Of Dishwater

"Just wait, Sasuke! I'll be Hokage someday!"

"Yeah right, dobe."

"SHUT UP, TEME!"

"Naruto. Don't. Talk. That. Way. To. Sasuke-kun."

"But, Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto!"

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

Without another word, the intruder was kicked out of the restaurant. He stood slowly, brushing some of the dust of his black pants before turning to glare at the rude managers who had thrown him out the door without reason. Then he sighed, and started to walk away.

Naruto honestly didn't understand why his two friends were so awkward and irritable tonight. He also didn't really understand why they'd been at that snobby restaurant all by themselves, either. He had the feeling that the reason had something to do with Sakura's obsession with the Uchiha prodigy—or even with Sasuke's recent muteness around the pinkette—but one could never be too sure, right?

Also…why was he being followed?

He spun, so quickly Rock Lee probably would have been jealous (or maybe just have sentenced himself to more laps around Konoha or something). Directly behind him, the shy teen flew behind the telephone pole almost as fast—almost, but not quite fast enough to avoid her cover being blown.

"Hinata-chan?"

"N-Naruto-kun…I…I wasn't f-f-following you…umm…I was just…." She balked. What to say now? It's not like she could say, 'I was just trying to get up the courage to tell you I love you. By the way, how was spying on Sakura and Sasuke's first date?'

Or could she? It might just work…but did she have the nerve?

Who was she kidding? She couldn't speak now, anymore that she could years ago. She just couldn't do it.

Naruto wondered why she always stuttered around him. He'd once seen her training, and she didn't seem to stutter around her teammates or her sensei, all whom she held in high esteem. Maybe she didn't like him. Maybe he was too outgoing.

Trying his best not to overwhelm her with his rambunctiousness, he spoke quieter than usual. "No, no, I didn't think you were following me, Hinata-chan." He paused; since she'd seem so panicked about answering what she was not doing, he began to wonder what she was doing.

His next words terrified Hinata, for he asked the words she never wanted him to say. "But, uh, why are you here?"

Hinata's countenance fell, emotionally and physically. Just say it! Just tell him you love him! she thought, but it was no use.

Naruto noticed her slumped shoulders and quickly apologized, wondering if he had said something to offend his comrade. Then he realized what she must have heard.

"Err…I mean…" The roles were reversed; it was Naruto's turn to stutter. "That question was rude…err…that is, Hinata-chan, you belong here just as much as I do—more, even, I mean...I mean, uh...never mind! Just...You don't have to answer that!"

She sighed—another dodged bullet. Why did she suddenly have the feeling that she'd missed her chance?

Naruto began walking; Hinata followed suit. Neither really had a destination in mind. Naruto wanted to roam; Hinata wanted to be with Naruto. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Pathetic attempts at conversation were made, but for the most part Hinata held her tongue, either nodding or shrugging until finally one of Naruto's statements sparked a verbal reaction.

"So…I think Sasuke and Sakura are going to be 'dating' now." His voice was something like jealousy, happiness, disgust, and doubt. Hinata stared at her sandals.

"Yes…Kiba-kun keeps t-talking about a kunoichi girl he's seeing o-on the weekends." Naruto wondered at the despair in her voice, and his irritation at hearing it. Without thinking twice, he blurted out the question that his mind presented.

"Do you like Kiba, Hinata-chan?"

"Wh-wha-what??" Her face was an undiscovered shade of scarlet. Was Naruto asking her that for a reason? Was he…jealous? 'No! No! No!' she shook her head, forcing away the hopeful thought.

Naruto took that for her answer and growled, "Yeah, neither do I."

She glanced at him with puzzlement written clearly upon her face. He rushed to correct his statement, "I meant…err…he's a great guy and everything…" What was wrong with him? Kiba was one of his best friends! "Nevermind what I just said, Hinata-chan...I, err, Kiba's—"

She giggled, her small hand was raised to her mouth. The slight noise startled pigeons nearby, causing them to fly off in a hurry to find a safer place. Naruto was taken aback—he'd never heard Hinata laugh! And what's more, she'd laughed because of him!

Had it been Sasuke laughing, he'd have punched the guy in the face. Had it been Sakura snickering at his expense, he'd have turned red. But the clear laughter ringing from Hinata's lips brought an unusual, pleasant feeling to Naruto. It was an odd feeling, and sort of protective. Naruto fancied, if only for a moment, that he was somehow special because he was the only one to see Hinata's mirth. That somehow, this moment only belonged to him and Hinata.

She covered her mouth, desperate to hide that little laugh. His reaction was just so hilarious."I know what you-what you mean. Kiba-kun's g-great."

Hinata giggled still louder.

Her happiness was infectious. Though at first he'd feigned pouting, he too was unable to hide the smile that was now overtaking his whisker-marked face. He was a good sport, as was Hinata, and he knew she wasn't laughing at him, just like he wasn't mad at Kiba. Moreover, there was just something about her shy snicker that made him feel oddly content.

Things would have been rather enjoyable, with Naruto grinning and Hinata laughing; but they were interrupted. Unpleasantly, for Naruto at least.

