(A/N: This fic is rated T for language, alcohol use, and adult situations. I do not own Naruto in any way. I'll be posting a more mature, M version with lemons later

Well, I own volume 30 but that's it.

Setting: This is a two-shot (maybe 3) Naruto Christmas story. Naruto has finally gotten what he thought he always wanted: the esteemed position of Hokage. But something is missing in his life; a void that he thought would be filled by fame or adulation. Set approximately around the time where Naruto is 20, [he became Hokage at age 17].

PS: Hinata never made her confession in my timeline, and Naruto has killed all members of Akatsuki. Kabuto/Orochimaru is still out there, though.

Sorry I haven't updated Demon Brothers of Konoha yet, I just wanted to do this for Christmas. )

12/21/2009

Chapter 1: December 24

Streets of Konoha, 8:00

The Rokudaime Hokage was alone, again. He always was this time of the year. Over the years, most of his friends had drifted away from him as they found out what he carried inside of him. It was nothing so obvious, of course; their words were always inconvertibly polite ("We wouldn't dare to presume to disrupt Hokage-sama's busy schedule."). As shinobi they were still absolutely loyal to him and Konoha. But slowly, gradually, all of his one-time friends, except for a few, cut him out of their social lives.

Surprisingly, only the members of Team 8 still supported him. Kiba, although he wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of his friend having the most powerful demon in existence sealed in his gut, still trusted Naruto implicitly. Kiba considered Naruto to be an "honorary packmate", in his own words. He knew he could always trust Naruto to be loyal to his friends; and to an Inuzuka loyalty was the most important measure of a person…or animal. And if anyone had the willpower to keep the Kyuubi under control, it was Naruto.

Shino also understood and sympathized with Naruto, albeit in a different way. Almost everyone in the village, even other shinobi, was disgusted with the fact that the Aburame hosted parasitic insects within their own bodies. Not counting Shino's own teammates, family, and sensei, Naruto was the first to accept the Aburame clan heir as a friend. Shino felt that they were actually very similar, they were both originally feared and even hated for the things they had within them.

And then there was Hinata. She couldn't care less if Naruto had a demonic soul sealed in him. She'd seen plenty of people who were monsters, yet were completely human, if not humane. Sadly, the majority of main branch Hyuga's were on that list. Over the years, they had chosen Hanabi to be clan heir. If a certain blonde knucklehead hadn't forced them to abolish the Caged Bird Seal, removed the seal off all branch members, and slowly and messily killed several prominent members who tried to oppose him, the Hyuga council just might have sealed Hinata as well. But they would comply, the threat of retribution keeping them in line for life. Hinata had been quite busy the last few years helping her younger sister run the clan and keeping the former primary family members and former branch families from killing each other.

As Hokage, Naruto was often called on to intervene in disputes. Such occasions usually gave the blonde a massive headache, but there was a positive side to it. Naruto got to see Hinata. As the years have passed, Naruto found himself increasingly attracted to the girl, no, young woman now. He was rather confused, honestly. He used to think that he liked Sakura, but in retrospect it was less than an infantile crush, it was just plain stupid.

Speaking of Sakura, she had pretty much avoided him at all cost. She even resigned as a ninja, choosing to become a civilian rather than have to see him. Ironically, Tsunade had considered her to have major potential as a medical ninja, but Sakura had seemed to develop a weak stomach ever since Naruto brought Sasuke back beaten and bruised. Instead, Ino was now Tsunade's main successor. She had gotten over her fangirlish attitude quite a while back and had improved greatly in all areas of ninja life. She and Choji were even going steady now.

