Sorry that I didn't get this one out yesterday. I wanted to, but I hadn't bothered to finish it since I was dead tired and I had to crawl into bed exhausted. So I'm sorry to those NaruHina fans who were wanting some kind of a New Year's special or something. But here it is now, sorry for the delay.

Happy New Year! (A day late. XD)

Sorry again. Btw, this isn't related to my story 'The True Meaning of Value' simply because this one is just a short story I wanted to write and they're already together in this short story. This has nothing to do with my other story so please don't think this is like a cut off scene from "The True Meaning of Value."

Thank you to all who have supported me in the past few months being on ; I'm looking forward to writing more stories and thank you for all the positive reviews! Thanks!

Naruto could hardly wait. This would be their first time spending the New Years together. He sat anticipating for that knock on his door as he pulled a chair next to his front door anxiously, waiting to spring up and open the door.

He had been dating the Hyuuga girl for only a few months now, and so far their relationship had been smooth and simple. No problems and they had enjoyed each other's company and they had real, genuine feelings for one another; his relationship with her was real. It wasn't something that would last for only so long before they'd got tired of one another; no, Naruto could tell that he was going to be with her for a long, LONG time.

He must've dozed off because when he heard the soft tap on his door, he jolted awake, slamming the back of his head against the wall behind him. He spent the next minute whimpering to himself as he waiting for the pain to ebb away while holding his head where it throbbed painfully. He heard the knock again and cursed at himself for making her wait as he jumped up from his chair and clumsily pushed the chair behind him as he fumbled with the lock.

"Good Lord, pull yourself together, damn it!"

Naruto tried to appear casual as he threw open the door, only to find himself on the floor hissing through clenched teeth as he rubbed his forehead where the door's edge had slammed into him; God this was embarrassing.

Hinata stood in surprise as she saw him crouched on the ground hissing in pain, she hid her smile behind a hand before suppressing a giggle.

"N-Naruto! Are you alright? I see that you're very eager to see me …"

"H-Hinata, it hurts!"

Hinata couldn't hold it back; she let out a light laugh before crouching down in front of the pouting boy. She pulled his hands away from his forehead before giving him a soft kiss on his forehead; smiling at him as he blushed.

"Feel a little better?"

"God, a little? Hell, I feel fantastic."

She laughed again as she helped him to his feet; his heart fluttered at the sound of her laughter. He had only got to hear her laugh a few times in the past few months being with her; when he first heard it, he thought his heart would've bursted. Her laughter was so clear and it would inevitably make anyone smile watching her laugh. Her eyes would close as she laughed; her lips in a perfect arch as she smiled, her fingertips on her mouth as if to hide that. God, he loved it when she laughed.

He helped her into his house and silently thanked Sakura who had been kind enough to clean his house for this special night of his. (Though she had demanded a fee that Naruto grumpily had to agree with.) If he hadn't cleaned up his home, it'd be a bit … embarrassing for Hinata to see how messy and disorganized he was. Though the first time she did come over, she didn't mind … except for that one time he had accidently left his laundry out in the open for her to see. That was embarrassing too.

Hinata smiled standing in his living room looking around, complimenting him saying, "Oh, I see you actually got this place cleaned up. It's nice."

Naruto laughed nervously, standing next to her as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, ha-ha, yeah. I actually had Sakura clean it up for me; you know how I am with my cleaning abilities."

Hinata gave him a smile.

"Oh yes. That one time you shoved all your trash under the couch? You do have to admit though, it was funny."

Naruto laughed with her this time, agreeing with her on that. They stood awkwardly together in the living room before he asked her, "Um, anything to drink? Something to eat?"

Hinata held up a plastic bag to Naruto before smiling, "I took up the liberty of getting some of your favorite snacks. I thought we could just sit together on the couch, drink some soda and eat some snacks while playing a game or something."

God, how he loved this girl.

"Aw, you shouldn't have!"

"Anything for you Naruto."

Naruto smiled, silently noticing how she no longer stuttered. He concluded that it was probably because she had spent all that time with him and was able to open up and warm up to him; eventually growing confident in her own words and now, she spoke flawlessly to him that sometimes made him want to jump out the window screaming in joy. (He tried once; but Hinata grabbed him before he could even put one foot out the window.)

Naruto had her sit on the couch before going into the kitchen to navigate through the oddly organized refrigerator of his to find the soda that Sakura had placed in the far back. When he came back to hand her the can of soda, she had turned on the TV listening to the news reporter ramble on about the fireworks and celebration off somewhere in city; she smiled at him as she took the soda he held out for her.

"Thank you. Seems like everyone is happy about the New Years."
"Yup, I'm not surprised. Everyone goes wild over the fireworks."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't want to go to see them. What made you change your mind?"

"I thought I'd be nicer to just spend a quiet evening with you alone. I don't like it when we're out in public; Kiba or Ino ends up teasing us nonstop."

Hinata smiled, her hands opening her soda as she sipped it tentatively.

"You do have a point there. Ino and Kiba always tease us."

"Yeah …"

The two sat there in silence. Then Hinata rummaged through the bag of snacks before holding one out for Naruto.

"Here."
"Thanks."

He attempted to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He set down his soda before trying to tear it open with both hands, when it didn't open Hinata couldn't help but stare with a smile playing on her lips; Naruto was growing embarrassed again.

"Stupid … stupid bag …"

"Here, let me try-"

Suddenly he felt the bag tear open; but everything inside it exploded in the air – flying across the living room in a shower of chips. Hinata squealed both in surprise and laughter, her arms over her face as they showered around her. When it ended she started laughing nonstop, Naruto sitting there stunned before offering an embarrassed smile. Geez, what was with him today? Couldn't he act cool for once around her?

