Last Minute Shopping

(Christmas)

Rating: T (just being safe)

Summary: Unfortunately, Naruto has lost track of the date, and finds himself rushing to finish his Christmas shopping all on Christmas Eve. The shops are closing soon, and there is only one last person in need of a gift – Hinata Hyuuga. As the knucklehead tries to find a suitable gift for the girl, he discovers thoughts and feelings he has never had before. What will happen when he finally gives her her present at the gang's Christmas party?

***Takes place pre-Shippuden (sometime after Tsunade becomes Hokage), also Sasuke did not leave (cause I said so!)***

A/N: Hope you all enjoy – yeah, I know it's a wee bit late, but I've been having trouble writing lately for some reason, and with Christmas dinner with the family and whatnot, I got this done later than I hoped. I also incorporated a little element from The Last (well, The Last trailers and hype, really – prbly won't see the actual movie for a long time), see if u know what it is. Hopefully you're still in the holiday spirit, knee-deep in leftover cookies and new gadgets and gismos. Merry belated Christmas(/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Birthday/Anniversary/Whatever else you may be celebrating), enjoy the first of my holiday collection!

The skies were bleak and cloudy, while the streets below glowed with the orange-yellow hue of street lamps. The earth was tucked into a pillowy blanket of white, while more snow swirled down, carried by a chilling breeze that nipped at the skin of the civilians still out and about. This winter scene was both beautiful and merciless, though Konoha's sole Uzumaki paid it no mind as he rushed around the shopping district.

Naruto endured the cold evening air, as he had come to a shocking revelation this day: it was Christmas Eve! And he had completely forgotten to buy any of his friends their presents!

The boy was in such a hurry that he had foolishly neglected to don his winter clothing, coming out in only his regular ninja attire. Only a while later, his body was shivering and his teeth were clattering, but it was too late to return to his apartment now; if he went to retrieve his coat, mitts, hat, and whatnot, the shops would be closed before he could finish his gift shopping. So he just took reprieve in the shelter of the shops while he made his purchases, and tried not to succumb to the harsh trips in between.

Tomorrow, the entire gang, the rookie nine along with Team Gai, would all be getting together for a Christmas party; that was when he would give everyone their presents. Naruto had decided to get a gift for each one of his friends, not wanting anyone to think he was excluding them. He had saved up a decent budget from his missions just for the day. It was no big challenge; it was not like he was giving really expensive gifts.

For example, the blonde was just leaving a weapons dealer with his newest addition to his big bag of goodies: a new pair of nunchuks. He knew Tenten had a passion for weapons, and the last time teams seven and Gai had trained together, Naruto remembered Tenten asking to try out Lee's nunchuks, so he assumed she did not yet have a pair. Hopefully she would appreciate the gift.

With this, Naruto's list of people to buy for was nearly complete. Next up was his sensei, Kakashi. He rolled his eyes. That was an easy one. The boy immediately set himself on route to the nearest bookstore. The newest installment of Icha Icha was sure to please to the cycloptic jounin.

Since he had some time until he would reach the bookstore, the jinchuuriki decided to start thinking of ideas for the last name on his list: Hinata Hyuuga.

Naruto thought hard as he trekked down the rows of shops, but nothing would come to him. He was honestly stumped on what the girl would like. After all, Naruto did not know her that well. Not that he was close with every other member of the Konoha twelve, but at least with the others their interests were clear. Shino liked bugs, Kiba liked dogs, Chouji liked food, and Sasuke liked – well, nothing really. Naruto just made sure all of his gifts were small, so they were easy to carry home and shove somewhere out of the way. So far, the last Uchiha had been seemingly appreciative of this rationale. But for the life of him, Naruto had no clue what Hinata was interested in.