It was actually after Naruto became Hokage that he was able to fulfill the promise he had once made to Sakura. On the way home after completing a peace treaty with Iwagakure, he had found Sasuke wandering aimlessly about, now that his one goal in life, killing Itachi, was impossible. So Naruto took it upon himself to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Sasuke had not gone willingly and Naruto was forced to make him come back, although Naruto thought the fight with Itachi was more difficult. Naruto was also able to remove the Curse Mark from Sasuke while he was unconscious. Since then, Naruto had brought Sasuke back to the Leaf Village, where he did small-time ninja missions. It turned out that without the Curse Mark, Sasuke actually had no more power than a low to mid level chunin ninja. As it was, Sasuke finally found something he had in common with Sakura: a desire to never see Naruto again. Together, the last two members of Team 7 spent their days trying to rebuild the Uchiha clan, if you know what I mean.

Now let us see a cold, Christmas Eve, a tale of pain and joy, of hatred and love, that begins and ends with a cup of hot chocolate.

The tall, blonde man finished his seventh bottle of sake that night. He tilted the bottle upside down, only a single drop coming out of the neck of the bottle. He squinted his cerulean eyes and snorted, throwing the bottle off to the side. In the silence of the night, he could hear it shatter on the cold ground. Whatever. He'd go get a new one.

I'm all alone.

Alone.

Alone.

He stumbled off, only slightly buzzed. Because of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, his body metabolized alcohol at a quick rate, making it hard for him to really get drunk. I need more he thought. He needed to forget himself, drown his sorrows, to relax in the blissful nothingness of unconsciousness.

Alone, Naruto staggered off in search of liquid oblivion.

Inuzuka Compound, 10:30

"That was a great party, Kiba!" Said Hinata

"Thanks Hinata! Have a great Chistmas tomorrow! Oh, I almost forgot, don't forget to send us the pictures!" Said Kiba, handing her a video camera, which happened to be Hinata's early Chistmas gift.

With a final wave and goodbye, Hinata Hyuga accepted the gift and began to walk home.

After several minutes of walking, she saw a figure dressed in a familiar robe and hat slumped on a bench. She ran over to him. "Na… Hokage-sama? Hokage-sama, are you okay?"

The Rokudaime Hokage opened his unfocused eyes. "Screeew that. Tonight I'm just Naruto. Don't'chu gimme any o' that respectful crap… who you again?"

"It's me, Hinata, Hinata Hyuga."

"Uhhhhhh, oh, right, yeah. Hinata-chan, you wanna know why I became Hokaaaaaage?" Naruto asked, slurring his words slightly. "Naaaaah, course you don't. No one gives a damn."

"Ano… I would like to know why…" Hinata said quietly. Over the years, her stutter had all but disappeared, and she was much more comfortable around people now.

The alcohol magnifying his expressions, Naruto put on a comically surprised face. "Ya do? Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, that's right. You were always nice to me, even when we were kids… When I was a child, I had no friends and everyone treated me like crap. I thought that if I became a ninja, become the Hokage, people would like me and respect me." Naruto snorted heavily. "That was a crock pot full of shit. I'm Hokage now… and I have nothing. People praise me for my power, not for the person I am. Everyone likes me, but no one is my friend. Everyone knows me, but no one knows who I am."

Hinata wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort Naruto, but she was still too shy.

Naruto tried to stand up and promptly fell due to the alcohol in his blood rushing to his brain. After several unsuccessful tries, he finally managed to stand up. The Rokudaime pulled another bottle out of his robes and began to drink from it.

"Ano, Naruto I don't think……… how much have you drank tonight?"

Naruto squinted his eyes as he tried to remember the exact number. "I dunno… I think I lost track after twenty… less than twenty-five though."

"Kami, Naruto-kun, you should be dead!" Hinata gasped.

"Yeah, thanks Hinata. I had hoped that you, of all people, would understand—"

Hinata quickly cut him off. "I didn't mean it like that, Naruto-kun. I mean… that much alcohol… you shouldn't be able to talk, let alone stand. A-At, at least let me walk you home."

What did he mean, he hoped I would understand? Does he have… feelings for me? Do I even still have feelings for him?

Honestly, Hinata didn't even know what she felt. She could really care less about the whole Kyuubi situation, but after having unrequited feelings for— what, was it almost ten years? – she didn't really know if she saw Naruto in a romantic light still.

