notes from teh bayo :

Oh, wow, I feel all weird. xD It's, like, nearly 1AM and here I am, writing fanfiction. xP Just thought I'd pull some simple ideas from my head and make a oneshot… dedicated to our favorite pair, Naruto and Hinata! ♥ I tried as best as I could to make them in character, so I hope it paid off. X3

Well, here goes…!

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto, kthx.

Happy Valentine's Day

( a naru.hina fiction )

♥ ♥ ♥

"I like p.e.o.p.l.e like you."

It was a nice, cool morning in February as a certain blue-haired kunoichi stood in the clearing just outside Konohagakure, staring into nothing as she stood among three wooden pillars. The weather was unusually nice that morning; it had rained yesterday, leaving a cool and misty atmosphere for the next day. Her sandals were soaked with both dew and the aftermath of the shower, but she didn't care—she figured it was worth it, to come out here and think on this special day.

"I… I hope he's having a good time," Hinata whispered to herself, running palm up and down the pillars, but careful not to attract any splinters. Since it was Valentine's Day that day, every girl and boy in Konoha had paired up with their sweethearts for the day. Sakura had grabbed Sasuke, Ino had stolen (an unwilling) Shikamaru, Tenten claimed Neji, and so on and so forth. Kiba and Akamaru didn't see the magic of the holiday and decided to sit out; and only heaven knew where Shino had disappeared to.

Kakashi had asked Ayame from the Ichiraku Ramen Shop out, and Asuma finally had the guts to ask Kurenai out…

But Hinata really wasn't thinking about any of them at the moment.

Hinata blinked as she came upon the pillar farthest to the right, and paused, letting a smile creep onto her face. She could still remember the day, a long time ago, when Naruto had caught her by herself on his way to the Chuunin exams. She was waiting for the rest of her team, since she didn't want to go along; and Naruto managed to squeak a conversation out of her.

She could vaguely remember her thanking him for being her inspiration…

Something about him saying that she had fought well…

Hinata had blushed, consequently…

And Naruto had commented on her weirdness.

That was when the Hyuuga stiffened, letting a timid blush creep onto the pale pigment of her skin.

"But you wanna know something? … I like people like you."

That was when Hinata had totally been flooded with joy. Although she doubted he had any romantic sense in his phrase, she could still feel an overwhelming of happiness and passion just upon remembering that day. Ever since then, she'd always be visiting this place, hoping that he might suddenly come again to see her… but he never did. Which was completely fine on Hinata's part; it wasn't like she could strike up a good conversation in a matter of seconds. If she were talking to her friends, it was different—but with Naruto, she had to think long and hard.

There was one time she spent a whole hour in her room trying to think of a subject to bring to mind with him; and Neji was helping her, too.

"Naruto-kun…"

She wondered to herself what he was doing right now—did he find someone to be with? Maybe he had decided to be like Kiba and Shino and sit out; or maybe he was at the Ramen Shop, like he always was.

Hinata found herself wanting him to herself at the moment, and she blushed and shook her head. 'N-No… there are much better girls than myself, especially for someone as great as Naruto-kun,' she thought, sighing. She leaned on the pillar, her forehead lying on the wood. She had wanted to ask Naruto to be her valentine that day, but she couldn't find the courage in herself to ask him right out.

That was Hyuuga Hinata: the cute, yet timid, ninja.

Sometimes she'd curse herself for being so shy; Naruto was loud and expressive, the total opposite of her. Even if she did ask him, she would probably be rejected; she knew he liked Sakura, and not her. At that thought, Hinata sighed—if there was one thing she was good at, it was being negative.

"But… as long as he's having a good time, it's fine, right?" she asked no one in particular. "I… I think I better head back to the village. It looks like it'll start raining again…"

She turned, her foot mashing into the wet dew in the grass—but paused as she saw a flash of gold in her eyesight, and an orange and black outfit in the distance. Hinata gasped inwardly—was that Naruto? "Aaah," she yelped, hopping back behind a pillar—the same one she'd hid behind two and a half years ago.

Her ears recorded the squishing sound that the footsteps made as the person neared to where she was, but stopped short in front of the group of wood. "Eh…? She's not here, either," she could hear the person—now she knew as a boy—say to himself.

'It-It's Naruto-kun…?' Hinata thought to herself. Her fingers gripped the sides of the pillar and she timidly poked her head out; and sure enough she saw the blonde-haired hero looking around for someone. She blushed as she stared at him; after the two and a half years he'd been training with Jiraiya, he came back taller, older, and cuter. His eyes slid over to her direction and she gasped, falling back and onto the wet grass. Immediately she heard the footsteps close in on her, and Naruto's figure looming over her.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata gasped, a blush spreading over her face.

The boy grinned his signature grin, "Yo, Hinata! Hey, hey, why aren't you at the village? I was looking all over for you!" He held out a hand to her to help her up, his other one held behind his back.

The blue-haired girl blinked and shyly took his hand, pulling herself to her feet. "Y-You were looking for m-me…?" she asked in surprise. Not Sakura?

"Yeah! Kiba and Shino asked me to look for you since they didn't see you around," Naruto replied, rubbing his nose with his finger.

