A/N: I actually started this one before LAST semester ended, and never got around to connecting all the pieces til now. Just a cutesy little oneshot about a scene that popped in my head- a nice change from the angst I seem to always be writing.
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, but it's still fun to mess with Kishi's characters
()
"No way." A pause, then shrieks of laughter filled the air. "Ah! No way; shut up, Ino, he so did not kiss her!"
Sakura's loud, mirthful voice floated easily through the thin walls of the apartment, carrying straight into the room next door where Hinata was burying her head under her pillow.
"Come on, if they even kissed at all then Temari probably initiated it. Shika's got to be the only guy we know with no driving libido."
Moaning, Hinata retreated further under her covers, gripping the pillow for dear life.
As much as she loved her roommate, Sakura had a tendency to call her best friend, Ino, at late hours of the night and talk for hours. The pink-haired girl tried to be courteous of her roommate's presence and always closed her bedroom door when she went on the phone. Her voice would start quiet; but as she and Ino got pulled into each other's stories, the squealing would begin, coupled with the disappearance of the inside voice she tried so hard to keep.
It really wasn't Sakura's fault that she had a naturally charismatic- if loud- voice. Hinata just couldn't understand why that characteristic had to be amplified when she got on the phone.
And now, that booming, cheerful voice was keeping her awake. Again.
Normally she could endure through it and eventually fall asleep, but she'd spent all weekend studying for two exams and was exhausted. One of those tests was tomorrow afternoon, and Hinata was dying from lack of sleep already.
As a fresh wave of laughter issued from the room next door, Hinata made up her mind. Still hiding under her covers, she sent a quick text to her boyfriend.
()
"Kiba!"
Tucked in his bed and already blissfully dreaming of his own personal harem treating him like royalty, the brown-haired boy groaned; loathe to be woken from such a beautiful dream.
"Kiba! Kiba- ouch! Who put that wall there? Kiba!"
The bedroom door flung open, shedding light into the room.
"Kiba! Wake up, man. It's happening: oh my God, it's happening!"
Sleepy brown eyes opened. "What the hell, Naruto? Somebody better be dying; I was having the best dream of my life." A glance at the digital clock on the dresser had Kiba groaning even louder. "I have to be up at five in the morning to get to work at the clinic on time, and it's almost midnight?" He huffed in annoyance and turned over. "No way, man. Go bother Sasuke."
"Kiba!" Naruto's voice cracked, the panic making his voice shrill. "Don't leave me hanging here! Sasuke gets cranky during exams, and you know if I wake him up I'd be dead meat. I'm freakin' out, man. It's actually happening and I don't know what to do!"
"What's happening?"
By way of reply, Naruto shoved his phone in Kiba's half-asleep face. Blinking in annoyance, the student veterinarian took it and read the message open on its screen:
"Can I come over and spend the night at your place?"
Kiba looked up: Naruto's face looked like he was holding in the urge to pee but was the next one up to ride Space Mountain.
"Who is this from?"
"Hinata!"
Kiba grinned and slowly sat up. "Okay. You're forgiven."
()
The apartment was familiar to her, but somehow seemed different now that the doors were closed and most of the occupants sleeping. Shouldering the small bag she'd stuffed full with toiletries and a change of clothes for the morning, Hinata lingered in the entranceway as Naruto retreated further into the living room after letting her in.
"Thanks for letting me come over so late," she whispered. The silence of the apartment- which was normally so loud and full of life- seemed intensely wrong, and somehow very intimate. Her fingers clutched at the strap of her bag. Naruto was smiling as he turned back to face her.
"It's not a problem," he reassured her. She watched as he raked a hand through his rumpled blond hair. Giving a small cough, he gestured to the rest of the room.
"So, uh, I guess you don't really need a tour since you've been here before," he chuckled awkwardly.
Hinata bit at her lip as she shook her head. Naruto seemed to be in a strange mood. He was shifting slightly on his feet and kept running his hand through his hair- traits he only did repeatedly when he was nervous.
"No, I remember where everything is," she answered softly, still keeping an eye on her boyfriend as he smoothed the top of the couch over and over again. "Bathroom's down the hall. We're right next to the kitchen. Everyone else's room is down the hall. I think that's all I really need to know."