Naruto nodded and began to walk in the wrong direction. Fortunately, he only took about two steps before he fell down again. Hinata sighed at the blonde knucklehead's antics. She helped the esteemed Hokage stand up and draped one arm over her shoulders. If any bystanders were watching, it would look quite amusing as Naruto was almost six inches taller than her, at 6'1".

Together, they walked towards his family compound. Upon becoming Hokage, Naruto had decided to reveal his true parentage. Of course, he had trouble convincing everybody… until he did what no one since the death of the Yondaime Hokage had been able to do: he was able to enter the Namikaze Estates. Being a genius in Fuinjutsu (sealing techniques), Minato Namikaze had erected seals around his family residence so that only a Namikaze could get in, with a few necessary caveats. Those who tried to force their way in met unpleasant fates. The seals made the area impermeable even to shushin, although those with approved chakra signatures could enter. Naruto lived in a giant compound… all by himself.

They approached the gates of the Namikaze Mansion after several minutes of walking. In reality, Naruto's body had gotten rid of the alcohol in his system by now, but he was leaning on Hinata because she felt so……good. Not that he admitted it to himself, he didn't think about it that way. They got to the walled compound and approached the massive doors. A large, intricate seal on the doors began to glow, and Naruto reached out and traced eight seals in a seemingly random order. The doors slowly creaked open, but the doorframe still glowed with an unearthly light.

"Mmm. Hinata, don't let go of me." As soon as he said it, Naruto blushed at how the words sounded. "The seal is designed to kill anyone other than a Namikaze, unless said person is in physical contact with a Namikaze." He added, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

Hinata nodded, her blush in full effect. She could not now deny to herself that she still had a crush on Naruto… but the feeling was different than from when she was young. If anything, her feelings for him seemed more……serious, and more… passionate. It felt odd, for her to have such strong feelings when she didn't know if Naruto felt the same way. Hell, for all she knew he could still be in love with Sakura!

Trying to distract herself from the possibility of such an uncontrollable death, Hinata asked, "Isn't that a little severe?" shifting her weight between her feet.

"Nah, the first layer of protection was the door. You fail to get past that and it only releases a C-to-B-rank katon (fire release). Just enough to give someone, oh, I'm not sure… maybe second or third degree burns? The second layer is an A-rank raiton (lightning release), which produces enough electricity to stop someone's heart." His voice gained a tinge of pride. "Actually I added that one. To stop the first layer, someone'd probably have to use a suiton (water release), so I figured that using a lightning technique would be sure to hit them with all the water they just used."

And that's not even counting the third layer… Naruto looked over at Hinata's paled face. Ah, shit, way to go genius. She's probably scared enough, and then you go and give her a graphic description, you baka.

Naruto, still being a knucklehead, decided to wrap his arms around Hinata, as if to ward off any chance of accidental death. But it wasn't really his fault; he grew up without any relationships, so he didn't know the difference between a friendly hug and a romantic hug.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan!" Ooh, Hina-chan smells good! Wait, what the hell? I did not just… not think… that, what? Why would I think that?

"Hormones, kit. You've never really had a chance to have a romantic relationship, so now your body is trying to make up for it." Kyuubi mind-spoke to him.

Fantastic. How do I get rid of them? Naruto thought back.

"You have to get laid… preferably with the Hyuga girl."

I couldn't do that to her, Hinata is a…friend. I wish she could be more…what? Ah screw it, I can't think a lie to myself in my own thoughts, I love her! AARRGH! Kyuubi, is there any other way I can get rid of these feelings?

"Well, you can get the crap beaten out of you, but that'll only last until you've healed again, and then the attraction will come back. And with me, you will heal very fast, besides, besides, you're probably the strongest person within several hundred miles. It's your problem; you deal with it…while I laugh." With that the Kyuubi exited their mind thought conversation.

