The Perfect Date, a naruto fanfic

This fic was done in a rush because I wanted to have it out for Valentine's Day. I'm a day late, I know, but it's better than nothing. I'm a bit worried that I've written Naruto wrong, but that's something I'm always worried about. I just hope I didn't overdid this. I'm hard on these two!

And now, our regular scheduled fic!

Title: The Perfect Date
Genre: Romance
Timeline: Post Manga
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Naruto has got the perfect date planned for Hinata. Nothing can go wrong, can it?
Pairings: NaruHina
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Kishimoto lays claim to all the characters that appear in this fic. I'm making no money off this. I'm still a very poor Naruto fan trying to save my way to yet another volume in this great series (or a box set! XD).
Author's Note: Contains hints of SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaTema and SaiIno.

Uzumaki Naruto looked into his mirror, making last minute checkups before he left his apartment. He checked them off his fingers one by one. "Brushed teeth, combed hair, washed face, yep!" He made a fist and grinned. "Ready for my date!"

Walking back into his bedroom, he plucked his orange and black jacket off his bed and put it on. The calendar on the wall cheerfully announcing the day as Valentine's Day. And it was a very special day for Naruto as well. It would be his first date with his new girlfriend, Hyuuga Hinata.

Well, he guessed they were not officially girlfriend and boyfriend. After this date, it would be official. At least, that was what Naruto thought. He was not an expert on romance by any means.

However, with this date, he had planned carefully. First, he and Hinata would go to a festival located on one end of the village, then they would go to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner and finally, watch the stars atop Hokage Mountain until time to go home. All and all, the perfect date.

He checked his pockets to make sure he had the right amount of money. He had saved a portion of his ninja salary for a month in order to pay for his date. Iruka had also chipped in. Actually, it had been Iruka who had helped him plan the entire date in the first place after he met with the other guys and hearing what they were planning for Valentine's Day (Sai taking Ino to the festival, Neji buying some food and walking with Tenten in the park, Sasuke taking Sakura to a restaurant, Shikamaru…well, he sent Temari a card since she was all the way in Suna), Naruto had realized maybe treating Hinata to just Ichiraku Ramen was not the right type of date. So he bolted to Iruka for help and got 'the perfect date.'

Iruka had also bought him a new jacket for the date, same colors, but not as ragged from all the ninja missions he had undergone. He owed his old teacher a lot for this.

I really hope this goes well, nothing can go wrong, can it? Then Naruto laughed. "Ha! What am I saying? Of course, it'll go well!" Smirking to himself, he put his money away, picked up the four roses and a stuffed frog he had picked up for Hinata and left his apartment.

"Sai! Over here! You're got to get me one of those bears!"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see Ino drag Sai over to one of the gaming booths. He figured he would meet the two of them at the festival, but from the looks of it, he guessed the festival was not Sai's original idea. Heh, he thought, grinning, I guess it makes sense. Sai doesn't exactly get romantic stuff, does he?

Turning away from those two, Naruto gave Hinata his undivided attention. She was wearing a purple dress that went down to her knees and long silky sleeves. Her dark bluish hair was down, not styled in anyway. She had loved the flowers and the frog and so far, enjoying the festival.

Naruto smiled. So far, so good.

The two of them edged their way through the crowd, trying to find something to do. Hinata spotted something and pulled on Naruto's sleeve. "Oh, Naruto-kun?"

He turned to the direction Hinata was looking in and promptly frowned. It was a fishing game. The person playing uses a very thin net to try and catch a fish. The last time he had tried one of those, he failed miserably. Of course, he was a bit older now; perhaps he had a better chance of getting one for Hinata.

She glanced at him, her cheeks a bit red. "Naruto-kun, could we…ano I really want to win a fish…"

He blinked, confused. Was he not supposed to do the fishing? Ino and Sai came to mind, Ino wanting Sai to win a bear for her. Was that not how it worked? But, on the other hand, I can't really tell Hinata no, can I? So he smiled and started toward the fishing booth. "Sure thing, Hinata!"

Once there, it became clear to Naruto that Hinata was much better at this than he was. She was able to hold the fish longer before the net broke. "I couldn't get a fish the last time I tried this. How do you do that?" he asked, scratching his cheek while staring at the orange and yellow striped fish she had just caught.

The vender smirked, which put an annoyed look on Naruto's face. However, Hinata merely smiled as her newly caught fish was put in a small bag filled with water. "Well, Naruto-kun, it's really a matter of patience."

"Patience, huh?" He thought back to how Kakashi always lectured him on how impatient he was. While he was more patient than he had as a fresh genin, he still had a knack of rashness in him; he just 'planned' it better than before.

Hinata held up her fish with a smile on her face. "Ano…Like the fish…Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grinned, all thoughts of his previous effort at fish catching vanishing. "Yeah! Nice colors, too!"