"Yep. Sasuke's already asleep, and, um, Kiba's got work in the morning so he'll be up pretty early. He knows you're here though so he promised he'll try and be quiet when he comes through the living room at five in the morning. And um- oh, I got you a blanket and an extra pillow. You sure you're okay with sleeping on the couch? I really don't mind letting you take my room and I'll swap for the living-"
"It's fine, Naruto," Hinata reassured him with a smile. "Really, I don't mind."
"I just-"
Hinata gave him one of her "stern looks": eyebrows narrowed and lips slightly pursed. It got him to sigh and smile in defeat.
"Okay, okay. You win. I just want to make sure you're gonna be okay."
"I'll be fine, Naruto. I've slept on a couch multiple times in my life. It won't hurt me to do it again."
"Okay." He smiled and his hand lifted to rub at his head one last time. "Well, then I guess I'll see you in the morning, Hinata. Sleep well, alright?" He turned and headed back down the hall.
"Naruto?"
He jumped and looked back, eyes wide.
"Yeah?"
Hinata almost giggled, but held it in. Why was he acting so weird? "Thanks again for letting me stay here. There's no way I could have gotten any sleep with Sakura chatting so loud on the phone."
"Oh, right." He visibly deflated and a smile crept across his face again. "No problem. I'd do anything for you, Hinata: climb a mountain, battle a monster, give up my couch so you can sleep on it..."
The grin on his face widened as she giggled at his words, and it felt like the tension she'd discerned in him had evaporated. "Sleep tight, okay? You've gotta be well rested so you can ace those exams tomorrow."
She nodded, a grin on her face, and Naruto gave her a thumbs up.
"I'm just down the hall if you need anything. Night, Hinata." And with that, he disappeared down the hall.
The soft click of a door being shut was the last thing she heard before silence reigned in the apartment.
Standing by the couch in the now-empty living room, Hinata felt nerves flutter to life in her stomach. She spent so much time here, but never had she spent the night. She hadn't thought it would be such a big deal. Naruto had always assured her that she was welcome anytime, but now that she was here… it felt awkward. Especially with the way Naruto had been acting.
A yawn broke through her thoughts, and as she sleepily surveyed the room- eyeing the couch with longing- she decided to put aside her worries for now and get ready for bed. She had put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt for the trip over to Naruto's place and wanted nothing more than to change into her sleepwear, slip under the blanket and close her eyes to a heavenly bliss of unconsciousness.
()
Just down the hall, two doors down from the bathroom and opposite to Sasuke's, Naruto was attempting to control his breathing.
He felt frantic for some reason. Kiba had managed to calm him down about the fact that Hinata had texted to spend the night, and even though he knew nothing was going to happen, it didn't change the fact that butterflies had leapt to life in his chest when he'd opened the door to let her in; seeing the moon shining knowingly behind her in the night sky, glinting off her dark hair. They'd never spent the night together before, never done anything that could be considered even remotely scandalous. But still- just seeing her at his door had been enough to remind him how much he loved her, wanted her, missed her. And now, she was in his house. She would be here overnight; was going to sleep on the couch where he sat and ate his cheerios. Just in the next room.
The idea was driving him crazy. He wanted to go out there, to sit with her; but Hinata had come here to sleep. He knew she had an exam tomorrow- and another in a few days- so it wouldn't be right for him to go out there and distract her. It was just so… tempting though.
What did Hinata even wear when she went to bed? He had always imagined her to be the type to wear those matching pajamas that come with a button-up long sleeve shirt and long pants- the fuzzy ones that have little character designs all over. Hers would have butterflies, or stars. Yeah, stars on a purple background; that seemed right. The picture was just too adorable: Hinata in her cozy purple pj's all tucked into bed.
Wait. He froze in his pacing. Would one blanket be enough for her? Hinata wore so many layers during the day- why hadn't it occurred to him that she must need a ton of blankets at night? The image of Hinata buried snugly beneath a mountain of blankets had him grinning again.
Ahh! Why couldn't he be a better host?
No problem, though. He could just take her an extra blanket now. And if she wanted to stay up with him and maybe, possibly, snuggle on the couch for a bit- who was he to decline?