The knucklehead thought back to his memories of Hinata. In his remembrance, Naruto realized the reason why he did not know the pupiless girl too well. Nearly every encounter he could recall with the Hyuuga ended abruptly after she either ran off or fainted before the two could really talk much about anything. Why was she always doing that? Did she not like him? Perhaps she was just terribly shy? No, he ruled the latter out; she had always seemed comfortable and calm with others before he tried to join in. But she had always treated him kindly! Maybe it was just politeness, though… It did not matter; maybe if he got her a nice enough present, he could change her mind!

Knowing the solution was not going to come to him on its own, Naruto decided to do a little window shopping during his walk to find something that Hinata would like.

So the young shinobi kept his eyes on the various displays in the windows of nearby stores, but nothing stood out to him. Conceding he did not know much about Hinata, he tried to think a bit more generally. He began scanning the displays for any good ninja items.

Maybe he could get her some weapons like with Tenten? No, she was a hand-to-hand fighter. He could always go with a set of kunai or shuriken though… No, that took no thought; it would come off as a lame gift. Perhaps a jutsu scroll? No, she pretty much only used the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist style.

Naruto furrowed his brow in frustration. Ok, so ninja gear was out. 'Hm… What could I possibly get for a girl like her…' The blonde snapped his fingers as he had an epiphany – she was a girl! He could just get something girly for her! Now, what do girls like…

A small shop advertising an array of fancy cosmetics caught the boy's eye. That's it! He could get her some makeup! Girls like makeup, right?

Naruto shook his head defeatedly. No, as long as he could remember knowing the kunoichi, Naruto had never seen her wearing any sort of makeup like a lot of the other girls. 'She already looks pretty enough without it anyway.'

After a short pause, the jinchuuriki's eyes widened as he realized what he had been thinking. 'B-but not as pretty as Sakura-chan!' he quickly caught himself.

It was true. The pinkette was definitely easy on the eyes. It was obvious that she put plenty of effort into her appearance, and many other boys would attest to this. But Hinata was not bad looking either; she had a different kind of appeal too. More of a… innocent, gentle look. She was pretty cute, actually. And she exuded this aura of cuteness so naturally…

"Gah!" Naruto shook his head, trying to derail his train of thought. He had to focus here! He had to focus on getting his present for the blue-haired Hyuuga.

The blonde continued down the street, his confusion being blown away by the cold wind. Shortly after, Naruto found himself in front of a clothing store. Yeah! That could work! Girls liked clothes!

He excitedly stepped through the door and headed straight to the racks upon racks of outfits. He felt a bit weird going through the women's section, but it was for a gift.

Scanning through endless masses of garments, Naruto had to question: what would Hinata like? The only thing he had ever seen Hinata in was her thick, beige jacket. What did she wear underneath, though? The blonde used his imagination as he judged the many possibilities. The shinobi tried to picture Hinata in each of the available outfits, attempting to find one that would suit her – but found that to be more difficult than expected. Forget what she wore, he didn't even know what she looked like under that ever-present jacket! Did she have a slim, athletic build? Was she more muscular? Did she have a lot of feminine curves…

Naruto was zoned out for a minute, breaking out of his daze only after carelessly walking into a rack. He returned his focus to what was ahead of him – to come face to face with a row of bras. Unsurprisingly, the Uzumaki's active imagination immediately tried to visualize Hinata in it – and only it.

The boy's whiskered cheeks were stained red as he mentally tried to figure out Hinata's size.

He snapped himself out of yet another daze and made a panicked beeline to the exit, once again ignoring the freezing air that greeted him. Naruto mentally scolded himself for actually thinking like the pervy sage for a second there. Ok, so clothes shopping had been a bad idea. Scratch that; looking for girl stuff in general had been stupid. He knew nothing about girls. Well, back to the drawing boards.

The orange-clad boy was straining himself to summon up every ounce of knowledge on the girl while surveying potential gifts, but still failed to come up with anything useful. That is, until he approached a nearby pharmacy.

He almost ignored it – what, was he going to get her medicine for Christmas? How lame would that be!

