't care. She moved her arm up to his short hair, and the passion between the two intensified.

Naruto, was, to say the least, caught off guard when Hinata so suddenly locked lips with him. He almost backed away, but instead decided to hold the Hyuuga closer, as she became more passionate. Naruto held Hinata close to him, and finally found a shelter from the chilling wind of the night he had been fighting all night.

It was Hinata who pulled away, and as she looked into Naruto's eyes, she said "I.. I Love you, Naruto. Don't ever do this again, OK?" She tightly wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him as close as she could.

Naruto was nearly at a loss for words, but said "Okay, i won't leave like this ever again. I'll stay with you, because you're all that i need." And as the Uzumaki looked into Hinata's pale, purple eyes, he said "I Love you too, Hinata." as he returned the secure hug, holding the Hyuuga close to his Heart.

As they stood there, Embracing each other, the darkness faded from the sky, and slowly, Light began to gently pour over the Mountains and into the valleys, through the trees. Their embrace lasted a while, long enough for the path behind them to become visible. They pulled away, and Hinata said "Feel like going home now? Had enough alone time?" She teased

"Yes, i do feel like going home, and now i've had enough alone time for a lifetime" Naruto replied, putting his arm around Hinata's shoulder. Hinata giggled, glad to have her Lover back.

The two drowsily walked all the way back home, which took several hours. Jumping across rooftops and trees was far more efficient, but it also took far more energy, and both of them were completely drained of that. As they approached their apartment complex, they were stopped by Sakura and Ino.

"Hey, you two Lovebirds, what are you guys doing up so early?" Ino teased, knowing they couldn't possibly be just getting up.

"Ino, shut it! They've Obviously back from a romantic date, right?" Sakura said, noticing their haggard demeanor. "So, how was it, Naruto?" Sakura said, making fun at the couple.

"It was good." Naruto said
"Howww good~?" Ino said, barely able to hold back her laughter.

"So good, i can barely even walk anymore." Naruto said, jokingly "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight!" He said, entering the apartments.

"What he meant to say was, Good Morning!" Hinata said as she followed Naruto, obviously faking a cheery mood sarcastically.

Ino and Sakura both laughed and walked off, as Naruto and Hinata both dragged themselves to their home. They finally arrived, opened the door, and fell straight into bed. Not bothering to properly observe the room they walked into, they then realized the Sun was shining straight through their window, right onto them as they tried to sleep. They-in sync-both sighed and covered their eyes. They looked at eachother, and without saying a word, played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Naruto won, crushing Scissors with Rock. Hinata groaned, and picked herself up, and dragged herself over to the open window. She shut it, along with the blinds, before taking off her mission-wear. Her ninja tools, and her uncomfortable clothes. So tired she didn't care, she walked back to bed, almost completely naked, and casually plopped down beside Naruto.

Naruto was surprised when he felt Hinata's bare body against his, and he used what little energy he had left to turn to his lover, to see what was happening. Sure enough, there she laid, clad in nothing but her under-garments. Naruto, ever the knucklehead, found this behavior particularly attractive, and couldn't help himself from becoming aroused. Hinata noticed, and laughed. "Maybe if you hadn't made me chase you all over the village, then you might have gotten any of this." She teased, gesturing to herself as if she were a queen. She nestled closer to the blonde, and wrapped one arm around his muscular back, holding him close. Naruto laughed, knowing even he wouldn't have the stamina to pull it off tonight. He put one arm around her, and with one more deep breath, said the words "I love you, Hinata." Hinata returned the words "I love you too, Naruto." Giving him one more kiss before the two finally fell asleep.