Her fingers intertwined gently with his, and she pulled both their hands to settle on her lap. She rested her head onto his broad shoulder, smiling contently to herself. He grunted uncomfortably, shrugging her off.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata pouted, retracting her body away from his.

Naruto turned his head to face her, his vivid cerulean gaze seemed to stare right through her, and Hinata sighed gloomily, getting up from her spot on the bench.

"I know Naruto-kun..." she started, "I know that the only reason you agreed to be with me is because you pity me and my one-sided love."

Naruto's look fixed on her crimson flushed face, his brows knitted together in concern.

"But Naruto-kun... Even though you are by my side, I feel that you aren't happy. The only reason I have been able to watch you for so long and keep my feelings there is because I have always seen you smile. Your cheerfulness, your kindness, your endurance, your sincerity... I have admired those qualities about you, and I still do. However, if I am the reason that those characteristics of yours fade, then I would much rather have you continue to love Sakura-chan, instead of keeping you in a relationship you feel obligated to be in..."

Hinata hiccuped her words as thick beads of water spilled out the corners of her eyes.

"Hinata..." Naruto hummed, staring at her sadly. Hinata looked up and locked eyes with him momentarily, and doing so made her bite down on her quivering bottom lip, a fresh stream of tears sliding down her pale face.

"P-please, d-d-don't look at me like th-that..." She stuttered, feeling the heat from her face cool, and she sensed the darkness that would soon overtake her body, "When you look at me with those eyes, I always..."

She felt her knees give out below her, and the darkness consumed Hinata's conciousness.

Great... she thought, I fainted in front of Naruto-kun again...
_

Hinata fluttered open her eyes, and she found herself pressed against a orange wall. No, it wasn't a wall. Walls don't feel warm, nor do they have a heartbeat. Hinata felt her ears boil in realization, and she slowly tilted her chin upwards. Her mouth dropped open as her light violet stare was met by a familiar cerulean one.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Naruto asked as he helped her sit upright on the bench beside him.

She nodded, focusing her gaze on her hands which were clutched tightly together against her chest.

"I'm gonna go..." she whispered, standing abruptly. Naruto's hand shot up and he grabbed her arm, Hinata winced painfully, "Naruto-kun, please you're hurting me..."

She drew in a sharp breath, noticing that what she had meant to say all along had finally surfaced.

"You're hurting me..." she repeated. Naruto's eyes widened, and he released his grip, "Recently, you've been spacing out whenever we're alone together, but you're always so focused and bright when with everyone else. You completely ignore my attempts to be closer to you, and it's hurting me. Because I feel like I'm upsetting you... I feel like my desperate attempts to make you happy are doing the exact opposite and are holding you back."

"No, it's not like that." he argued, anger twisting on his face. He inhaled slowly, regaining his composure, "It isn't like that Hinata. Please, please listen to me."

She stood still, her heart racing beneath her ribcage.

"I feel happy when I'm with you, but not the kind of happiness that hanging out with friends, or praise from others can give me, it's an emotion that makes me smile whenever I think of you... and I don't want to fail in keeping them. I remember losing feelings like this before, when I had just made my first friend, only to have him disappear right after. He was a brother to me, and because of him I could experience the joy of being accepted. He saved my life multiple times before, but this once, when it mattered the most, I was too weak to stop him from leaving. When he did, he took those feelings with him."

Hinata listened intently, piecing together every word of his story. The boy Naruto reffered to was obviously Sasuke, and she watched his continuous effort to stay calm while he explained the memories of letting him leave.

"He left and I can't express how much I regret not stopping him. Everytime I look at you, or think of you, or have a tight feeling in my chest because I'm around you, I can't help but constantly worry that I'll lose you too." Naruto's face was plastered with distress, and he took Hinata's hands into both of his, and when she looked down, averting his attempt at eye contact, he pulled her against his chest in an awkward embrace.

"I love you, Hinata. I'm sorry if I made you doubt that, but I want to prove to you that what I say is sincere. Can you not accept that? Can you be willing to accept me again?" Naruto questioned, his voice pleading. Hinata shook her head feverishly.

"You're just pitying me. Words can be said, but never meant." she mumbled unhappily, pushing herself off Naruto's warm chest. His strong arms wrapped around her, restricting her movements to leave.

Naruto cupped Hinata's chin in one of his hand, and he gently pulled her closer to his face.

"If I were just pitying you, I wouldn't do this."

Immediately, Naruto pressed his lips against Hinata's and her cheeks reddened. Her eyes drifted closed as she felt herself being pulled into Naruto's embrace. She laced her fingers loosely into his hair, and when the two of them separated for air, Hinata smiled sweetly.

"I accept it. I accept you, and I hope you do the same for me." she whispered, jerking Naruto back down to her, "I love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto grinned, and he pressed his lips against hers once more.

A:N;/Thanks for reading! Reviews and comments are greatly apprieciated. :D