Warning: Fluff.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.
(Edited: April 18, 2016)
FEARLESS
It was five-thirty in the afternoon when Hinata stood at the school entrance, rain pouring like a god-sized waterfall. Her books she tightly clutched in one hand, her bag embraced by her arms. The heavy downpour crashed against the pavement uninvitingly as she sighed heavily. This, she thought, was gonna take longer than she had hoped.
She missed her ride with her cousin Neji because he had to leave immediately while she still had to take that make-up quiz of the one she missed for a ballet recital she was part of. She didn't want to ask her father for carpool since she didn't really like to ask him for anything. Hinata usually either took a local bus home or rode with Neji, but the bus leaves at a quarter to five. Now she was thoroughly stranded in school with no one to help her.
She leaned against the wall, sighing once again. Hinata was seriously thinking of just running home when she heard her name being called by the one voice she was all too familiar with.
A blond boy waved at her and then turned his attention back to the pink-haired girl in front of him. Hinata assumed he was talking to her beforehand and felt a pang in her chest. Of course, she thought. Well, it wasn't much of a big deal when Naruto and Sakura were seen together. She knew they were best friends and everything, but she honestly couldn't help but feel . . . . jealous. Naruto liked the girl for a time and he made everyone know about it; however, things had happened and they decided to just be friends.
She watched Sakura deck him quickly and shove him towards Hinata. She smiled and waved, giving Naruto a confusing thumbs-up and scurrying away into the west corridor.
"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto said as cheerily as always, "That's one hell of a downpour, huh?"
"Y-yeah," she replied shyly, her body too aware of his presence.
But it was a miracle she actually was still standing! When they were young she would faint at the mention of her name from his lips, having harbored a crush on the big blond idiot for the longest time. She eventually matured and got over it, but, to her disappointment, the stutter never went away.
"You... need a ride home?"
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And so that was how she found herself running against wind and rain to Naruto's old 1974 Toyota Corolla Coupe, at the edge of the carpark. The rain was cold against her purple sweater and blue jeans, soaking her whole body and, probably, even Naruto's.
She abruptly stopped, crashing against the passenger door, Naruto crashing against her as he laughed that laughter that brought sunshine in the middle of that storm. Hinata felt herself blush as she laughed along with him. Naruto quickly fumbled for his car keys he conveniently forgot to take out in the shelter and opened the passenger door for her as she slumped onto the seat and sat upright.
To her surprise Naruto came in with her, his torso on her thighs, arms reaching for the edge of the driver's seat. He pulled himself forward, legs forming a 90-degree angle and barely hitting Hinata's face.
"Shut the door!" He said as Hinata reached for the door's handle and shut it loudly.
There was a silence filled with the pitter-patter of the rain against the car's roof and hood, and the heavy breathing brought by their sprint. Naruto was still awkwardly positioned against a blushing Hinata and the driver's seat.
Then the two broke into laughter.
"Sorry about that, Hinata," Naruto apologized and fixed himself onto his seat, "It's just that I'd be even more wet if I ran to my side..."
Hinata smiled, "I-it's okay," the shy girl replied. Then the awkward silence started.
Naruto was usually the life of a crowd—the friendliest, albeit noisiest, in their group of friends. He was never quiet, never shy, and never ever awkward to be with. Even if one was more timid than Hinata.
But the thing was that Hinata had told him something about three weeks ago that may have shaken their friendship altogether. She had told him she liked him.
Since then it was weird between them.
When they spoke to each other there was a tense atmosphere anyone in a 5-meter radius could feel. When they passed by each other in the hallway, they'd smile at each other awkwardly and go on with their businesses.
Naruto wasn't able to reply to her because they had been abruptly cut off when Naruto's uncle Nagato came to pick him up while his, Naruto's, car was getting some repairs. Naruto, looking as shocked as he'd ever been, said they'd talk about it. And they, to that day, still haven't talked about it.
It was practically a miracle they laughed together when they ran towards the car.
Naruto started the engine and the air conditioning blared heat for them to get warm. Hinata took off her sweater, revealing a dainty white sleeveless top. She rubbed her hands against each other in front the heater and glanced towards the boy beside her.
And he was handsome. He'd already taken off his jacket and was clad in a simple orange shirt (really, the boy couldn't get enough of the color orange). He shook his head to get the water out of his blond tresses and ran his hands through them, smirking that silly smirk he had as he did so. He placed his hands on the steering wheel and asked her if they were good to go. She absent-mindedly nodded and was quickly snatched from her trance by the revving of the engine.
And they were off.
