A/N: Alright, I'll admit it: I soooo wanted to write a sequel for Friends With Benefits. What can I do, I set that trap for myself when I left an open end like that one. When I finished writing that prompt, I was happy with my work and didn't think it needed further explanations, the mystery of what Hinata said was a nice mystery to left unsolved, right? WRONG. I receveid some messages asking me to do a sequel, so congratulations MYK-ON, Angi sleeps and all the others that didn't identify themselves, your requests were notted! I wanted to know what she said too. That's why I've spent the last 4 days cracking my head to come up with a good plot and give you guys some closure. I knew I needed to upload this sequel before my next prompt (it'll be on day 11, as I said on the last chapter), and Ramen seemed like a good prompt to do it. I hope I didn't ruin the story (I really like Friends with benefits) and I hope this is a good end to it (it will be the end now, no more extra chapters to it!).

PS¹: I know I'm a day late (Ramen was yesterday's prompt), but I was invited to a barbecue yesterday and couldn't finish it. We brazilians take barbecues very seriously, it's like a sacred thing. You there, reading this from other countries: if you never went to a brazilian barbecue, you don't know what a real barbecue looks like. I strongly recommend it. Tons of every kind of meat, unlimited gallons of beer, an event of a minimum of 14 hours.

PS²: I wrote this fic very fast and didn't read it properly to revise the text (and I typed half of it on my phone, on the bus while getting back to campus), so it may have major grammar errors. I'll try to read it again and correct them soon.

PS³: You need to read the previous chapter to understand this one (chapter 3, prompt 5 - Friends with benefits)

#8: Ramen

He glanced at her every ten seconds, desperately trying to think of something to say. Hinata was carefully blowing her hot noodles before eating them and waiting to see if Naruto would be able to say anything. She knew she should help him, but after that text, she wanted to hear it from his own lips. She put her long hair behind her ears to avoid it falling inside her meal. Hinata could feel her legs shaking against the fabric of her yellow dress, her anxiousness just praying it would be over soon, but at the same time not wanting it to be over. She would not back down now.

She got back from her trip two days after his last text, but they both avoided talking anymore by phone after that. They needed to see each other, talk in person.

Hinata actually had to stay in Brazil another month, but she told her father that something had come up back in Japan, and she would assist him from there. Sakura asked Naruto not to go to the airport because Hinata needed some time to get home and rest from her trip.

And now here they were, at Ichikaru's. Inviting her to eat ramen was the first thing that came to his mind when she called him. Naruto didn't even let her utter a word before he blurted the invitation. He was not sure what he'd do, but eating seemed like a good place to start. It was past dinner time already, but neither of them got to eat properly that day. But now he didn't know what to say, and feared he would never say anything at all. Hinata would probably just leave. He sighed, smiling at his anxiousness.

"What is it?" Hinata asked and finally looked at him, putting down her hashi.

"Look at us. We've been together for months, but the simple mention of something more than friendship freezes us."

She said nothing, but took a sip from her glass, a shy smile turning up the corners of her mouth. Could it really be true? Did he really love her?

"Hinata, I think I must apologize. Sakura-chan made me realize something that got me worried, and I have to ask you something."

"Ok." She replied, not more than a whisper.

"Was I making you suffer? Sakura-chan said you've been in love with me for quite some time, and when I proposed 'friends with benefits'…"

He scratched the back of his neck, angry with himself. Of course he made her suffer. What kind of dumb question is this? She's gonna hate me.

Hinata battled with her inner self. How could she respond to that? She didn't want to put all the blame on him, but couldn't lie either. Before she could say anything, he started again:

"I know I made you suffer. If not by the arrangement, by all those years I spent next to you without knowing how you felt. Feel? No, felt, past tense. I have no business trying to guess your feelin-"

"Naruto-kun."

He stopped mid-sentence, eager to hear her talk. She avoided his gaze.

"You can't blame yourself for not knowing my feelings at a time that I didn't know them myself. It was not pleasant to witness you start relationships with other girls, but I was too shy to admit that I was in love."

Was, is it?

He lowered his gaze to the bowl of ramen in front of him. Maybe she was half asleep when she texted him back two days ago and didn't know what she was saying. Maybe he hurt her more than she can bear and don't want to be near him anymore. Maybe he was too late. He felt a little sick. Ramen always had the power to make him feel better, but not this time.

