I'm back! Let me know what you think. This one was fun, as well :-)

Day Two: Mission Together

Hinata had always dreamed of the day Naruto would return her feelings. She'd created various scenarios throughout her childhood of what it would be like if he actually ever felt the same about her as she did for him. Never in any of her wildest dreams did it involve a distant relative from the moon, but nevertheless Naruto had finally said it and even sealed it with a kiss.

Just remembering his words and the kiss they shared in front of the moon made her face flush with giddiness. Her blush receded, however, and was replaced by furrowed brows as she thought of the months following his profession.

The damage done to their world and the resulting chaos that followed the near destruction of their planet had increased the shinobi mission load drastically. They were sent on missions to repair towns, hunt groups of bandits or raiders, smooth over various disputes that cropped up regarding property damage, etc. Because of this, she and Naruto had been consistently out of the village on separate missions for three months.

On the rare occasions they did meet, one was usually coming while the other was going. They would greet the other awkwardly - she would utter a shy "hello" while he'd rub the back of his head awkwardly and respond with a "hey". Once they weren't sure how to end their short conversation so he reached out for a hug and she started to bow. They then corrected to mirror what the other was doing and so on. Their bumbling attempts at conversations stayed just that - attempts and before they knew it, it had been months since they had a real conversation.

One morning Hinata woke up to find she had been summoned to the Hokage's office yet again. She dressed quickly and made her way across town to the tower. When she entered the room her eyes immediately took notice of a familiar blond sitting in front of Kakashi's desk. She bit her lip out of nervousness and walked over to stand behind the other chair.

"Hyuga Hinata reporting for duty, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi just waved at her and told to take a seat. Lavender eyes stole a glance at the young man next to her, but quickly snapped forward at seeing he was looking back at her. The Hokage's eyes glittered with mirth as he watched a blush come to the cheeks of both shinobi seated before him.

"Well, I guess I should probably tell you why you two are here. We've had a request from a popular vacation spot. It seems someone has been robbing their more wealthy clients. One couple was roughed up a bit so they seem to think it's a common robber, but a quick review of the situation makes it seem likely that it's an inside job."

He nodded towards Hinata. "Your Byakugan should be extremely useful for this."

The Hyuga nodded in agreement.

"I've procured a room for the two of you at the hotel. You will be posing as wealthy newlyweds on their honeymoon for the investigation. Only the owner who requested the mission knows about it. For all intents and purposes you will have to act the part perfectly."

Hinata's cheeks flushed a rosy pink and Naruto began to protest, "But Kakashi-sensei! That's -"

"Do you have a problem with the assignment, Naruto?" the Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow. "Hinata's Byakugan has a key role to play, but I can always assign her a different partner. Perhaps Kiba or Shino would - "

"NO!" Naruto yelled out so suddenly that Hinata's eyes widened and mouth opened in surprise. Kakashi merely smirked beneath the mask.

"I'll do it. I just didn't want Hinata to feel awkward or forced into something like this, that's all."

"She's a shinobi just like yourself. Her noble background will help you two to blend into the rather extravagant accommodations and her doujutsu will help you investigate without having to be obvious about it."

"I accept, Hokage-sama," Hinata interjected before they could continue to talk about her. "I am perfectly willing and able to complete this assignment."

She sounded a little terse and Naruto was afraid he'd upset her. 'Great,' he thought with a sigh. With things the way they were between them he hadn't wanted to force anything on her. It wasn't that he didn't think she would be able to do the job. He knew better than most just how strong she was. The Uzumaki nodded his acceptance of the task as well and they confirmed their departure time and any further details before leaving to pack.

Kakashi watched them leave with twinkle in his eye. He knew they hadn't had much time to themselves since the mission to the moon. He hoped this would help them work through whatever was going on between them. After all, this situation was perfect for it. It was right out of one of Jiraiya-sama's Icha Icha books. Speaking of, it was about time to indulge in his mid-morning reading break.

Naruto and Hinata had changed into their undercover clothing in a town about fifteen miles away from the hotel and had procured a carriage to take them the rest of the way, in order to keep up appearances.

The ride was silent, uncomfortably so. Both had started to reach for the other's hand a couple of times, but stopped, oblivious that their companion wanted the same thing. When the carriage came to a stop, however, Hinata had taken a deep breath and steeled herself. She wasn't sure where they were personally, but they had a job to do.

They easily slipped into character as he helped her out of the carriage and escorted her through the entrance. Their act was merely both doing as they wished they could with the other in normal circumstances.

Hinata rested her head on his shoulder as he relished the feeling of wrapping his arm possessively around her waist. There were a couple of men sitting in the lobby, sharing a bottle of sake and talking. When their eyes found his "wife" they started to elbow one another and whisper. Naruto merely smirked internally. At that moment, he felt like the luckiest guy alive.

He glanced down and met the eyes of his companion and didn't stop himself when he felt the urge to capture her lips with his. He pulled away quicker than he would have liked - they were in public after all and had to act a little proper, at least - but her blush and wide eyes made his chest swell with pride. It was the confirmation he had been needing to know she still cared for him.

It was later in the evening when they arrived so after checking in they headed straight to their room to get settled. When Hinata saw Naruto spreading one of the spare blankets over the couch she walked over and put her hand on his arm.

"What are you doing, Naruto-kun?"

"Well I figured I would take the couch so you could have the bed. You're the girl, after all. Ero-sennin always said… you know what, nevermind," he said with a blush, remembering that the whole lesson was more crude than noble sounding. "I just want you to have the bed so you take it. I'll be fine here."

"But you're supposed to be my h-hus-, um-"

"Husband?" Naruto supplied with a large grin. She was stuttering again!

"Yes," she said quietly. "Wouldn't it look suspicious if they somehow figured out that you slept on the couch?"

"Are you saying you want me to sleep with you?"

The words were out of his mouth before he realized how it sounded. Hinata's face flared red and she became a stuttering mess while he tried to backtrack.

"Not like that! I mean I'd like to sleep with you - er next to you. Just sleeping! And maybe some cuddling… or not! Whatever you're comfortable with."

Hinata had started to calm down, her mind creating more scenarios than she could possibly keep up with. This was seriously straight out of the pages of one of Jiraiya-sama's Icha Icha books - not that she would ever admit to having read them. She'd just been trying to research the kind of person who had taken Naruto out of the village for two years, that's all. The plots really were rather intriguing.

They'd fallen asleep on complete opposite ends of the large bed, but had woken up entangled in each other's arms. The feeling of waking up while enjoying the heat and scent of their most loved one was better than either of them could ever have dreamed. Blushes and nuzzles had turned into sweet kisses and delighted sighs.

The barriers between them had quickly fallen after that.

The mission only lasted a week. The pair easily caught the maid and her boyfriend who had been stealing. In fact, the Konoha shinobi may have put off the actual capture a couple of days in order to make the most of their stay. Luckily the owner had been so thankful that the situation had been handled without scandal or harm to his business that he gave them a free pass to come back for another week whenever they liked. He even winked at them as they departed, still hand in hand despite no longer being undercover.

Back in Konoha a silver haired Hokage giggled at the thank you sent to him by hawk from the owner. It seems the man thought he was a genius for sending a genuine newlywed shinobi couple to do the job. Those two were never going to hear the end of his teasing.

Hehe awkward Hinata and Naruto are my favorite. Let me know what you thought! All the follows and favorites and reviews are fuel in the creative fire!