For a few moments they were awkwardly silent, but Naruto, wanting to save what was left of their friendship, cleared his throat and started bringing up random topics like ramen, manga, their teachers, chicken, ramen and ramen. Hinata prayed for their banter to never stop. And it didn't; at least not for too long and never without that stutter Hinata could never get rid of in front of Naruto.
They stopped at a red light and Hinata smiled to herself, thinking about how, short as that moment was, she never wanted to forget about it. She briefly closed her eyes and committed it to her memory. And as she opened her eyes to glance at the handsome boy beside her, she was briefly shocked to see his bright blue eyes looking at her.
The stoplight turned green and the moment was gone. Silence returned and the hard pitter-patter of the rain against the car's roof and hood sang with the old wipers swiftly cleaning rain water away from the front window.
"Uhh... Hinata?" The shy girl slowly turned her head to the boy beside her. "About that other day..."
The car's engine abruptly stopped and Naruto had to steer the car to the side quickly before it stopped moving and he had to go out and push it himself as to not hinder other vehicles from passing. She sat down on her seat, unable to comprehend what was going on.
Naruto looked at his dashboard and swore loudly, hitting the steering wheel with his right hand. "I forgot to get me some gas!" He hit the steering wheel with his head, defeated. "I'm so sorry, Hinata. I saw the . . . . the thing and I forgot and..."
She smiled at him, "I-it's okay. D-do you know anyone who c-could help us?"
"That's right." He suddenly sat up, struck by genius. Naruto grabbed his backpack that he had somehow thrown to the backseat. He threw the bag back, not finding what he was looking for and felt for something in his pockets. He pulled out his phone a dialed a number.
Hinata, finding this silly, giggled at the silly boy next to her. The silly boy she was so damn silly about. She shook her head.
A muffled hello loudly sounded from the receiver on Naruto's ear.
"Sas—Sakura? What are you doing with Sasuke's phone? ... Playing 2Fuse? ... Waiting for the rain to sto—I''ll stop repeating what you're saying then. You guys are still at school? Could you pick us up? My car ran out of gas and... That ass. He just doesn't wanna get his chicken-ass hair wet! ... Oh, c'mon, please? ... But—Sasuke! Hey, man, help me out here! ... What? Hey, I just forgot to fill it up again! A very pretty lady is with me and the king would kill us both if she gets sick! ... I am not dramatic! ... Hinata's with me. Help us out! ... No! But Sasuke we— hello? Hello?!"
Hinata watched him stare at his phone and shook her head. "N-Naruto, I think there's a gas station nearby. But it's about 500 meters away..."
"There is? Great! Wait for me here."
Naruto made a dash into the pouring rain before Hinata could say anything more. She watched him run away and just sat there. The edges of her lips couldn't help but once again turn up into a smile when she saw him retreat back into the car. He shut his door and caught up with his breathing. He swore when he noticed himself drip on his car seat. Once again throwing himself on his steering wheel, he said, "Show me where it is?"
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At the count of three, Hinata reluctantly made a run for it towards the direction of the gas station. There was 25% visibility and all Hinata could rely on were her keen instincts.
"Wait up!" She heard Naruto call from behind her and soon enough they were running together. Side-by-side. Her heart was running faster than she was.
The rain's pitter-patter was loud against her ears, an occasional car passing by, barely missing them as they were in the middle of the road. She could feel her wet clothes sticking to her like a second skin that it felt really uncomfortable.
She shook the feeling away and kept running, Naruto beside her. She looked at him and saw him, right through the rain, smiling so brightly at her it made her feel comfortable again. She smiled back and pointed to the small gas station directly ahead of them.
The moment they found shelter in the convenience store, they shook the water away from their bodies. Naruto told her to wait for him and bought some gas in a container, enough to make his car start. When Naruto found her, gas in hand, he told her to get an umbrella.
"Wh-what's the point? We're already soaked."
Before they left, they had cheap coffee to warm them up and waited in vain for the rain to stop.
And so, on the count of three, they ran.
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There was something about the rain that made Hinata want to just pull Naruto into a dance. Some sort of moment some would say You Only Live Once. And she wanted to do it. He was running a short distance ahead of her and he look back, stopped and waited for her.
"What's the point, right?" He laughed, "We're already soaked."
Hinata laughed and stopped in front of him. They walked side-by-side, the pouring rain just soaking them even more.
She watched the rain crash on the road in front of her and it looked pretty. That moment was pretty! She tried hard to keep her breathing steady as her heart was still running marathons that it's probably reached Naruto's car already.