But then a spark hit. Naruto suddenly recalled his encounter with the Hyuuga kunoichi in the chuunin exam preliminaries, when she had given him that healing cream… That was it! If he could find a place that sold medicinal herbs, he could get some ingredients to help her make her next batch!

Naruto frowned. 'Except I don't know anything about medicinal plants.' Still, figures Hinata would be into that stuff. After all, she was always a very kind person, only makes sense she would want a way to help other people like that. Surely she wasn't as learned in the field of medicine as Sakura, Tsunade's own apprentice, but Sakura had gone into medical work for a different reason. She had taken up the challenge to prove herself. Not to mention she had always been less than enthusiastic – annoyed, really – whenever the knucklehead landed himself in the hospital for one thing or another and required her care. Hinata had seemed genuinely concerned for him when she had offered the cream – quite generously, considering she had had yet to fight herself.

And Naruto had been genuinely grateful for the miracle cream. It was one of the most touching gestures he had ever received. And this gratefulness only steeled his resolve to find her a gift. She deserved the best gift for being so kind-hearted and outgoing!

But alas, Naruto was still coming up empty-handed. It was a couple of minutes after that he finally reached his destination. He entered the bookstore and approached the aisle carrying the newest Icha Icha. He rolled his eyes as he grabbed the dirty novel.

At this point time was running out, and Naruto was desperate, grasping at straws. Maybe Hinata would like a book? She always had good grades in the academy, so she had to be smart, and smart people read books, right? He strolled up and down aisles, eyeing the shelves. What kind of book would Hinata like? Horror? No, definitely not. Fantasy adventure? Maybe. Romance? Girls liked romance, right? Was it possible Hinata was actually a romantic? An idealist indulging in her fantasies of one day being whisked away by her knight in charming armor, or Prince Shiny or whatever it was? What kind of boy would she even be interested in being swept off her feet by anyway…

Naruto shook his head clear once more, his own erratic thoughts again distracting him from the task at hand. Conceding that he had no clue what kind of book Hinata would enjoy, the blonde walked to the cashier to pay for his sensei's present, ignoring the looks the man gave to the preteen purchasing an erotic novel.

Naruto added the book to his big bag of presents and sighed forlornly. He had been enjoying the warmth of the shop, but now it was out of the frying pan and back into the freezer for him. He shivered as he hit the streets. If he had not regretted forgetting his winter wear before, he certainly did now. The cold was really starting to get to him. If it had not been for the Kyuubi, the knucklehead definitely would have had a terrible flu. Even with the demon's help, the jinchuuriki might still catch a cold if he was out much longer.

It was not even a block away that Naruto ran into someone he had not been expecting. Right as he had been mentally complaining over how hard the Hyuuga heiress was to shop for, he noticed a head of navy blue turn around the corner. It was the aforementioned heiress, and she was just as quick to spot out the orange-garbed genin. The girl froze on the spot as she looked upon him for only a moment, in her pale lavender winter coat, snow-white mitts and fuzzy white earmuffs decorated with chibi bunnies. Taking in Naruto's appearance, woefully underdressed and shivering unrestrainedly, she immediately took off in a sprint towards him.

"N-N-Naruto-kun! Are you o-ok?!" she cried in worry as she stopped in front of him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" he reassured – though unconvincingly.

"W-what are you doing out like this?"

"Me? Oh, n-nothing really, just out for a walk!" He topped off his fib with a sheepish chuckle, hoping she would ignore the bulging bag behind his back. Naruto decided to keep his last minute shopping to himself, hoping to be able to fish out some gift ideas from the very source of his predicament.

"How long have you b-been out?"

Naruto scratched his chin, honestly not entirely sure himself. "I dunno – a couple hours, maybe three?"

The look of pure worry and care emanating from Hinata nearly overwhelmed the Uzumaki. Unexpectedly, a small hand began unzipping her well-insulated winter jacket.