Hinata blushed slightly, however, before they could continue a loud voice, accompanied by a loud bark, sliced through the air. "Akamaru! Slow down!"

The two of them turned around to see Kiba riding Akamaru through the festival. The large white dog tried to stop, however, the momentum kept pushing the two forward. "Hey!" shouted the vender, but it was too late, Akamaru and Kiba slid through the fishing stall, causing the fishing tank to overturn and, while Naruto tried to cover Hinata, splash water and fish onto the couple.

"Stupid!" The vender tried to hit Kiba on the head with a paper fan, but he moved to the side, a cross look on his face.

"Hey! I tried to stop; I didn't mean to hit your stand!" Kiba got up quickly and then noticed who was in front of him, his face turning white as he realized what he had done. "Hinata? Naruto?? Whoa, are you guys okay?"

Hinata nodded, still holding her fish. Her shoes and bottom part of her dress were wet at the bottom while Naruto, on the other hand, had the bottom of his pants were soaked.

The two got up just as Ino and Sai arrived (Ino had a new bear in her hands). "Oh, Naruto, Hinata? Are you two okay?" she asked.

"We're fine, Ino-san," responded Hinata. Naruto merely nodded, trying to fight his disillusionment at the mishap. "Oh, sir?" Hinata walked over to the vender who had promptly grabbed Kiba by the collar on the verge to yell at him and possibly make him clean up the mess. "We'll help you clean up."

The vender looked surprised. Ino immediately nodded and pulled Sai to the ground. "We'll help, too."

As the small group began to pick up the floundering fish and get water for them, Naruto shrugged away his disappointment, trying not to think of this perfect date ruined. It's one accident. No big deal. This isn't enough to ruin things.

Hinata was laughing. Naruto felt glad. The entire incident at the fishing booth semi-forgotten, their outfits dry and the only evidence of it remained in the little orange and yellow fish Hinata won. Now they were at Ichiraku Ramen waiting to be served. Naruto had just finished telling Hinata about his latest mission, which involved him and Sasuke fighting over who properly beat the missing-nin they ran into. Of course, Naruto exaggerated some parts (most of which included Sasuke), but it was mostly to make Hinata smile and he knew she would not tell anyone.

"And that's when I really gave it to him, trust me, he was aski…Oh!"

"Here you go! Enjoy!" Ayame put the bowls of ramen in front of them. Both of them quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks, said thanks for the meal and started to eat.

Not long after they started, they overheard someone coming their way. "I can't believe it. I mean, I believed you when you said you saved that woman, but she just so happens to be a terrific cook on top of that? That's a bit much…"

Naruto looked up from his meal, his chopsticks still in his mouth. Shikamaru and Chouji were walking down the road, Chouji carrying a pot of some sorts. Hinata smiled and waved. "Oh, hello, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun. Where are you coming from?"

"Hey! Naruto, Hinata!" Chouji grinned as they made his way to where the two were sitting. "Remember that woman I rescued on my last mission?" He held up the pot after Naruto nodded and Hinata waited for an answer. "Well, she asked me to come over and gave me this huge pot of homemade stew! I can't wait to get home and eat it. I tasted some at her house and it was great!"

Shikamaru sighed, kind of looking tired. "I just can't believe she's a cook, of all the people for him to rescue." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess that's life for you."

"That's great, Chouji-kun," said Hinata, smiling.

Naruto leaned over a bit, staring at the pot with some interest. "What kind of stew is it?" he asked.

"Vegetable, but you can barely taste them," he added quickly when Naruto's face become disgusted. "Do you want to taste it, Naruto?"

Chouji took off the lid as he finished, but Naruto shook his head vehemently and stuck some life-saving ramen noodles in his month. "No thanks. I'll stick to my ramen."

Just as Chouji moved to put the lid back on his pot, someone went running past and bumped into him from behind. The pot slipped from his hands and, before Naruto and Hinata knew it, covered them in hot vegetable stew. Immediately, Naruto and Hinata screamed as the scorching brew drenched their clothes and, unfortunately, their skin. Ayame went for the aid kit while Teuchi threw towels to Shikamaru and Chouji and they tried to wipe off without further hurting the two.

"You two are lucky I was nearby," said Shizune as she healed their burns. Naruto could not believe their luck, either, but he saw it in an entirely different way. Two accidents? He (and Iruka) had planned this date in detail and he thought there was no way he could mess things up, but yet so far two accidents had happened. Maybe if Naruto were not hoping to make this first date perfect, he would not have cared so much, but…well, this was not the perfect night he had hoped.

No! he thought stubbornly. No way I'm giving up! I said Hinata would have the perfect date and she will. Accidents or no accidents!

Chouji was sitting next to him, staring at his empty pot with remorse. "I'm sorry, Naruto, Hinata. I wish I hadn't taken the lid off. You might have not gotten as burned if I hadn't."

