Hinata slipped away from the noisy room, and into the cold fresh air. The party behind her continued on, regardless whether she was there or not.

"So much for a Happy Birthday." She thought.

She sighed and looked down at the hand made friendship bracelet around her hand. She considered it the best part of her birthday - to have that special bond with her cousin Neji. She turned red at the memory of how nervous he was when he gave it to her.

"Just like whenever I try to give anything to Naruto."

Hinata went even redder, if possible. To be honest, she missed the blonde bundle of energy that she always seemed to meet. It would be a nice present to see him on her birthday.

Hinata started to walk away from the Hyuuga household, away from the party held in her honour. It was her birthday, and she wanted to spend it however she wanted to. Not however the family heads told her to, even if it was for publicity, or whatever else they had made up.

She walked aimlessly around the village, not meeting anyone she knew. The sun was just setting, and with it the people were heading home. Soon it would be dark, and her presence would be needed back at the party. She sighed. She knew that she only had at least fifteen minutes of freedom left.

She sat down on the ground, her back leaning against the wall of a nameless store. From where she was sitting, she had a perfect view of the sunset. She just loved the beautiful pinks and oranges that seemed to melt into the sun, and the sun itself was pretty, even behind its veil of clouds.

"If only I could sit here forever."

She took a deep breath, savouring the taste of the fresh air. Various smells wafted around her nose. The different vendors wanted to sell off their stock before closing down, and were all quite competitive. The lone customer that came by was always popular, every vendor wanting them as their customer. It was this type of atmosphere - the friendliness, the peacefulness, the happiness, the freedom - that Hinata liked best about Konoha. She wouldn't mind giving up her position as heiress if every day she could live down in the village.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded slowly, her eyes glued to the setting sun. Her time limit was running out quickly, yet she did not care. The sunset had reached its peak. The colours were splashed across the whole sky, as if painted by a careless childs hand. The clouds obstructing her view were gone, and she could clearly see that the sun itself was not just yellow, but a whole array of colours she didn't know existed.

"Is this the best birthday present?"

"I don't think so..."

Hinata jumped in shock, realising that she had accidentally spoken her thought out loud. She felt herself turn red.

"Th-then what i-is?"

She felt a little ashamed at her stuttering. Even her little sister Hanabi didn't stutter. She turned her haid slightly, to get a better view of her companion (while still keeping the setting sky in her vision).

Hinata nearly fainted in shock to find out that it was Naruto sitting next to her, a wide smile plastered on his face. He was smiling at her.

"It depends upon your personality."

Naruto adopted a philosophical look on his face. His blue eyes shone in the dimming light.

Then he suddenly burst out laughing.

"For me, it has to be Ramen! Special ramen, in miso soup, with pork..."

Hinata smiled inwardly to herself, letting the blonde next to her ramble on. He really was a big ball of hyperactive energy.

That is one of the reasons why I like him.

She started blushing again, and was glad that Naruto didn't notice. He just kept laughing, and explaining to her his favourite types of Ramen.

She looked back at the sky, and saw that only half the sun remained. That probably meant that she had only five minutes to get back, and it was a three minute walk. She knew that she would have to cut the sunset short. The cake was to be served precisely the minute all light disappeared from the outside. Stupid traditions.

"U-umm... N-naruto k-kun?"

Naruto stopped laughing, and instead looked into her eyes. All her confidence drained away, and she completely forgot what she was going to say. Her eyes held his gaze, much to her horror, and she knew that he could see her tomato face clearly.

"The best birthday present for you, though..."

His sentence drifted off into the still air. The village around them had finally fallen silent, the birds were nesting. Not the slightest noise could be heard, except of course, Hinata's heart beating heavily against her chest.

Is it just me, or is he leaning in closer?

Hinata closed her eyes slowly, and pinched herself. But she did not find herself waking up. It was not a cruel trick someone was playing on her. It was real.

The sun set silently, and as it's last rays left the earth, it was alone. It had no watchers - as the Hyuuga specactor was busy with something else. With somebody else. The sun smiled (if that was even possible) to itself, happy that the two people had finally found happiness together.

-_-_-_-

"HYUUGA HINATA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

The head of the Hyuuga family screamed down at the poor girl, who was expected to bow in apology, stuttering an excuse.

But instead, the little girl was smiling.

"To get the Best Birthday Present ever."

Hope you liked it... I kinda wrote it in dedication to my bday (4th of Jan), and partly coz I really felt like writing a Hinata ff...