Nodding to himself, Naruto moved to his closet. In a bin stashed at the back he stored extra blankets for when it got extremely cold in the winter- living with two other boys working part-time jobs, they couldn't exactly afford high heating bills. Pulling a fuzzy blue blanket from the pile, he bundled it in his arms and went to his closed door, only to hesitate.
What if Hinata saw through his gesture? What if she thought he was only trying to spy on her- what if she thought he was being creepy?
Okay, so he wanted to see her in her cute pajamas and bundled up like a kid under a pile of blankets. That didn't make him creepy, did it? No, of course not. It was curiosity; plain and simple. Not like he was going to try and molest her- Hinata had made her stance on heavy make-out sessions quite clear, and Naruto knew where that line was- and seeing that his guest was made comfortable in his house was not even coming close to crossing it.
Fully reassured by his reasoning, he pulled the door open and walked quietly down the hall.
The couch was empty.
"Hinata?"
Where was she? He poked his head in the kitchen, but it was dark.
"Hinata?"
The bathroom door clicked open down the hall and Naruto turned.
"Hey, Hinata?"
He heard her squeak as he moved back into the living room.
"I brought you another blanket, Hi-na-aah, um-"
Wow.
Legs. Legs and arms: long, pale… and bare of concealing fabric.
His brain must have combusted because he couldn't even think of anything- it had all gone blank.
Hinata, in the shortest purple shorts he had ever seen and a white tank top that barely brushed her waistband, stood before him, arms cradling a small bundle of clothes in front of her chest.
"N-Naruto, I-" A blush had spread across her face at being caught. She hadn't thought anyone else would be coming out now that the house had quieted again. Apparently, she had been wrong.
While it was true that she loved to bundle up in layers during the day when out in public, it felt weird to her to sleep in layers of clothing. They would almost always get tangled in the covers because she had a tendency to roll over during the night: It felt like she was being strangled. So it had become a habit for her to wear her favorite pair of lounging shorts and a short sleeved shirt to bed. It hadn't even crossed her mind when she'd decided to come over that someone- especially Naruto- might see her in her revealing sleepwear. She was an early riser and had hoped she'd be able to wake up before anyone else and have a chance to change.
Her fingers clenched into the fabric of the sweatpants gathered in her arms. Naruto's eyes were on her- she could feel them. The humiliation was almost unbearable. She wanted to say something, but what could she say?
Now, caught in the red like this, she wished she had thought things through more clearly.
Naruto was having as much difficulty processing the scenario as she was. For one thing, he felt like a perv for staring at her. He coughed, breaking the uncomfortable silence and hoping it would help him clear his thoughts.
"I um-" Hinata shifted, the shorts riding up further along her thigh, and Naruto felt his mouth go dry. "I thought you would be cold- well, I guess not considering you're wearing- um, that…" He trailed off, feeling lame and uncertain. "Yeah… um, I'll just, uh, go-"
His face was red; he knew it had to be, but- damn. He'd never even seen Hinata's elbow before! This was too much to take in. He wanted to stare, but he couldn't help but feel like it was wrong somehow.
"Naruto."
Hinata was well aware of the thoughts running through her boyfriend's mind. Part of her was mortified; but another, more secret part of herself, was pleased at the blush crawling up his neck and darkening his face.
She had caused that reaction in him. Her: shy, soft-spoken Hinata. Naruto was always the one leading her around and making her blush. But now-
His eyes lifted and when they met hers, they quickly retreated to the floor again, the red in his neck blooming vibrantly. A smile tugged at her lips.
"Thank you for the blanket," she finished softly.
Naruto blinked and looked down; he'd forgotten he was even holding it in his arms.
Even more embarrassed, he closed his eyes and held it out to her. There was a soft thwump sound as she presumably dropped the clothes she'd been carrying onto the couch. The sound of her feet coming closer on the carpet made his heart hammer. Oh God, why couldn't she have been wearing the long sleeved pajamas he had imagined her in?
A soft tug on the blanket had him opening his eyes. Hinata was right in front of him, hands curled in the blankets folds, eyes examining the fuzzy texture. Her cheeks were bright red. An incredible urge to reach out and touch her was taking over him, but he forced himself to remain still. This was a test- it had to be.