However, Hinata leaned over and gave him an encouraging smile, but winced as the burns stung her. "It's okay, really."

"Yeah," added Naruto, shrugging his shoulders. "It was an accident. Don't worry about it."

"Well," injected Shizune as she finished up healing them, "accident or not, I would be happier if the two of you checked yourself out at the hospital or at least go home and take a short cool bath. You're not in danger anymore, but still…"

But Naruto shook his head; ignoring the pain it caused his neck. "No way! We've got one more thing to do tonight and we're going to do it!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Are you sure about that? I mean, Shizune is right, you know. What else do you plan to do?"

Naruto glanced over at Hokage Mountain with a smile on his face, thinking of the rest of the night where he and Hinata would just lay back and watch the stars. "Just a bit of stargazing, nothing too bad."

Shizune frowned, clearly not happy with the idea, but then sighed. "I guess that isn't too bad. As long as you do exactly what I told you to do afterward, got it?"

Naruto nodded while Hinata bowed her head slightly. Despite the troubling feelings bubbling in his stomach, Naruto looked toward the Hokage faces with hope. Nothing was going to stop them now!

"Ano? Naruto-kun?"

Naruto glanced over at Hinata, who had a worried look on her face. They were on top the head of the Fourth Hokage. Having finished their ramen and making sure their outfits were clean (but the stench of stew remained), they left to do some stargazing. Hinata had left her fish with Ayame for safekeeping, planning on picking it up when they started back. However, she had been pretty quiet on their way up. "Are you okay? The burns aren't hurting you, are they?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, I…I'm fine, it's just…" She learned onto his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. "I've really been enjoying myself, but…don't you think…hmm…" She paused, an uncomfortable look on her face as she stared down at the rock. "This is a bit much, isn't it?"

Naruto gazed at her, his blue eyes tingling with curiosity, wondering what she meant. She had said she liked their date so that could not be it. At his stare, Hinata appeared even more uncomfortable (which, of course, only heightened Naruto's curiosity further), but explained in a low whispered he had to strain to hear. "It's just…all this is a bit much…and you don't always have a lot of…money…"

The last word he could barely hear, however, Naruto finally got it. In response, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, smiling down on her without a hint of worry in his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. I'll be okay; I saved a lot to take you out tonight. I'll be fine."

Hinata smiled slightly in response, but her unease disappeared from her face. The two of them once again looked up to the sky and resumed stargazing for the remainder of their date. That is, until…

"What was that?" asked Hinata, turning around to the road that led up to the Hokage faces.

Naruto shrugged, but was sure he heard something, too. "Let's go check," he said. Standing up, the two of them made their way back to the path and got to the balcony overlooking it just in time to see Rock Lee walking backwards on his hands.

"Lee-san?"

Lee stopped, falling down to the ground and turning around to gaze up the couple. "Naruto-kun, Hinata-san. What are you doing up here?"

"Stargazing," replied Naruto. "What are you doing?"

Lee put his hand where his heart was and looked down at the ground, tears running down his face. "I told myself that I needed to have a date for Valentine's Day, but I've failed miserable. So to make up for my failure, I will walk around Konoha 500 times on my hands!"

The two stared at Lee in surprise. "Ano…Lee-san? You do know you're not the only one without a date tonight," pointed out Hinata.

"Yes, I know, but I made a promise and I must keep it. You understand that, don't you, Naruto-kun?"

The blond scratched his cheek in thought. "Well, yeah, I just didn't think you would make a promise like that, but…" He smiled. "I don't think that matters in the end."

"Right." Nodding, Lee jumped onto his hands again and started walking again, but before he got too far slipped and fell into a pile of mud located below the balcony. Naruto and Hinata gasped and went down the stairs to make sure Lee was all right, but once there, they too slipped; Hinata's feet went flying from underneath him, landing her flat on her backside. Naruto fell forward, landing him face first in the mud.

Lee crawled over to where the two laid. "Oh! Naruto-kun! Hinata-san! Are you two okay?"

Naruto wished he could say he was fine, but he felt terrible. Three accidents. Even in his mind, that was too much. First the fishing tank, which had not been bad at all, just an annoying incident. Then the stew (that had been a genuine disaster, but he had tried not to let it get to him) and now this. It seemed that this date he had planned was meant to go horribly wrong from the start, no matter how optimistic he stayed.

This perfect date…was not perfect at all.

"I can't BELIEVE you all ruined Hinata's date!!" screamed Ino, glaring at a trembling Chouji and Lee and a very disgruntled Kiba.

"It's not like I planned it!" retorted Kiba. "I said I was sorry, too."

Chouji nodded frantically while Lee smiled apologetically, holding his hands in front of him in hopes of pacifying her. "Really, Kiba's right. We didn't mean for those things to happen. If we knew they were coming, we would have prevented them."