"What are you doing, Hinata?" Naruto asked in confusion.

The kunoichi responded as she continued to remove the piece of clothing. "You s-shouldn't be out like this! P-please, take my jacket!" she blurted.

Naruto, now understanding her intentions, swiftly grabbed the hand on her zipper with his own, deepening the trademark dusting of pink on her cheeks. "You can't," he interjected, a matching concerned expression on his features, "then you'll freeze instead."

"B-b-but –" she tried to argue before being interrupted by the blonde.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm heading home anyways," he fibbed again, trying to convince her with a wide smile.

Once he could tell the lavender eyed girl's worry had decreased, even if just a bit, he released her hand, both to her relief and disappointment. She zipped her jacket back up, biting her lip. She appeared conflicted for a fleeting moment, as if fighting an internal struggle. Then, with a shaky voice, she quietly stammered out, "T-then at least t-t-take this, p-please." Her left hand dipped into a jacket pocket, coming back out with a long, red scarf in hand. She thrust it toward him, squeezing her eyes shut and bowing her head down, hiding her face behind her bangs.

Naruto mulled it over for a second, but figured it would be ok to accept it, since she did not seem to need it anyway, since it was kept in her pocket. He reached out and carefully grasped the fabric from her. "Arigato, Hinata," he said with a deep gratitude. She once again raised her head with a small smile.

It was then that Naruto tried to subtly change the topic so he could find out what she would like for Christmas. "You looking forward to the party tomorrow Hinata?"

"O-of course," she replied with a nod, engaging hesitantly in the small talk.

"Me too, I love Christmas! Any party with presents is cool in my books!" he exclaimed merrily with a thumbs up. "Is there anything you're hoping to get this Christmas?" he asked, intently waiting on a response.

"J-just spending time with you – ALL OF YOU! – is enough to m-make me happy, Naruto-kun," she replied, just barely catching the near slip-up.

This answer did not bide well with Naruto, but before he could try again, Hinata quickly blurted out, "S-sorry, but I have to be s-somewhere. Bye, Naruto-kun!" and scurried off.

The knuckleheaded ninja just stared after her until she rounded another corner. He let out another sigh. That conversation proved no help in his quest. Tossing that aside for just a minute, the Uzumaki began wrapping the scarf around his neck, inspecting the fabric as he did so. If he was not mistaken, the scarf seemed to be handmade. Either Hinata had knit it herself or one of her family members had made it specially for her. Either way, it was incredibly generous to give something like that away. She had once again left him speechless – well, as close to speechless as the loud boy could get – with her caring gesture. It may not have completely shielded him from the mercilessly chilling wind and snow, but the thick garment was a vast improvement to his previous situation. Strangely enough, it seemed to keep his chest the most warm. He gripped delicately onto one dangling end with his free hand, enjoying the soft feel as some more feeling returned to the appendage.

Naruto's head hung low as he dragged his feet. All around him, shop lights were going out one by one as their owners left after locking up for the night, signalling the end of the workday for the numerous shopkeepers and salesmen.

It had been around twenty minutes since Naruto's encounter with Hinata, and he had officially run out of time. He had failed, and his meeting with the girl he had failed only served to make him feel incredibly guilty. Even though they barely spent any time together, she had been such a good friend, shown so much care and generosity towards him, and he could not even get her one lousy present! He felt useless.

Wallowing in his own self-pity, he did not even notice his pinkette teammate walking down the street towards him.

"Oh, hi Naruto!" Sakura greeted with a friendly smile and wave. To her surprise, her teammate did not even bother to look up.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto forced out. To Sakura's complete shock, on top of dropping the 'chan' suffix, the blonde proceeded to walk right by her. Naruto never ignored her like this! Even when he was down, which he certainly seemed to be, he did not simply disregard her like this.

