Naruto was eating at Ichiraku with Shikamaru, the lazy genius was complaining about Ino. They'd gotten together a little over two months ago, and it was clear she was driving Shikamaru nuts.

"She's such a pain sometimes, always making me go with her to things. I'm just minding my own business and she comes up to me saying, Shikamaru do this, Shikamaru do that."

Naruto not being sure what to say, hell, he probably wouldn't even be here if he didn't like ramen so much, simply said this,"Sounds rough..."

Shikamaru looked up at the ceiling of the ramen stand,"You have no idea. You know, you're lucky Naruto, you have a girl fawning over you that would faint if you asked her to do something for you."

Naruto looked surprised,"Wha...What do you mean?" He stuttered.

Shikamaru sighed, he was still as oblivious as ever. He put money on the table to pay for his ramen, then got up and left.

"Hey Shikamaru, what did you mean?" Naruto shouted after him.

Shikamaru said nothing, just stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head slightly. Sometimes it was fun to hang around that idiot, but he was, well, an idiot.

Naruto sighed, what Shikamaru had said was bugging him, what did he mean by a girl fainting over him talking to her. The only girl that had ever really fainted around him was Hinata, but she didn't like him. They were just friends, nothing more. Although...she was rather cute.

He shook his head, why was he thinking about that, it was weird and she only liked him as a friend...he thought.

Unable and not willing to think about that anymore, Naruto finished the bowl of ramen he was on, then placed money on the table. He got up and started walking toward his apartment, it was about time to go to sleep anyway.

That night, all his dreams involved Hinata in some way, reliving memories of him with her in vivid, almost unrealisted clarity.

(...)

When he woke up the next morning, his thoughts were still focused on the shy kunoichi from team 8. Naruto decided that he wasn't going to stop thinking about it until he asked Hinata himself. He had no idea how she'd react, but was ready for anything from a slap across the face, to her confessing her love to him. Although he figured that the slap across the face was ten times more likely to happen than her confessing her love.

Naruto looked at a clock and saw that it was about 11 am. Hinata was most likely at the training grounds...training. He ran to the door, put his shoes on, then raced outside to the training grounds.

(...)

When he arrived, he saw Hinata was traing with her Byakugan on a tree trunk.

He ran up to her,"Hey, Hinata!" He yelled.

She looked up, partially startled,"Na...Naruto-kun."

"Hinata, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Wha-what is it, Na-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered.

"Well, you see, I was hanging out with Shikamaru last night, and he said something that made me start thinking." Naruto started.

Hinata nodded, wondering where all this was going.

"He said that I was lucky because I have a girl that would faint if I asked her to do something."

Hinata could feel her cheeks turning red, seriously thinking about who he meant.

"And, when I thought of fainting, I though of you..."

Her cheeks started turning a brighter shade of red.

"So...I was wondering if...I was wondering if you 'liked' me."

She knew that her entire face was red, she opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to form words. Instead, she just nodded at him, hoping to get the message across. As she nodded, she noticed a look of relief wash over his face - did he like her too!?

"Well, I like you too, Hinata," Naruto said, his face turning a shade of red that rivaled Hinata's.

They just stared awkwardly at each other for a few seconds,"So...um...I was thinking...that you might like to go out for ramen with me..." Naruto said, unsure about what he was doing.

Hinata had tuned out at the words, go out, her thoughts consisted of, Oh my god, oh my god, Naruto likes me, oh my god, since when? Oh my god, oh my god.

She noticed Naruto staring at her expectantly,"O...of course," She stuttered.

"Okay," said Naruto smiling,"I'll come pick you up at your house at 7!"

"O...o...kay," Hinata said, but her crush was already gone.

(...)

It was about five o'clock, and Hinata was in her bedroom, wondering what she was going to wear. She wanted everything to be perfect, this was a surreal experience that she was exstacic about. Eventually, she settled on a loose gray blouse, and skinny jeans. She was going to wear white tennishoes, but she wouldn't put those on until she left.

She walked over to the vanity that was in the corner of her room, and looked at herself in it. She ran a brush through her long, navy blue hair, and then deciding that she looked to plain, put a little bit of lip gloss on. She hoped that she would impress Naruto enough that he'd want to go on another date with her after tonight.

She looked at her clock, it said it was 6:30 - just another half an hour to go.

(...)

It was now 6:45, and Naruto was walking over to Hinata's. He saw that Neji was training in the courtyard.

"Naruto," Neji said, notcing him,"What are you doing here?"