Baka ero-kitsune-teme. Naruto thought, and returned to the real world. The entire mental conversation had only taken a split second in the real world.

Hinata felt Naruto's warm arms encircle her and stiffened for a moment before relaxing and enjoying his warmth. However, she tried not to enjoy it too much. Doesn't he know what he does to me?

Together, they walked through the glowing barrier. There were no giant flames rushing to burn the flesh off their bones and no lighting strikes to still the beating of their hearts. Naruto let go of Hinata, turning her around and smiling at her.

"See, that wasn't so bad-AAAAAAARGH!" Naruto abruptly screamed, his face contorted in pain as he fell down, his body twitching. Hinata let out a small eep! and immediately grabbed Naruto. She immediately activated her Byakugan to see what was wrong with him, his body now unnaturally still. His heart looked fine; his lungs were working properly, no malfunctioning organs, no abnormal brain activity. In fact, if she didn't know better she'd say he was…

…perfectly……fine.

Hinata frowned. Oh, he better not be…

As if on cue, Naruto's blank face slowly started to smile, as if he were fighting a losing battle not to grin. Ignorant of Hinata's growing anger, his shoulders began to shake in silent chuckles. Knowing he was about to blow his cover, Naruto jumped up and started running towards his house.

In a manner eerily similar to a certain pink-haired banshee, Hinata screamed, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS NARUTO-KUN!!!" The usually timid Hyuga heiress dashed off in pursuit of the blonde prankster, her Byakugan still active. As she chased the love of her life, it began to lightly snow, the small snowflakes starting to cover the beautiful garden and lawn outside of the mansion.

Naruto put on a burst of speed. Maybe she really does like me! If she didn't then she wouldn't have been so concerned when I acted hurt. Or maybe she just cares for me as a friend… or maybe—

"Kit… Shut the hell up." Kyuubi growled. "I thought this was gonna be amusing, but you're giving me a bigger migraine than the time I drank nine ocean's worth of sake."

Where would you get that much sake? Naruto wondered.

Unfortunately, Naruto got distracted right as he was trying to turn a sharp corner. Running at full speed, Naruto suddenly slipped and fell on his back, his head slamming against the ice on the ground. Right behind him, Hinata didn't have time to react as she tripped over the blonde's downed body and was sent flying into a pile of snow.

Naruto moaned in pain. He most likely had a concussion, but with his healing factor the swelling would be down before his brain could be damaged. It still hurt like hell, though, and the world spun around him like a top. He wasn't sure if he blacked out for a few seconds, or if he just closed his eyes for a while, but when he finally came to Hinata was standing over him like a vengeful angel.

Even with her amazing reactions and her active Byakugan, Hinata was unable to avoid tripping over Naruto's body, only managing to avoid kicking him in the face. She went sailing into a large pile of snow, letting out a small gasp as she felt the cold on her bare skin. She crawled out and got to her feet. Hinata saw Naruto, still lying on the ground. She could see a spot of blood on the ground. Concerned that he might actually be hurt this time, she rushed over to him, crouching over him for the second time that night.

Naruto open his eyes and flinched. Flinched, like she was going to hit him or something. That thought alone tore something inside of Hinata. Did he really think she could hurt him? Far more importantly, did he really think that she would hurt him? The though brought tears to her eyes, though she did not shed them.

"Ooohh, that hurts." He stood up, woozy for a different reason than alcohol.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" asked Hinata, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Kami, its really starting to snow hard now. Let's get inside."

Together, the two walked inside. Naruto's house, no, mansion, was HUGE! It seemed such a shame that only one person lived in it. (hint, hint) The foyer alone was at least a third of the size of the entire Hyuga Compound! They walked into a massive living room, complete with a brick fireplace.

"Um, Naruto-kun, I think its snowing too hard for me to walk home now…"

"Sheesh, you're right. Um, if you don't mind, you know, you could, ah, stay here for the night." Naruto said shyly.