Hniata sighed, half in disappointment. She wanted him to be looking for her because… well… because it was Valentine's Day, and…

'No… Naruto-kun would never like me like that,' she told herself mentally, bringing her head up to meet Naruto. She tried to smile and managed a nod, "Oh! I'm sorry… I-I'll go back, then. Th-thank you for looking for me…" With a pace that was a little too fast she walked past him, her head drooped and her lavender eyes hidden under her bangs.

She could feel Naruto's pretty blue eyes watch her as she made her hasty leave. She had expected him to shout a goodbye and go off to train or something, but instead, he had grabbed her hand gently and firmly, holding her in place. "You're going too fast," he simply said, walking by her side.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry…" Hinata replied, slowing down. Naruto still held on to her hand, and she didn't complain; even if she was redder than a cherry, his palm was comfortable and warm. Suddenly she looked at him, curiosity crossing her face. "S-So, Naruto-kun… did you… did you find a valentine…?" she asked, her voice small. She looked down in embarrassment.

Naruto was silent for a while, and Hinata wanted to sigh again. He had.

"Yeah, I did, but! I didn't ask her yet to be mine yet," Naruto replied finally. Hinata's heart sank—he really had found someone else.

Frowning, Hinata kept her face hidden and turned her glossy lavender eyes to the side. "I… I see."

They continued to walk, and Hinata could see the village a little farther in. It was then she wanted to walk faster so she could run home and sit on her bed by herself, wondering why she thought Naruto would want her as his valentine in the first place; but instead, Naruto paused, causing Hinata to pause as well.

"What is it, Naruto-kun…?" Hinata asked, looking back at him. He was looking at the ground, and she noticed he had his other arm behind him all the time. Letting her eyes travel over him, she turned so that she fully faced him, her head tilting to the side. "A-Are you all right, Naruto-kun…?"

"Uh, yeah," Naruto replied. He looked hesitant, and he finally looked her in the eye. "Hinata, do you have a valentine?"

Hinata blinked in surprise. "Um… no," she quietly responded.

Her confusion deepened as she saw his face light up, and he gave her a big grin. "Well, then, Hinata…" he whipped out a fresh and dewey, single red rose wrapped around the stem in bunched up plastic and tied with a golden bow. There were little droplets of water on its petals which shimmered as it was shaken. "Will you be my valentine?"

The girl wanted to faint. The grip on her hand by Naruto's hand made her refuse the temptation, however, since it was squeezing slightly from tension. That didn't hide a large blush from creeping onto her face as she stared at the rose, then at Naruto. "… I-I would love to be, Naruto-kun…" she said almost too quietly. She accepted the rose with hidden glee and utter shock, him releasing her hand so she could clutch it gently with both fingers. Holding it to her chest, she gave him a grateful smile. "Th-Thank you so much, Naruto-kun!"

So she was the valentine… the valentine he hadn't asked yet…

Hinata lovingly smiled—she couldn't believe it.

Naruto was a little flustered by the whole thing, and he blushed lightly on his tan face, his palm raising to rub his neck. Suddenly little droplets of rain fell from the sky, and he twitched as one landed on his nose. It was starting to rain again. "Heh… it's raining," he stated nonchalantly, gazing up into the sky.

"Y-Yeah…" Hinata replied, still clutching onto the rose protectively, as if it would soon fall and break. She had followed his gaze and stared up at the crying clouds above, a grateful and happy grin on her face. Her Valentine's Day wasn't a lonely one anymore.

"You cold?"

Hinata looked back to Naruto, who was looking at her while she shivered. She gave no reply and Naruto quickly took off his jacket, and walked over to her. The girl shook her head with a worried look, "No, it's o-okay, Naruto-kun… I have sleeves, and y-you'll be cold if you g-give me—"

She was cut off as the jacket was looped around her, and she was tugged towards him. Hinata blushed as Naruto's face came closer to her, and she could see a mischievious smile curl onto his lips as he whispered, "Nah, it's fine—you can warm me up." And with that he pulled the space in between them closed, and he gingerly brushed his lips over her's.

Immediately a wave of warmth enveloped Hinata, her lavender eyes widening. Her blush was slow to react at the sudden move, and she remained stiff in shock as he pulled away with a victorious grin. Naruto had kept his lips hovering over her ear, and she could practically hear him smiling. "Hey, hey, guess what? Kiba and Shino didn't tell me to look for you," he chuckled. "And you wanna know something else?"

"Wh-Wh-What?"

"I like people like you," Naruto replied, "they're so… weird."

Hinata could blush no more than she already was as she was pulled into a comfortable embrace, her face burying into the fabric of Naruto's shirt.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Hinata-chan."

Whoooo! Excuse me. xD I wanted to write some cute fluff for Valentine's Day. n x n Hope you guys like it, and I hope nobody was out of character… at least, I hope not Hinata. I had to tweak Naruto a bit to make him do what I wanted. Ha ha. xP

But anyways, yeah—that was my precious Valentine's Day oneshot. …Done at 1AM, and going on 'til 2. xD

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

-- Bayo-Bayo, signing out