Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Naruto stared glumly at the countertop of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Why did they have to put so much stuff on a menu, anyway? Why couldn't they just pick one and save everyone else the trouble of choosing for themselves?
He had one coupon left. Now he must choose dessert. Yet the variety on the dessert menu was driving him quite wild. The illustration of that one looked good…but that one had a cherry on top and yet another one had chocolate sauce! How would he ever pick?
He was so engrossed in his deep thoughts that he didn't notice Hinata wander over.
"H-Hi, Naruto," she murmured, staring at the countertop without meeting his gaze. "What's w-wrong?"
"Ah, it's just impossible to choose dessert in here!" he cried and slammed his fist into the table. Hinata jumped a little at the sound.
"W-what are your c-choices?" she asked. She slid into the chair next to his and swiveled to look over his shoulder.
"Well, there's this lemon cake thing…and I love lemon! But this picture looks interesting too and if you order this other one here, you get a cherry!" He dropped the menu and turned to face Hinata. "What's the use of trying?"
Naruto's face was so close to Hinata's, it made her lightheaded. They were almost touching noses. But for some reason, with the lightheadedness came ecstasy. She didn't want him to turn away. Ever.
"T-the chocolate one l-looks n-nice," she said thickly, and shrugged out of her jacket. She was feeling unusually warm for some reason.
Naruto wasn't listening. He was staring at Hinata's feminine shape without the thick shroud of her jacket. He'd never thought of Hinata as anything except a classmate until this very moment. He noticed that she was staring at him too, and a light blush coloured his cheeks.
She fidgeted, and her knee brushed his under the counter. They both jumped at the contact. Thinking Hinata might have had the right idea in taking off her jacket, Naruto slowly removed his as well.
Hinata tried not to stare. Every time she saw Naruto's slim and muscular physique, she found herself slightly out of breath. Kyuubi forbid she should see him in a swimming trunks – she'd probably faint.
Having some trouble making his hands work, Naruto turned back to the counter and snatched the menu. "And there's this one, too," he said, moving his sluggish tongue slowly over the words. Her chair inched even closer, and leaned over his shoulder, further this time, till her chin almost met his shoulder.
"It's l-lovely. T-too many c-choices," she stammered. Words were ceasing to have any meaning, just filling the space between their blushing gazes. He turned back toward her, the small space between their faces growing smaller. Her knee found his again, but this time, there it remained, sending electroshocks up their legs from where they touched. They were both completely paralyzed.
"I don't know," he said, stupidly. But then, this moment, stupidity was the only thing that seemed to make sense. She felt his breath on her face, and her heart started to pound far too hard to be healthy.
He couldn't take his eyes off her face, her flawless face. Surely this was not a regular experience. He felt himself leaning closer. His movements had become involuntary. Losing complete control had never felt so good.
Gently she rotated her chair and pressed her other knee against his. Her hands were freezing. Looking down toward the table, she realized his hands were trembling. Was it possible? Could he feel the same way about her?
"I-I'd go with the one with the most s-sugar," she murmured, unable to explain her choice of words, unable to explain anything but the markings on his face, his forget-me-not blue eyes, the way his hair fell messily over his head.
Her stuttering was so absolutely adorable, he wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. He wondered how he hadn't noticed any of her before, like the soft curve of her lips in the center, and the glossy sheen on her perfect hair. He wanted to touch that perfect sapphire hair of hers.
Time had stopped, and Hinata was in euphoria. Here was Naruto, and here was she, and this was beautiful. Thinking of what would certainly come next made her heart jump, sent more butterflies to her stomach.
Control was lost even further as Naruto slowly lifted a hand and ran it through her perfect hair. She flinched, and then relaxed, her vanilla-flavoured breath caressing his face.
She let her fingers run down his cheek, along his jaw. He almost stopped breathing.
"Yes…the one with…sugar…" he muttered dazedly.
She came closer, moved her face toward his…she had no idea what to do, he had even less idea than her…and pressed her lips to his.
The chairs clattered to the floor as he stood up, wrapped his arms around her, kissed her back. She let out a little gasp and shut her eyes. Amazing.
Needless to say, dessert was forgotten.