Hinata brushed the crumbs and chips out of Naruto's hair before laughing, "You have chips all over your hair. You're going to have to take a shower after I leave."

Naruto laughed nervously as her hand traveled down his neck, swatting the chips from his shoulders before brushing at his sleeves to shake out the crumbs. She caught him staring at her before she asked, "What? Is there some on me?"

Naruto dropped the empty bag before pulling one out of her hair, smiling at her before adding, "Just a little. You have something on your face though."
Hinata frowned, a hand automatically going to her face to brush it off.

"Really? Where?"

"Here."

He held her chin up as he kissed her softly, not wanting to shock her too much; she still had that tendency to faint if he was too spontaneous about it.

Hinata blinked twice in surprise before melting into the kiss, her hands reaching around his neck while Naruto smiled against her lips. When they pulled back she smiled at him before breathing, "Wow… just … wow."

He laughed, bring a blush to Hinata's cheeks before he swatted at her hair to take out the crumbs that had found their way in her hair. He kissed her on the cheek.

"I just had to; I couldn't resist."

Hinata smiled as he began clearing some of the chips away from the floor and table. He left momentarily to dispose of them before coming back.

"Okay, so. What do you want to do?"

Hinata shrugged, smiling at him unsure of herself.

"I don't know. You want to play a game or something? You have a computer right?"

"Sure. What do you want to play?"
"Anything you want."

Naruto went to a closet and pulled it open before pulling out an X-box 360. He held it up hopeful.

"Ever played on an X-box before?"

"I have. Kiba and Shino had me play once when Kurenai was congratulating us for graduating from middle school. It was fun."
Naruto grinned.

"Kiba and Shino huh? They're pretty good players; ever beat them?"
Hinata smiled before replying, "Every. Single. Time."

Naruto blinked in surprise at the pure confidence oozing from her words. Now he was a bit scared to figure out just HOW good she was.

He rigged up the system before turning it on; he decided to just play something simple but fun, at least that's what he personally, thought of as he chose Kinect Sports.

Throughout the game he was practically in awe of her gaming abilities. Next thing he knew, they flew through a series of games he never thought she'd be able to play; games like, the Walking Dead and GTA 5. Naruto was simply stunned sitting there watching her navigate through the games with ease and with absolute skill; who would've thought she was a gamer?

When she finished the Walking Dead she turned to Naruto with a grin.

"Well that was fun. But we should play something with multiplayer; it's boring playing it by myself."

Naruto nodded, still gawking at the relative ease she had played and her quick decision making during the game. This girl never ceased to amaze him.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah sure. But uh, I'm a bit done with games now … my mind if fried."

Hinata helped Naruto put the X-box 360 away before settling to have idle chat on the couch sharing some of the snacks Hinata had brought.

Naruto leaned back on the couch sighing in contentment with Hinata's head resting on his lap, her body laid out on the rest of the couch while holding the bag of snacks to share.

"Naruto?"
"Yes?"
"I was just wondering ... what was it about Sakura that you liked?"

"Huh? What kind of a question is this?"

Hinata locked eyes with Naruto before shrugging.

"Oh I just, want to know that's all. If it's too uncomfortable for you then we can just drop it –"
"No, no it's fine. Let's see … uh…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought about it, looking up at the ceiling as he mumbled, "Well … I suppose one reason is simply because I could compete with Sasuke for her, though he didn't really much care about her. So I guess it was just something I could use as an excuse to heat up my rivalry with Sasuke even though it didn't do much affect."

Hinata kept silent while nibbling on the snack in hand. Naruto continued.

"But other than her being something I used to compete Sasuke for, I genuinely liked her because of her personality. I liked the way she'd never give up on Sasuke, continuously chasing after him even after he had sort of left us to follow the creep Orochimaru. I liked her strong spirit and naturally her beauty."

Hinata continued to keep silent, fingering the ends of her hair self consciously.

"But Hinata …"
Hinata looked up at Naruto before he leaned over to kiss her.

"Don't ask me these kinds of questions anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because you're my one and only; no one else is going to take your place and I can't even fathom you ever being replaced in my life."

"Naruto …"
Hinata snuggled closer to Naruto, forgetting about the bag of snacks before smiling against his chest.

"… I love you so much."

Naruto smiled, his hand stroking her hair, enjoying her presence as he embraced her lovingly. Though he did love Sakura for a long time, it had always been an unrequited love and it hurt when she never expressed anything back to him. Even if he had been happy eventually that she got together with Sasuke in the end, it hurt him the most to think that Sakura had never even liked him back once. But Hinata was a different case. She loved him with all her heart and for that; she was willing enough to encourage him to go after Sakura and was even prepared to give him up to Sakura, Naruto was glad that he didn't end up with her. He liked being with Hinata, the one person who had always loved him in her shy, quietness.

Suddenly the TV exploded in noise and shouting, 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!'

Naruto and Hinata had jolted in their seat and now sat laughing, feeling silly that they were frightened by a TV.

"Heh … didn't realize they were counting down …"
"I thought we turned it off."
"I don't think we did."
"Hmm …"

Hinata looked at Naruto, her small smile drawing him in as he kissed her gently. When he pulled away she asked, "Are you planning on making any resolutions?"
"Hmm … yeah, one."
"What is it?"
"To spend more time with you."
Hinata smiled again before kissing Naruto, silently making her own.

I will never leave your side. Happy New Year … Naruto.

Sorry if this was too cheesy or whatever. It probably was. Sorry! (If you hate cheesiness. Sorry so much.)

Again, I want to thank everyone for their support and interest in either one of my stories I'm writing so far, thank you so much, and Happy New Year!