SPLOOSH!

Within the course of .35 seconds, Naruto went from smiling with glee to dripping filthy water and wondering at the source of such an isolated downpour. Hinata was perfectly dry, and he was soaked. Her laughter exploded into clear peals as he cursed, observing his new, wet appearance. He spotted his assailant, a middle-aged woman in the second floor window above them, and shook his fist at her. Judging from her reaction, she was too preoccupied to be concerned. That or she just didn't care that her daily chores had left one blonde shinobi teenager saturated with anger and dirty dishwater.

He noticed Hinata's refreshed laughter and shot her a glare. She quieted, though still snickering occasionally. He caught her off her guard, flashing a mischievous smirk right before he shook water all over her as well.

Hinata ran in circles, shrieking with laughter, Naruto flinging water after her with his own mad cackles. By the time he decided that he was avenged, he was almost completely dry. They stood panting for a few moments before their eyes met and they burst into laughter once more.

It took quite a while for them to recover from their outburst. When they finally did, Naruto was even dirtier (what with all the rolling on the ground he did) and Hinata was clutching her sides, panting for breath. Naruto stood and suggested they continue walking, an option which Hinata greatly approved of.

The smile seemed glued to her face. Honestly, Naruto couldn't blame her. He could imagine how ridiculous he must look right now, orange and black clothing slightly damp and caked with mud and dirt. She wasn't exactly pristine herself, though. Her own grey and lavender jacket was flecked with dirt, compliments of one Uzumaki.

He smiled wider, but then he stared at her for a long moment; she looked really pretty.

"So…uh…like I was saying…" He swallowed. Talking to Hinata shouldn't be hard! She's Hinata! "You're single like me, right?" Where did that question come from?

Hinata almost tripped; thankfully, she didn't. She hated to imagine Naruto thinking her any more of a klutz than he probably already did. She mentally steadied herself. 'He's just making small talk. It's nothing to get embarrassed about; you're just a friend.'

…then, why did Naruto still have that blush on his face? She ignored the question.

They made it to the training grounds.

The training areas all had a very unique feel. Pure. Reverent. Beautiful. The wind always picked up in this field; the green grass never died, watered by the sweat and effort Konoha's nins put into their practice. The flowers bloomed without tending every spring. Hinata sighed in the fresh breeze gratefully; she needed this cool air—it would clear her mind.

Naruto dropped instantly to the ground, fully intending to stare at the clouds. He put his hands behind his head, forming a makeshift pillow and gazed upwards, searching out the most intriguing cloud features. But his eyes strayed no further from Hinata than they had when they were walking.

Oh man, she was so pretty. How could he have never noticed?

She stared confusedly at the blonde; what was he doing? Cloud gazing was Shikamaru's hobby, not his. Had he picked this habit up during his training? How much else had Hinata missed over the two years? She shivered involuntarily at the thought.

Naruto noticed her tremble. He figured she must be cold. He jumped up from the comfortable terrain and acted what, in his mind, was very polite. In this case, most would actually agree with him as he shed his thick, only slightly damp, cotton jacket and held it out like a peace offering.

Now just why did he have to go and do that? Hinata was having a difficult enough time coping with Naruto's presence…and he just had to take off his jacket. He was even grinning! That adorable, dimple-faced grin he only smiled when he was helping someone.

She turned away quickly, willing that he not notice the blush that had crept across her face.

Naruto held the black and orange overshirt out for her to take for a long minute after she turned away, but when she violently shook her head, meaning 'no', he conceded. But he was now puzzled (even more). Was there something wrong with his jacket? Naruto had just had it cleaned two days ago. Maybe it was the color...

He shrugged, pulling the windbreaker on once more, but leaving it unzipped this time. 'Just in case,' he reminded himself, 'just in case she wants to borrow it in a minute.' He lay back down in the grass, resuming his position.

She sensed that he'd put the jacket back on and felt immediate relief. Her eyes widened and her blush deepened, however, when she turned back to face him and he was on the ground, eyes unfocused, his jersey unzipped revealing that his dark undershirt that fitted him much, much closer than his jumpsuit.

'BAD HINATA. BAD HINATA! STOP STARING! STOP STARING! STOP STARING!' screamed her inner voice, trying to force her into action. But none took place, the heiress was—temporarily—frozen, staring at Naruto's chest (which might as well have been bare for how fitted his shirt was).

Desperate for a distraction, she practically fell down on the ground near Naruto. She had no other choice, really; and this was much better—now, she couldn't look at him, much less stare. Yes, now she could get him out of her head; all she had to do was focus on the big, blue sky…

…but, you know, she thought, the blue sky really doesn't compare to Naruto's eyes…

'Focus on the sky, focus on the sky, focus on the sky...'

Naruto wasn't having any better luck with concentrating. In fact, Hinata next to him made it even more difficult to pull away from his confused thoughts. He tried to focus on the pretty, white clouds…

…Hinata's eyes are white, too, and a lot prettier than these clouds are…

Shut up, stupid, Naruto yelled in his mind. Hinata's my friend! She would hate me if she knew I was thinking of her as more than that! Just imagine what Neji would do to you if he knew you liked her as more than that!