"I'd like that a lot, Naruto-kun" said Hinata, amused. It was like their positions had reversed, suddenly Naruto was shy and Hinata was bold.

Naruto noticed that Hinata was soaking wet; her body heat had melted all the snow that was on her.

"Ah, Hinata-chan, you're all wet… I mean, um, let me get you out of the clothes… DAMN IT!!!" Naruto screamed. Hinata, although she had a huge blush from the possible meanings of his words, still giggled. She didn't think he was a pervert, she was pretty sure she knew what he meant.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Okay, lemme try that again. Hinata, you're covered in snow, would you like me to get you some dry clothes?"

Hinata laughed. Naruto sounded so…formal. Although he often had to control his exuberance as Hokage, seeing him do it in a regular situation was no less than hilarious. "Sure, Naruto-kun, that would be great."

Naruto nodded and made a cross with the second and third finger of both hands.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"

Naruto made a clone and sent him off to find his old clothes. Another Naruto began to make some hot chocolate. The original stood in front of the fire place and tried to light the logs with a match.

Within seconds, one Naruto came back with a few t-shirts and sweatpants. The clone Naruto scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Uh, I guess all I have is some of my old t-shirts, if you don't mind wearing them."

"It's alright, these are perfectly fine. Do you have somewhere I could change?"

The clone nodded. "Sure Hina-chan. Follow me." He walked off.

Hinata blinked. Clones were interesting. They knew they would cease to exist once their purpose was over, and they were perfectly fine with dispelling themselves, as the original would still live. Yet they were completely sentient, with all the memories and feelings of the original. This resulted in the clones doing things the original wanted to do, but would usually not do because of embarrassment, feat, etc. In other words, clones acted like the original with fewer inhibitions.

Hina-chan? I know that shadow clones have fewer inhibitions than their original, but their memories and feelings are the same… does Naruto-kun like me? Confused, she followed the clone.

'Naruto' brought her upstairs and across a hallway to a separate room. It was, in reality, Naruto's bedroom, but the clone didn't care and Hinata didn't know. "You can change in here if you want, Hina-chan." The clone said, opening the door for her and motioning for her to enter, like a gentleman.

Hinata walked into the room and 'Naruto' closed the door so he couldn't see her naked. She hung her wet clothes on a futon next to the bed and put on a blue t-shirt and some black sweatpants. They were a little loose on her, but that was okay. The clothes smelled nice; even though they were old and washed, they still smelled like her Naruto. But he's not mine… On some odd impulse, she decided to lie down on the bed and relax.

The lonely Hyuga breathed in her love's scent. If you could just be mine, Naruto-kun.

'Naruto' decided that Hinata was probably done changing now. He opened the door. "Hina—" He was confronted with an alarmingly beautiful sight. Hinata, his Hinata, was lying on his bed; her eyes closed, a peaceful expression on her face. Hearing his voice, she shot up, an incredibly cute look of surprise and guilt on her face.

Feeling a nosebleed coming on, the shadow clone said "." and dispelled himself in a puff of smoke leaving a bemused Hinata behind.

The original Naruto cursed as the fifteenth match sputtered and died. Suddenly, memories rushed to and were absorbed into his brain. Unable to get the image of Hinata's unwittingly cute expression out of his mind, Naruto felt something inside of him stirring. He discreetly wiped away a small nosebleed and cursed himself for his sentimentality.

Oh, if only you could be mine, Hina-chan…

Remembering the path she took, Hinata backtracked her steps back to the living room. Stepping into the room, she was just in time to see Naruto throw down the matches in frustration and start making hand seals.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)!!!"

Naruto sucked in a breath and exhaled flames over the stubborn logs, finally setting them on fire. He did a little happy dance, making Hinata laugh. Naruto turned around and smiled.

"Ah, there you are Hinata! Want some hot chocolate?"

Hinata nodded and accepted a cup from him. Enjoying the warmth of the fireplace, they sat in amiable silence for a few minutes, sipping their hot chocolate.