"After the typhoon, you became the city's hero. I was a little more comfortable talking to you after that, but I couldn't bring myself to confess. You were getting a lot of attention from everyone."

He could see what she meant. The typhoon destroyed almost the entire city, leaving a mark of havoc and pain wherever it passed, but Naruto managed to send a message to those on the risk areas to take shelter while running to one house to another, waking people up, carrying children, dogs, cats or any living being he could find to a safe place. He almost died several times, but never gave up. Hinata actually had to take him out of harms' way when his hand was stuck in a car he had just pulled two kids out before the storm could hit him with debris from the destroyed houses.

"You should have. I'd have liked that. I could never be a hero without you, you know that. At least not a living hero. I liked being recognized by everyone, but you were always the first to believe in me, and you were the only one brave enough to come and help me when I was seconds away of dying. It's been killing me to know how sooner I could have known my own feelings if was not so stupid."

He sighed, but this time in exasperation.

"What do we do now?" Hinata asked, finishing her meal.

"Cancel our agreement, that's for sure." He said with a sad expression.

Hinata finally understood what he was thinking and almost smiled at his confusion. She even felt bold enough to put her hand on his in the middle of the table.

"Naruto-kun, you don't think I meant it what I wrote on that text?"

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, trying to understand where she was getting at with this.

"I'm… I'm not sure? It was the middle of the night there, maybe you were kinda sleepy and weren't thinking straight."

She couldn't help but give him a comforting smile. Those were words she never thought she would ever say.

"I didn't answer your text right after you sent it because I was in shock. That could not be true, right? How could Naruto-kun be in love with me? Were you only misunderstanding your feelings because of what we've been doing? That's why I took some minutes to process and think of what to say. Somehow, deep down, I knew you meant it. I knew you loved me. And my answer… you can be completely sure, I meant it too. I still do."

Naruto thought he would never stop smiling after that, his heart was beating so fast it would soon burst out of his rib cage.

Completely ignored by the lovers on the outside table, the owner of Ichiraku's and his daughter listened to their conversation.

"Don't you dare cry, Ayame! He poured out his heart to her, and she accepted it, you should be happy!"

"I am happy, Naruto deserves a nice girl to look after him. And you're the one who's crying, papa."

Teuchi cleaned his tears with the back of his hands, chuckling.

"Here, take this to them. I'm sure they will love it." Ayame handed him two containers and pushed him towards the young couple. Teuchi looked embarrassed to interrupt their talk, but had a big smile on his face.

"I know you two will be going soon, it's getting late, but I wanted to give you this. On the house."

Naruto opened the container just a little and smelled the nice steam that came out of it.

"Miso ramen! Thanks!"

"Tonight was the first time I saw you eat less than 3 bowls of ramen in a row, so I figured you'll get hungry later. I imagine your talk was very interesting and very important to keep you away from a bowl of ramen."

He gave them a knowing smile, which made them both blush. They thanked and left.

"Naruto-kun… I must know. What do we do now?"

"We can stop calling ourselves friends, for starters. And we can… ahm… go to my place, since it's getting really late and I live closer. Then we eat the ramen before it gets cold."

He chuckled, and she agreed. Her heart was racing since the moment she entered Ichiraku's and saw him there. All she could think about the last couple of days was about seeing him and having him not as a friend anymore, but something beyond that. Hinata wanted to see with her own lavender eyes if he was as happy as she was. And he looked even happier.

They silently entered the elevator and he pressed the number 7. He was trying to keep a safe distance at least until they got in the apartment. He let her enter first, closing the door behind him. Naruto guided her to the kitchen, giving her a pair of chopsticks and taking off the lid of the containers. The ramen was still warm.

Naruto and Hinata ate their meal feeling much more relaxed. The first bowl of ramen they ate on Ichiraku's wasn't enjoyed very well due to their anxiousness, but now they saw how hungry they really were. When it was finished he suggested they should go to the living room, but when he got up and went ahead Hinata held his hand, urging him to wait just a little.

One month. They haven't seen each other for more than thirty days. All the doubt and pain from their friends with benefits period were now forgotten. They were together again. She could feel the sparks on her body caused by his warm skin on her skin, and before their brains could process that feeling, Naruto had thrown her against the wall and locked her body with his.