Thinking something must be seriously wrong, Sakura grabbed his arm before it was out of reach to stop the shinobi. "Naruto, is something wrong?" the baffled medic inquired. She took note of the stuffed bag in his hands. "Just doing your Christmas shopping now?" If it had not been for the boy's depressed state, she would not have relented in giving the boy a good thwop to the head for being so forgetful.

Naruto slowly turned around, still not meeting her gaze. "Yeah," he affirmed in a hopeless monotone, "but I didn't get everyone. I got something for nearly everyone, but I couldn't find something for Hinata. Now she's gonna think I hate her cause she's the only one I won't have a gift for.

It was weird seeing the normally cheerful blonde with such a grim outlook. All this, over one measly present? 'If that dobe would just get a clue and realize her feelings, he would know how easy it would be for him to make her happy.'

In a flash of devious brilliance, a wicked idea came to Sakura Haruno's mind. She supressed a sly smirk as she began to remedy the situation. "Me and Shikamaru are actually giving her a group present together, if you're that upset about it you could pitch in and we could put your name on it too.

Naruto's head shot up, smiling at her as if she had just saved his life. "Really? That's great –ttebayou! Thank you, thank you, thank you! How much do I owe you!" he shouted out excitedly.

Sakura tapped her chin, obviously doing the math in her head. "Hm… I suppose one hundred and fifty ryo should be enough." The hyperactive ninja did not hesitate to grab his wallet and frantically shake the necessary amount out of it, handing the money to his teammate.

"Here you go! So, what are we giving her?"

Sakura simply pocketed the cash and continued walking the route she had been before. "You'll see! Now go home, you look cold!" she said as she walked off, leaving a confused shinobi behind.

Naruto didn't know what the big secret with the gift was all about, but he was just glad to have something to give Hinata tomorrow. Pulling out his frog-shaped wallet once more, he counted up what remained from his holiday shopping.

'Perfect, just enough to get some Ichiraku's takeout on the way back! Some hot ramen is sure to warm me up!'

'Perfect, now I have just enough to get some dango,' Sakura thought, now smirking triumphantly. Oh, tomorrow's party was going to be interesting. Sakura's plan to give Hinata the best Christmas gift she would ever receive was simple, elegant, and wouldn't cost her a dime – but Naruto didn't need to know that. All she needed was to ask a certain lazy chuunin for a little favor.

It was Christmas day, and the young shinobi's Christmas party was just getting started. Most of the gang had already arrived, engaging in friendly chit-chat with their friends, or munching on the snacks on the decorated tables.

At this moment, an infamous knucklehead ninja joined the festivities, this time dressed for the weather in a coat, hat (both the necessary shade of bright orange), and the red scarf he had received just the previous evening. As he shrugged off his extra layers, leaving them on the coat hanger by the door, he was unaware of the pupiless eyes observing him.

From across the room, Hinata was beaming. Beaming. Her smile would bring youthful tears to both Lee and Gai's eyes.

"Right Hinata? Hinata!" Tenten broke the kunoichi out of her daze, bringing her back into the conversation. Still, inside her mind, she was giddily jumping up and down in glee. 'He's wearing the scarf again! He really likes it!'

Despite the joy that came from the fact that Naruto seemed to like the scarf she gave to him, she could not work up the nerve to talk to him during the party. That is, until a couple hours later, when the gift exchanging began.

Naruto was happily watching Tenten experimentally swing her nunchuks around when Sakura approached him. "Yo, Sakura-chan, I got this for you!" he said, holding out a wrapped package in his hands.

"Thanks Naruto," she said as she took it from his hands. But before she even bothered opening the gift, she shoved an envelope into his hands. "Before you get too excited, this one isn't yours, it's Hinata's. Would you mind giving it to her?"

"Sure thing," he replied. "But what is it?" he asked curiously, scrutinizing the envelope from every angle. What could possibly fit inside? It must be some sort of voucher or pass for something. Whatever it is, it had better be good, it was for Hinata after all. And he had paid his part for it.