"Naruto."
His heart leaped. Hinata didn't lift her head as she continued to stare at the blanket they both held.
"Do you… want to watch a movie?"
She didn't know why she was being so bold. It was past midnight by now and she was in desperate need of sleep, but something was in the air urging her on. Naruto's face, the electricity- she felt powerful. It was a moment, and she would not pass it up.
Gently taking the blanket from her boyfriend's hands, she wrapped it around her form and smiled as the tension left his body.
"Hinata."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you have an exam tomorrow?" By his tone, Hinata couldn't tell whether he wanted her to take back her question or not.
"It's in the afternoon. One movie won't hurt; although," she laughed, "I'll probably fall asleep, so I apologize in advance."
Naruto remained quiet. He was trying to understand where this was all coming from. They hadn't been hanging out much recently because of finals. Hinata was under a lot of pressure from her family to receive top grades, so she had been spending most of her time studying; which had left Naruto on his own to play video games with Kiba and Sasuke while they procrastinated. And while the two of them made sure to meet up on campus and eat lunch together sometimes, it just hadn't been the same for the past couple of weeks. He knew she had to do well or face the consequences from her family, but with Hinata spending all her free time in the library- it had been like he hadn't really existed.
He missed her.
"Naruto?"
And now here she was- standing in front of him, blushing as deeply as he was and willing to stay up even though she had more important things to focus on.
A gentle smile tugged his lips.
"Hinata, you are the sweetest, sexiest, best girlfriend a guy could ever ask for."
"Huh?" Her face exploded in a deep red blush and Naruto felt himself grin.
"Come on; let's get you tucked in."
()
"Whoa! What have we got here?"
Naruto groaned, blearily opening his eyes to see Kiba gawking at him.
"What're you staring at, Dog Breath?" He hissed. "Ouch, my neck. What time is it?"
"It's a little after five in the morning. Better question to be asking though, is why you and Hinata are all tangled up together? Hmm?"
"Shut up, you moron."
Opting to ignore his laughing friend, Naruto sat up slightly and looked around. He was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. Hinata, still wrapped in the blue blanket, was curled up on the cushions beside him and leaning against his side, her head tucked against his shoulder. A second blanket was wrapped around both their shoulders. The Pixar movie he had popped in last night was stuck on the options menu, muted.
A small smile slowly spread across his lips at the sight of her tucked so close, sleeping peacefully.
"Well, aren't you two just oh-so-cute," Kiba continued to tease in the background. The sound of the fridge opening and closing as Kiba poked around in the kitchen for breakfast-on-the-go didn't hinder him in his verbal assault. "Just a pair of cuddly lovebirds. I wish I'd had my camera when I walked in. Seeing Hinata's face when I showed her a picture of you two scandalously sleeping together would have been priceless!"
"Would you shut up already? You're going to wake her up," Naruto growled. He had leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes, intending to go back to sleep. How on earth Kiba managed to get up at five in the morning every day for work was beyond him.
Smothered snickering from the kitchen had Naruto sighing.
"Not likely, dude. I'm going to hold this against you both for forever."
"Whatever."
Naruto tugged on the blanket again, trying to get comfortable and warm. He could still hear Kiba tinkering around in the kitchen, but that was slowly fading into the background as he began to drift off again.
"Whoa! Oh my God, is Hinata wearing a tanktop?!"
Naruto jerked up at Kiba's voice. His eyes lowered to survey his girlfriend: apparently when he had tugged on the blanket it had slipped off of her shoulders, and the blue blanket she'd been wrapped in beneath it had slipped down to her waist, revealing her "scandalous" sleepwear to the gawking veterinarian.
"Holy- so she does have flesh under those jackets. I really should have brought that camera."
Naruto shifted, pulling the second blanket back up to cover Hinata's shoulders. Satisfied, he turned back to his friend and chucked a pillow at him.
"Hey, back off, Kennel Cleaner." Kiba snickered in the background and continued to mutter about blackmail. Looking back at the girl still sleeping softly against his shoulder, Naruto smiled and leaned down to gently place a kiss on her forehead before leaning his head back and sighing in content. "She's all mine."
End