"I missed you, Hinata. If you were just my friend maybe I would miss you less, but I missed you so much my chest ached. To have you here in my arms again feels so good I sometimes think I'm dreaming."

"It's a dream worth having, if I can be with you. But here-" she grabbed his shirt with both hands. "-this is real, and no dream can beat that."

He leaned forward, kissing her. Her lips tasted like ramen, and that made him smile. That would be good.

His tongue invaded her mouth, determined to taste all the ramen it could get. Teuchi really knew how to make the best ramen in the world, and that ramen-flavored kiss felt awesome. His body pressed against hers, his hands putting her arms above her head. Naruto held her arms with one hand while the other went inside her dress, pulling it up, feeling her skin, looking for her breasts. One long lick on her neck was enough to make her shiver, and her body responded with eagerness when he sucked her earlobe and stuck his tongue inside her ear, making circular moves, going back and forth. Naruto grabbed her left breast, torturing her nipple with his fingers.

"Nng, N-Naruto-kun..." she pleaded in a whisper. "This is so good."

He was not done yet. His mouth went back to her lips, the taste of ramen lessened but still present and still good, while his hand left her nipple to make its way down. Hinata shivered even more when she felt his hand tease the limit between her belly and her underwear. Every part of her begged him to go a little further in, her breathing rapid and anxious.

"Feel me." she whispered in his ear.

He could have torn her dress apart after that. Her languid voice pleading him to please her had an extreme effect on him, turning him on more than anything. His fingers reached her underwear again and crawled inside it, exploring her pubes until they found her clit, bumping against it. Hinata felt her legs turning to jelly, not sure if she would be able to stay standing up. Naruto separate her labia and found his way inside her with his middle finger. His thumb kept pressing her clit, circling it, feeling her sex more and more wet.

Hinata moaned inside his mouth.

"Naruto-kun..."

"Not yet, Hime."

Naruto went down to his knees, pulling down her panties.

"I can't feel the taste of ramen on your mouth anymore. I want to feel the taste of something else instead."

Passing one of her legs over his shoulder, Naruto pulled up the hem of her dress and brought his head closer to her. Hinata was panting in anticipation, her body hot and her pulse fast. Naruto tried licking her slightly, just letting her anticipate what was coming. Using one hand to hold the leg over his shoulder and the other to open her entrance, he buried his face on her sex hungrily, sucking her clit with eagerness. She screamed but not with words, just a loud groan. His lips drank every drop of her juice, frantic tasting her skin. His tongue went back and forth, trying to go as further in as possible. Naruto's lips went back to her clit to leave her entrance to his fingers. His index and middle finger kept a fast pace in and out of her, never failing to make her moan.

Hinata would have fallen to the floor already if Naruto wasn't holding her. Her hands were pulling his hair but he didn't seem to even notice it. She was starting to shake again, feeling her orgasm coming. His mouth was relentless on her, her hands tried to push him away, but he knew it was just a reflex, he would certainly help her reach her climax. Hinata felt her whole body tense, her legs shake violently, and another scream escape her mouth. Then she felt relaxing, while Naruto finished licking her to clean it up.

She slid down the wall, her body weak, not able to lift a finger. Naruto wiped his mouth and took her in his arms, taking her to the couch. He helped her lie down and rested her head on his lap. Hinata felt her face very red, but it was not embarrassment. She looked at him feeling happy and calm in a way she never felt before. He said:

"I'm not gonna say the three word sentence right now because it would be very corny. I just hope that you understand what you mean to me. I want you by my side forever." Slapping his forehead, he added: "Fuck, that was even cornier."

She laughed, making him smile. He loved that laugh. How could he miss those signs before? He might have been in love for much longer than he thought.

"You can say it, it's alright. I will never get tired of hearing it." She said.

He kissed her forehead and stroke her hair until she fell asleep, looking like a peaceful angel. Naruto reached for his phone on his pocket and read again the text she sent two days before, smiling at her reply.

I think I've been fooling our arrangement since the beginning. We promised to be true to each other about our feelings, but I've been lying all along. My feelings never fitted it or my heart. If you want to stop we'll stop. But if you want we can start something else. Being just friends is not enough anymore.