Suddenly, "Tag! You're it!" Before she could react, something orange and yellow flashed by her right. Naruto, the container of gas held above his head with his hands, turned towards her but was still walking backwards. "Come one, Hinata! I'm the one carrying the heavy gas container here!" He taunted, trying to provoke her to run after him.
And to her surprise, Hinata found herself running after him in the heavy rain. The streetlights were their guides and they just kept running.
Hinata made a grab for Naruto's very much soaked shirt and held on tightly. "T-tag!" She awkwardly shouted and Naruto only laughed.
"Oh, no, you don't!" He turned to her again, twisting his body to try and catch up to her. Hinata laughed and ran away from him.
And it was amazing.
It was a whole new level of fun for her. She laughed and yelped at his attempts to tag her. Her eyes shined so brightly, losing its usual pale lavender color and evolved into something that sparkled. Amethysts.
She'd never felt so . . . . alive. And that was just what Naruto did to her. Almost like he was a large wave of positive energy spreading warmth to the world—to her world.
She felt a tug on her wrist and she sashayed to look at the handsome boy she'd been in love with since she met him. She wondered as she gazed into his cerulean eyes how far her love has taken her. How big her maturity had gotten and how she was still maturing. How that once frail little girl turned into someone so . . . . different.
And right then and there, as this same boy ripened by life itself pulled her in and leaned his face closer to hers, right in the pouring rain, the lightning, the thunder and the sky as their witnesses, she was fearless.
Anticipating his lips, Hinata shut her eyes. And when the moment ended, her world was spinning. She opened her eyes and the pupils widened, not comprehending what had just happened. She felt her stomach clench and all her blood travel to her cheeks.
"Uhh..." Naruto scratched his head with his free hand and gave her a lopsided grin, "About what you said that day..."
Hinata felt herself gulp. This was it.
"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it sooner. It's just that I was so . . . . unsure of how I'd react. I mean," he shrugged, "I didn't really expect anything like that to come from you."
Hinata almost snorted. Hadn't she been so painfully obvious?
"And I told Sakura about it."
Hinata's heart flipped. Sakura again?
But the blond boy smiled, "She said you were really sweet. And painfully obvious," he laughed loudly. Hinata smiled as he put down the container and held both of her hands.
"And then I remembered how you saved me from detention once . . . . and from suspension, like, twice."
Naruto paused and his eyes and his became softer. "And that time so long ago. Do you remember that?"
"Huh?"
"When you cheered me up after I got into a fight with your cousin back in middle school?"
And she did. How could she forget? It was a day she cherished in her heart. He had told her how he only seemed to be strong when in truth it was all an act. She had felt it was a big leap for him to open up to her. She had told him that his imperfections were what made him strong; what made him who he was.
Imperfectly strong.
She nodded, more blood rushing to her cheeks. He smiled and continued, "I remembered that," he said matter-of-factly, his eyes boasting. "And Sakura told me to think about it. And I did. And thought we should give it a try..."
"Give what a try?"
"This." He leaned into her once again, pulling her closer with their intertwined hands. His lips crashed onto her and his hands moved to her slim waist. Hinata felt herself give in and placed her hands shyly to his wet hair and pulled him closer.
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When Naruto reached her house, it was already a quarter past seven. The rain hadn't entirely stopped, but it was lighter than how it had been.
Hinata didn't want to get off yet. She felt like luckiest girl in the world as her left hand held Naruto's right on top of the gear shift. She felt it was too early to leave even of it was less than an hour before her curfew.
"Pick you up for school tomorrow?" Naruto suggested, smiling bright as always at her.
"Just don't forget your gas again, okay?"
He laughed and she smiled. He promised he won't and kissed her forehead.
As Hinata stood under the shelter of her porch dripping wet all over and probably ruining the wooden floor, she waved as Naruto drove away. She sighed and pinched herself really hard, only to receive pain in the process. She shook her head in disbelief for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
She watched as the heavy downpour crashed against the pavement and it was a beautiful sight. The rain shined like platinum, almost as if it sparkled as it reached the ground.
》 end 《
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Note: This is a fluff fic I got from Taylor Swift's song Fearless. I didn't even intend to listen to the song in tHe first place, but as I heard the lyrics I thought it was so NaruHina. Hahaha!
Why I'm so into that pairing lately, I don't know. Probably because I was playing Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 with my friend for Sasuke's birthday and when she used Hinata as Naruto's sub the description said, "Secret Lovers." No, I'm not lying. Check out my tumblr account under the tag 'naruhina'. I took a picture of it. / hahaha! Let's congratulate ourselves! This is totally leading to those two being canon! XD
Anyway, I hope you guys liked it and please please please leave a review and tell me what you think!
Hugs and so much love from renzie17