"I...I...Um, I came to pick up Hinata."Naruto said, it was somewhat awkward saying that to Neji, and he hadn't even asked her father if she could date him.

Surprisingly enough, Neji's face broke out in a grin,"So, you finally noticed that she liked you."

Naruto nodded, a little freaked out, he'd never seen Neji actually smile, it was weird.

"Oh, and don't worry about Hiashi-sama, he knows that Hinata likes you, and he could hardly refuse the Hero of the Hidden Leaf."

Naruto flushed at the use of his unofficial title,"Oh, okay Neji...thanks."

With that, Naruto continued walking toward the door. He raised his hand up and knocked on it. Hinata's father opened it.

"Naruto," he said,"what do you need?"

"Um...I was...I was wondering if I could take Hinata out on a date," Naruto stammered.

Hiashi smiled at hime, another unexpected thing,"Of course Naruto..."

After that, he started launching into a speach of everything that he expected of Naruto.

(...)

It was 7:00 now, and Hinata could hear her father talking to someone. She assumed it was Naruto, as it was now time for him to be there. She made her way down the stairs, and to the vestibule of the house. She saw that her father was talking to Naruto, and he was nodding along, probably having lost interest in what he was saying long ago. As quietly as she could, Hinata put on her shoes, and walked up next to her father.

"Oh Hinata," Her father said, "We were just talking about you."

"Are you ready to go, Hinata?" Naruto asked, smiling.

Hinata nodded, her cheeks flushed. She walked out and stood next to Naruto.

"Well, goodbye you two, have fun," Hiashi told them,"And remember Naruto, have her home by 10."

Naruto nodded,"Okay, sir!"

Then, Naruto and Hinata started walking into town. Along the way, they gave idle chatter, both not being sure what to talk about. When they got to Ichiraku, (where else would they go for ramen?) they started getting into a more prominent conversation. With Naruto telling stories about what happened to him on missions after which, Hinata would tell some stories of her own.

(...)

After they were done eating, it was a little before 9.

"Well, we still have an hour," Naruto stated,"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know..." Hinata said, then her eyes lit up with an idea,"How about going on a walk!"

Naruto nodded,"Okay, sounds fun!"

With that, the pair got up, paid for their ramen, and started walking in the direction of the training grounds. There were quite a few small fields and hills around them, so it was perfect for a moonlit walk.

"Wow!" Hinata exclaimed as they entered a small field,"There's a full moon tonight."

Naruto looked up at the sky,"Yeah," he said,"It looks beautiful...like someone that I know." Naruto looked at Hinata whom was walking beside him.

She blushed and looked down, smiling. After a few seconds though, she wrapped her arms around herself,"Wow, it's cold out, I wish I'd brought a jacket."

Then, Naruto had an idea. He draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She was blushing like crazy, but didn't complain. Then, feeling bold, Hinata tilted her head so it was resting on his shoulder.

(...)

They had been walking for about a half an hour, and now they were sitting underneath a tall willow tree. Naruto's arm was still around her, and her head was still on his shoulder. They were watching the stars.

Hinata couldn't help feel that this was a dream, how did this even happen, before today, she'd been fainting a stuttering around him, now, she was sitting right next to him, the entire experience was surreal and amazing.

Then, suddenly, she noticed that Naruto was staring at her. She looked up at him, about to ask him what he wanted, but then unexpectedly, he leaned down and kissed her, it wasn't just a kiss on the cheek or the forehead, it was a full-blown kiss on the lips. At first, she didn't kiss back because she hadn't been expecting it, but she gradually relaxed into it.

All too soon, Naruto pulled away from the kiss. They looked into each other's eyes, then, being bold again, Hinata leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. He copied her, placing his arms around her small frame. Hinata knew that she was blushing, but not as much as she would have been imagining it before today.

After a few minutes, Naruto released her from his side of the hug,"Well, I suppose that we should get you home."

"Do we have to?" Hinata wined, not wanting to leave this moment.

Naruto laughed,"Yeah, I don't want to think about what your father will do to me if I bring you home late."

Hinata laughed at that, she knew how protective her father could be of her, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he'd threatened Naruto about getting her home on time.

"Okay," she agreed.

Both of them then got up. This time instead of walking with his arm around her, they just simply held hands. They got to the gate that led to the entrance to Hinata's house. He hugged her one last time.

"I...I... love you, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered to him.

Naruto smiled, then cupped her face in his hands, he brought his face down to hers, she could tell that he was blushing, and she knew that she was blushing as well. Then, he kissed her for the second time that night.

He pulled away,"I love you too Hinata," was all he said before walking away toward his house.