Sakura refused to answer his question. "Never mind that, you'll see when she opens it. Now just go and give it to her!" she commanded, giving the blonde a rather firm push in the direction of the blue-haired girl.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto greeted heartily. Hinata turned around abruptly at the familiar voice, her fingers automatically pressing together as she came face to face with her crush. "This is for you!" he told her with his trademark foxy grin. The shy girl had to pry her digits apart to take the envelope from his hands.

"You got this f-for m-me?" she said disbelievingly, dancing with glee and anticipation in her mind.

"Actually, it's from Sakura, Shikamaru and I," he clarified, not one to steal credit. This still did not ruin her jubilation from being given a gift from her Naruto-kun.

She carefully opened the envelope, dying to know what he (they) had got her. Even if it was a group gift, just the fact that Naruto had thought of her brought her great joy.

Naruto watched as she pulled out the card and opened it. To his utter confusion, nothing came out of it. No coupons, no vouchers, no passes, nothing! Just what exactly had he paid for! He could have got her a stupid card himself!

Whatever was written inside it though, had Hinata equally as confused. As she raised a brow and double-checked to make sure she was reading it right, Naruto leaned in to look at the message. Inside were only two words.

'ABOVE YOU'

Nani? Naruto looked back to Hinata, who by now was staring up, wide eyes fixated on something on the ceiling in an expression he could only guess was sheer terror. He looked up to see what exactly she was staring at, only to mirror her face.

Up on the ceiling, directly above the pair, was a small bundle of mistletoe.

The two looked back down at each other in unison, each taking a loud gulp as they did. If either of them had the clarity of mind to examine the decoration more closely, they may have noticed that it was hung not from a string, but from the tip of a shadow.

"I-is that –"

"Mistletoe," Hinata finished for the unusually tongue-tied ninja.

"I-I guess that means w-we have to…"

"Y-yes… It's t-t-tradition…"

With no argument from either side, the two slowly, nervously, inched their faces closer to each other. As they closed their eyes in preparation, Hinata's mind was running amuck. 'Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I'm about to k-k-k-kiss Naruto-kun! Don't faint! Don't faint! I won't get another chance like this! For the love of sweet kami, don't let me faint until after the kiss!'

And with that, their lips met. Both let the feeling of the other's lips on theirs soak in, even Naruto enjoying it more than he expected. Gently, innocently, longingly, they kissed.

And kissed…

Perhaps they remained connected a bit longer than most following this holiday tradition, but they still broke apart far too early for either of their likings. After separating, Hinata found herself unable to look away from his eyes, opposite from her usual dilemma. Both pairs of orbs were clouded with a strong loving feeling.

Naruto was the one to break the awkward silence that ensued. "Hinata, are you ok? You look a bit woozy," he asked the swaying girl. "Hinata? Hinata!"

And that was the last thing Hinata heard when she passed out.

Hinata was confused. She was just waking up from a deep sleep, wondering what exactly she was sleeping on. It was firmer than her bed, but not uncomfortable, and it was radiating a comforting warmth.

Where was she? The last thing she remembered, she was at a party, and then she was kissing Naruto…

'Oh my gosh! I did it! I kissed Naruto-kun!' she mentally celebrated, a deep scarlet overtaking her hot face.

"You up?" a voice asked from above her after its owner noticed the blushing hue of her cheeks.

Hinata's eyes shot open, and all she saw was orange. She lifted her head up – only to realize she had been sleeping on Naruto!

Defying all laws of nature, Hinata blushed deeper. She was seated in Naruto's lap, her head previously nestled in his chest; just how long had she been in this position! The two were on a chair off to the side of the room while the party raged on around them.

"Uh… Hey," Naruto said lamely, unsure of what else to say.

"Hey," Hinata mirrored, both staring back at each other in uncertainty.