Behind a furious Ino stood Sakura, who did not look as pleased as Ino at her teammate's misfortune, but at least she was not biting people's heads off in the process. Sasuke stood next to her, not displaying what he thought of the situation. Neji wore the same blank expression as Sasuke while Tenten watched Naruto escort Hinata home. Shikamaru was next to Ino, sighing and muttering how troublesome the whole night had become (he was supposed to help calm her down, but one glare from her and he had backed down). Shino stood between Sasuke and Neji, his eyes turned toward his teammate as he had earlier expressed worry over her when they had met up in the village on her way home.

Sai, on the other hand, stayed out of the way, watching the entire fight with some interest. Sakura was sure he was just curious over the wide range of emotions everyone was expressing.

"Ah, I give up," sighed Shikamaru. He backed away and rested against the wall next to Sasuke while Ino kept chastising Kiba, Chouji and Lee. "She's not going to let up anytime soon."

"I don't entirely blame her," said Sakura, her face irritated, "but I agree that they don't need to be yelled at. They were accidents, after all, but we're also not going to calm Ino down anytime soon."

Neji glanced over where Naruto and Hinata in front of the Hyuuga compound. "You took Sakura to a restaurant, correct, Sasuke?"

The raven haired Uchiha nodded. "I figured it was Valentine's Day, once a year. And she's happy with what I do the rest of the year so it couldn't hurt."

"Hmm, perhaps I should make sure next year Naruto takes Hinata to a more controlled environment?"

Sai, on the stone wall opposite of everyone else, tilted his head to the side. "Is that such a good idea? After what happened tonight, wouldn't that be dangerous to both Naruto and Hinata?"

As if on cue, everyone glared at Sai, except Ino who waved her hands dismissively. "Of course not, Sai, after all, none of this was Naruto's fault! For once." said Ino and then turned back and proceeding to go into Kiba, Chouji and Lee again.

Naruto stood outside the Hyuuga compound, visibly downcast over the night. The mud had remained on them and their outfits this time as when they had arrived at Ichiraku for Hinata's fish, most of it had dried. After that, they had walked home, meeting their friends on the way. Lee had explained most of what had happened on the mountain (as Shikamaru at Ichiraku and Kiba at the festival).

This was our first date, too. I can't believe it's ruined. Hinata must hate this. He looked up at her, wondering what she thought. To his surprise, she was smiling!

Hinata took his hand, caressing it gently. "Ano…Naruto-kun, I really had a fun time tonight."

He blinked, unable to actually comprehend what she meant. Was she just being nice about the whole night or…or did she actually mean it? "Hinata?" he said, trying to figure out what to say to express how badly he felt over what happened. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry this night…this night wasn't perfect." He looked away, not able to look at her anymore. "You deserved a perfect date."

"But…but Naruto-kun…I did." This time, Naruto's eyes widened, unable to hide his surprise. This night, this night that had split water, split stew and tripping in mud, this night was…perfect?

"Perfect??" said Ino, astounded. She looked to Sakura for an explanation. "How could she think tonight was perfect?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. The others continued to watch in fascination (or in Sasuke and Shikamaru's place, just watching while Neji merely observed).

"Perfect?" repeated Naruto. He was confused. How was tonight perfect? How? "Hinata? I don't understand. How was it perfect? I mean, we had water split on us, had to get healed by Shizune due to being burned by stew and tripped in mud. How was tonight perfect?"

She smiled, which only served to confused him more. "It was perfect because…because I was with you, Naruto-kun." She leaned against his chest, her face rubbing against some dry mud on his jacket. "I don't need things to be some idealized version of perfect, just by being with you are things just how I want them."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "So the accidents didn't affect how much you enjoyed our date? At all?"

She shook her head. "I wish they hadn't happened, of course, but…as long as I was with you…I would…" Standing straight, she looked up at him with a gentle smile, but with a slight blush across her cheeks. "I would love every minute we're together."

And with that, Hinata kissed a stunned Naruto on the cheek, whispered she loved him and then, out loud, said good night and entered the compound.

Naruto held his cheek, still stunned over what Hinata had said, but then he smiled (while his friends continued to gawk from their position watching the whole affair) and finally laughed. "Well, I guess I did plan the perfect Valentine's Day date, after all!"

And with that, he turned around and with his hands behind his head, started his walk home.

The End

I think I might have overdone it on the stew part. Uh, yeah, but at least I got Shizune in there! Medic Ninja to the rescue! XD What is with me and my obsession with the rest of the Konoha 12 spying on NaruHina? I like it for some reason (written another fic on that, but it needs to be rewritten). I suppose, Naruto and Hinata would be a bit unconventional and their reactions to that would be funny.

Thank you for reading - NessaMoon