"Ano, Naruto-kun?'

"Yes, Hinata-chan?'

"I've noticed, I mean, not that it's a bad thing, but that ever since you've taken the position of Hokage, you've been so, so serious. But right now you… you're so carefree and relaxed and …playful…why?"

Naruto opened his mouth to say something… but stopped. If it were anyone else he would have just brushed the question off with a half truth or even a lie ("Don't worry about it, Dattebayo!"), but this was Hinata asking. She asked an honest question and deserved an honest answer.

"I guess I don't want it to seem like I'm taking the position of Hokage as a joke. But around you…… I feel like… like I can relax. Like I can just be who I am, no more or no less."

Naruto looked at Hinata. She had an odd expression on her face. Was that too forwards? Did I… scare her off? But no, the look on her face was happy, longing, thoughtful.

"Ne, Hinata? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking…about how I never got you back for scaring me to death." Abruptly she tackled Naruto and began…tickling his sides mercilessly. The Hokage squirmed and laughed, unable to escape her. So instead, Naruto tickled her back, finding that Hinata was far more ticklish than he. Soon they were both a piles of giggling, intertwined limbs.

Somewhere in the middle of wandering, curious hands, their playfulness slowly turned to passion. At some time, their touches became more like strokes than tickles. In some way, both were aware of it, yet neither wanted to stop. Somehow, their lips crashed together.

They both froze. Blue eyes met lavender eyes. Words were not necessary to see the feelings bottled behind those eyes. They could see the pleasure they were giving each other through their contact. Each could see the lust in each other's eyes. Most of all, they could see the absolute trust and love they felt for each other.

No words were needed. Feeling overrode shock, and a bolt of desire ran through the two. They crushed their lips together in a desperate, passionate kiss. Naruto could taste the faint sweetness of chocolate on Hinata's lips, and knew she could taste the same on his. Hinata couldn't get enough of Naruto. It was like a dream come true. Naruto poked his tongue at the corner of Hinata's mouth, a silent plea for entrance. She willingly accepted, parting her lips and sucking his tongue into her mouth, moaning at the welcome intrusion. He probed her mouth lovingly for a moment, then allowed Hinata to slip her own tongue into Naruto's mouth.

Time passed in a blur of kisses, tongues, limbs, and flesh. Soon they were on his bed, still kissing passionately with the same fervor with which they started.

Abruptly, a plume of smoke signaling a shushin poofed into the room.

"DAMN IT!" screamed Naruto, rolling off Hinata. Quicker than lighting, he yanked the bed covers over his and Hinata's bodies, giving them at least a semblance of modesty in front of their intruder.

So close!

Naruto gritted his teeth. He had approved a very limited number of people, who he explicitly trusted, free entry into the Namikaze Estates. This had better be very important, or else someone was going to get a Rasengan up their ass.

Shizune was not in a good mood. The council had just summoned her, as the Hokage's assistant, to tell the Hokage that he was expected to give a speech tomorrow, on Christmas freaking Day! Seriously? Who holds a meeting, at eleven thirty at night, on Christmas Eve!?!?!?

But the worst part was that she was on a date with Kakashi-kun when all the sudden an ANBU operative pops out of nowhere and tells her the council needs her presence! Honestly, didn't those old fogeys know how absolutely embarrassing that was? At least Kakashi (an ex-ANBU captain himself), being as pissed (if not more) than his girlfriend, was probably torturing the poor soul right now. Shizune hoped it involved inventive combinations of Rakiri and One Thousand Years of Death.

Calming herself down, Shizune thought about where her Hokage might be at the moment. Probably at his house, snoring away. Luckily Shizune was one of the special few who were able to Shushin into Naruto's house. Naruto probably wouldn't even care about the sudden development. Knowing him, he'd probably pull the entire speech out of his ass, yet somehow make it awe-inspiring and uplifting. Yes, that's exactly what would happen. She would Shushin there, leave a note, Shushin back, and maybe there'd even be time to finish their date! Absolutely no hassle involved!