Hinata was first to break eye contact, looking off to the side and mumbling something inaudible.

"What was that?"

"I'm s-sorry," she whispered with a stutter.

Naruto blinked. "Sorry for what?"

"I d-don't have a present to g-give to you," she explained.

The blonde gave her a grin. "That's ok, I don't mind, really."

Hinata glanced to the coat rack. "I was g-going to give you that scarf I made for y-you, but I ended up giving i-it to you yesterday, so n-now I don't have anything f-for you…" she said regretfully.

"Don't worry about it. I really liked it," he reassured her, prompting her to look back up. "And it really helped me out yesterday, I appreciate it." Hinata was met with a heart melting grin.

'Well… It may have been early, but at least I managed to give him his present this year,' she thought with a small smile.

"But… why would you go through all that trouble just for me?" Naruto asked, dumbstruck that Hinata would go through all that work for him. She never ceased to surprise him.

This was it. Hinata took a moment to steel herself for her response. 'It's now or never. I just kissed him, I can do this. 3… 2… 1…'

"Because I love you, Naruto-kun!" she blurted out without thinking about it.

Naruto was taken aback, not only by the volume of her voice and the absence of her stutter, but by what she had just confessed to him. 'She loves me?' Suddenly, multiple things clicked in the genin's mind that really should have a long time ago. At first, Naruto had assumed that this 'group gift' he had gotten in on had just been some sort of cruel prank by Sakura, but suddenly it all made sense. This explained all the fainting, the nervousness around him, that permanent blush painted on her cheeks, why their female friends giggled and made teasing kissy faces behind his back – YES, he noticed! – whenever they were left alone.

Ok, perhaps that last one should have been a tip-off.

Still, it felt so surreal. This girl loved him? This kind, outgoing, beautiful girl…

His thoughts following the same path they had been yesterday, he knew there was only one way to respond.

While Naruto had been sorting out his feelings, Hinata had started regretting her actions the second after she confessed. There was no way he would return her feelings! After all, he loved Sakura! She knew this, why was she foolish enough to believe she had a chance! This was too hard to bear!

Oh well, what was done was done. Now all she could do was steady her pounding heart as she waited on his crushing rejection. However, the next words to come out of her crush's mouth were not at all what she expected.

"If you're still upset over not having a gift for me, I know what you could give me."

Hinata looked back at him, thrown off by his sudden change of subject. "And w-what is that?" she asked cautiously.

"You could go out on a date with me?" he said, unsure whether this was a question or a statement, despite having said the words himself.

'Wait… Did he just ask me out? A date with Naruto-kun? Say yes! Say yes! Don't faint!'

"S-sure," was all she was able to breathe out.

Naruto broke into another brilliant grin upon hearing her answer. "Awesome! How does lunch at Ichiraku's sound!"

"S-sure," she repeated.

"Does noon work for you?"

"S-sure."

"Awesome!" he exclaimed. Then he chuckled sheepishly. "Um… I still gotta hand out a few more presents, you mind?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

Hinata realized she had still been positioned on top of him this entire time, and her cheeks flushed anew. She was quick to shoot back up to her feet, even if she had to admit she had been very comfortable there. Naruto got up after her, still grinning widely.

"Kay, I'll see you tomorrow then!"

"S-sure."

Fortunately for Hinata, after Naruto had left her presence, Kiba was walking by her on his way to the snack table. Hinata stopped him by gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"What's up, Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"Um… Kiba-kun, do you mind?" she asked politely.

The Inuzuka rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Sure, just one sec." He stepped to side the quickly to place his cup down on the table, stepping back towards his teammate with his hands outstretched. "Alright, I got you."

"Thanks, Kiba-kun," she whispered as she fell limp in his arms, sparing herself a nasty head bump she definitely would not want on her first date with Naruto, a dazzling smile on her face.

(And some people say Sasuke's heart grew three sizes that day – yeah right! lol couldn't resist)