Naruto didn't question the sudden epiphany. He just wondered what would happen if the Byakugan could read minds. Ooh...that would be bad, because then Hinata would know that he was thinking of her as more than a friend, and then she'd—

Oh, please, Hinata, stop staring at him! she begged in her mind.

Just focus on the sky, Naruto. Focus on the clouds. He told himself. Wow, that one looks just like a—a...I don't know. Looks like a cloud. Still, focus on the sky. Focus on the sky. Focus on the—

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Y-yeah, Hina-chan?" Oh, lovely. His voice just had to crack, didn't it? And why was his throat so dry?

"I think you're l-laying in a p-pile of ants…"

"WHAT?!" He leapt from the ground, immediately forgetting one problem to rush to another. He was more than happy to fight off those creatures, down to the last one. It was a great distraction. Now, where were they?

About the time he noticed there were no ants, he noticed someone laughing. Someone in the grass wearing purple. Hinata.

Oh, she'd pay.

She noticed his mischievous stare, and backed up on the grass, coughing down her laughter. "N-Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun, what are you thinking? N-Naruto-kun! No, don-don't tickle me! Naruto-kun!"

Reminiscent of a fox, he pounced. No, not leapt—like a ninja; Uzumaki Naruto pounced on Hyuuga Hinata. She thought it was funny, did she? Well, she'd love this.

He tickled her mercilessly. Ribs, back, shoulder, neck—anywhere she showed weakness. Her sides, mostly. She laughed, laughed so hard she couldn't breathe. He showed no mercy. She tried to squirm her way out of it, but couldn't move for laughing.

"N-Naru…Naruto-kun…stop...stop tickling me!..Pl-please, N-Naruto-kun!…" she managed to choke between her shrieks of laughter. Her face was flushed and she was panting for air, though she couldn't stop giggling like a child. He, in turn, laughed triumphantly as he finally relented, observing that she needed oxygen. His arms returned to his sides and her breathing calmed slightly. There were tears in her eyes from laughter. Their gazes met, and suddenly they stopped laughing.

If her face had been red before, it must be scarlet now. Naruto was embarrassed too, if his complexion was any indication of how he felt.

Awkward didn't even begin to cover it. Naruto was leaning over Hinata, blushing crimson, his jacket still unzipped. Hinata was on the grass, staring into his unfathomable eyes, her face red, and she was breathing with huge gulps of air. Both had the desperate urge to move away, but neither found it in themselves to tear their gaze away from each other's.

And, either someone was playing with the gravity switch, or Naruto was getting closer to Hinata. The blood was pounding way too loudly in their ears for either to care which.

Neither heard their friends approaching.

"I told her, 'That's not the point! It was too dangerous! You shouldn't have gone!' and then she was all like, 'That's sexist! I've been a kunoichi longer than you've been interested in girls!' then she left. Just like that." Kiba's voice was dejected, and angry; Akamaru howled.

"Hmm…well, that's troublesome." That was Shino's voice; he was obviously mocking their last companion, Nara Shikamaru.

The pun was not lost on the genius. He grunted before adding his own words of wisdom, "Kiba, you're lucky. You got out of a troublesome arrangement before it got worse."

"You just don't get it," Kiba sighed—for him, it was a rare sound, and it sounded more like a dog's whine. "I don't want her to leave. I'm going to send her flowers, and then I'm going to apologize."

Shikamaru sighed, too; another lost cause. Of course, who was he to say that?

"Hmm…it seems as if everyone's getting social lives anymore," commented the insect master, as if agreeing with Shika's very thoughts. "Everyone except Hinata."

"And Naruto." Shikamaru observed how bristly Shino was getting. "And you, of course, man."

Shino sighed, feeling forgotten again; when he spoke, however, his voice was observational, and free of self-pity. "And Hinata is in love with Naruto. Maybe we could help her tell him so."

Kiba got a strange look in his eye, but Shikamaru groaned before any matchmaking plans could be voiced. "No, man, we're not doing that. It's not worth it, I tell you; Naruto and Hinata will never—"

Akamaru, out of sight on the path ahead, howled suddenly, cutting off Shikamaru's protest.

The howl was followed by two short barks and Kiba, translating mentally, smirked suddenly as they crested the hill. Shino, too, smiled to himself under his cowl, as he too could, roughly, understand Akamaru's report.

Shikamaru, however, groaned as they crested the hill that separated the training areas from Konoha's view.

For there, in front of them, in the middle of the thick grass of Konoha's training area, were Naruto and Hinata, kissing softly and completely oblivious to their gaping comrade.

Shino made a sound that might have been laughter. Kiba smirked even wider. "Looks like they don't need our help, anyway. What were you were saying, Shikamaru?"

A/N: Sorry about not updating in ages. I hope you all like this story; I also hope you review. No flames, please.

Thanks so much, chibi neko-dono, for the BETA.