Shizune closed formed the ram handseal and focused her chakra, concentrating on her destination: Naruto's bedroom. She felt the familiar twist and opened her eyes to a startling sight.

Oh dear…

"Shizune…" Naruto growled, releasing a concentrated amount of killer intent. "…You'd better have a very good reason coming in here."

Rushing through her words, Shizune quickly explained that he would have to give a speech tomorrow, to 'raise village morale'. By the time she had finished, Naruto had calmed down. He straightened, somehow managing to look commanding and imposing while having his body being covered by a bed sheet. He was still pissed off, but not at Shizune, there was no way for her to know what she was interrupting.

The naked blonde man sighed. "Thank you, Shizune. It's almost midnight, you should get some sleep, or can get back to doing whatever you were doing."

Still blushing heavily, the Hokage's assistant nodded. "Kakashi. I mean, Kakashi was on me—" No no no no! "No- I mean- no- I was, we were, Kakashi 'n me… We were just having s'… a date. Kakashi and me were on a date. That's it! Okay bye!" Without another double entrende, Shizune shushin'd out of the room, leaving a traumatized Naruto and Hinata behind.

Naruto was disgusted. Shizune and Kakashi-sensei, together? Gross! How could Shizune stand dating a guy who read porn? *Gasp*. That must mean that she's a closet pervert too! Oh, Kami, they must be doing it! Naruto almost threw up at the mental image of his sensei naked.

Alright, that was weird. Hinata thought. Naruto seemed really grossed out though. Hinata wondered how she would feel, if it were her sensei. Actually, it was at one time. Kurenai-sensei and Asuma had obviously been together in that way. Ewww. Now that she thought about it, how could Kurenai-sensei stand to kiss him? Sure he was ruggedly handsome and all that, but tasting his cigarettes all the time? Hinata nearly gagged at the thought.

Their arousal had been ratcheted down several notches. In fact, they were so disturbed that they didn't even want to make love anymore. Finally, Hinata broke the awkward silence.

"Um, Naruto-kun? I don't think…" she trailed off. She didn't want him to think she didn't want him. Thankfully, Naruto felt the same way.

"Yeah, I know Hina-chan. Ah, that's such a mood killer." Replied Naruto. There was an awkward silence as the two naked ninjas could still feel each other's naked bodies. He shifted his weight around, obviously unsure about something. Hinata rolled her eyes and said, "Let's just sleep together, Ruto-kun." Even as she blushed at her own audacity. But she knew that if she didn't he'd do something unbearably gentlemanly like go sleep on the futon, and she would not let him go now that she had gotten him. She'd take a blade for him, and Death could go screw itself.

She smiled at Naruto's own lecherous smile, and put on her best innocent face. "Naruto-kun, you wouldn't take advantage of me, would you?" She batted her eyes at him.

Ah, not that face! Naruto knew he was like putty in Hinata's soft hands, but honestly there was no other place he would rather be. He'd give up ramen forever if he could be with Hinata forever. Oh, yeah, I'm whipped and I'm loving it. Loving Hinata, his Hinata, and knowing she loved him back gave him an indescribably euphoric feeling.

Naruto smiled and relaxed, pulling the covers over their bodies in a more comfortable position. Ruto-kun, huh? I could get used to that. He gently wrapped his arms around Hinata's beautiful, perfect body.

"I don't think I could. I love you, Hina-chan."

"I love you to, Ruto-kun."

They shared one more kiss, a gentle kiss filled with love. Together, they drifted off into sleep, dreaming pleasant dreams of the future.

A/N: Well, this is my first heavy romance fic. Lemme know your opinions on it.

The next chapter will go deeper into the origin of their feelings for each other. I'll get the next chapter up in the next day or two.

PS: Can anyone tell me what TUAOA means? I see it as a heading on a lot of titles.