(A/n I made Hinata get jealous drunk because that's 100% something I would/have do/done and I identify strongly with her. we're very similar. also I had her say it was okay for him to sleep on her bed because she still loves and doesn't want him to be uncomfortable. while they are things that shippuden Hinata probably wouldn't do, I think 22 year old Hinata would. just bare with me, I'm having fun with this fanfic. this one's a little shorter but i think you guys will still like it. enjoy)

"What the-" I mumble as I'm jarred out of unconsciousness. The thing that woke me is Hinata's arm. She's laying on her back with an arm thrown up beside her. And what was beside her before the arm? My face. I gently move it off of me and slide off of the bed.

The clock on the table next to Hinata blinks 10:47. It's the latest I've slept in for ages. I stretch and yawn, glancing around the room, taking it all in. Everything is a soft pastel, unlike her old room which was mostly white, and everything is very tidy and well cared for, but you can tell someone lives there and uses the things. It's not like a page in a magazine or anything. There's two big windows that I pull the shades down over, so it doesn't hurt her head when she wakes up. The bed is a queen size with a very soft purple and blue comforter, currently rumpled up underneath Hinata's splayed leg. Two rough oak nightstands stand on either side of the bed. There's a long dresser and a big rocking chair on the opposite wall of the bed and six floor to ceiling bookshelves against a third wall that contain books and knickknacks.

I walk over and scan them closer. The small lion I gave her sits at eye level on the shelf closest to her bed. This makes me smile. As I continue scanning, I see pictures of team 8 at many different ages, there's some family photos, and towards the bottom, half tucked behind a jewelry box, a stack of photos of her and I before I left. They aren't in frames but they're all still there. With lots of bent edges and a few smudges so I know she looked at them a lot. I simultaneously want to smile and cry.

Before I can do either, I put them back down, back away, and grab the empty glass from her bedside table. I refill it in the kitchen and grab a few more pain pills and set them all back down on her table, being as quiet as I can. Then I close her bedroom door behind me as I leave. I route around the kitchen for something I know how to make and pans to make it in. Once I locate it all, I set about making scrambled eggs and toast. I'm so afraid I'll burn it, since I haven't made breakfast that didn't come in a cup for quite some time, that I don't notice right away that Hinata is standing in the doorway, looking at me.

I glance up as I'm putting eggs onto two plates, "Oh, Hinata! I hope you don't mind but I made breakfast." I smile and hold a plate out for her. She has the water glass I left for her in one hand, mostly empty, and takes the food with the other. Gracefully, she slides into a chair at the kitchen table, folding one leg up in front of her. She had pulled her hair up into a messy bun and switched out last night's jeans for some faded sweatpants that look kind of familiar.

"Thank you," she murmurs around a bite of toast as I sit down opposite her.

Clearing my throat, feeling a little awkward, I ask, "How are you feeling?"

She raises an eyebrow at me and gives a small, half smile. "My head is killing me but my stomach is alright... Thanks to you" she adds, nodding to the water glass. "That really helped." She drops her head to stare into her lap, red coloring her cheeks. "I'm sorry, that was...that was dumb of me, to drink so much. You must think-"

"I don't think anything" I say because I know it'll make her smile and relieve her embarrassment.

She does smile, looking up at me again. There's no trace of anger or sadness in this look, like so many of her others, and it takes my breath away. I'm the one to drop my gaze this time and I regret it immediately so I look back up, giving her a tentative smile.

"I'm glad you stayed," she says very quietly. Those four words break my heart. I wish for the hundred thousandth time that I had stayed that fateful night six years ago.

I gulp hugely to dislodge the swell of emotion there, "I'll always do whatever I can to be there for you, Hina. I'm just...I'm sorry I didn't think to do more." I hope she knows I'm not talking about just last night.

Reaching out, she touches my hand lightly, "I know you did what you had to." She pulls her hand away again and I want to reach out so badly and grasp it tightly and never let go again. But I don't. Slowly Naruto, I tell myself. Instead, I sigh and eat my breakfast slowly, savoring the togetherness I feel right now. Maybe it's just because she's too hungover to be mad, but it feels a lot like it did before I left, when things were as easy as breathing between us. Maybe I little different, of course, since I can't lean over and kiss her or touch her if I want to, but emotionally, it feels similar. I don't want it to end.

It seems she doesn't either since she's eating just as slowly as I am, peeking up at me through her lashes every once in awhile.

Eventually I ask, since I've been thinking about it since Haruko brought it up, "did you...did you drink that much because of me talking to Haruko?"

She looks up at me startled, color flooding her cheeks again, "umm..." she clears her throat "I um, yes I did. I wasn't ... I didn't like it. You talking to her, I mean." She won't meet my gaze again, staring determinedly at her almost empty plate.

I grin, just a little, as I answer, "Nata, she's my friend. I helped her and her family out while I was on the road."

"Yes, I remember you saying that last night...still" the red still hasn't left her cheeks. It's the cutest thing. "How-what did you do for them?"

"They live in the sand and a huge storm destroyed a bunch of their houses. I helped rebuild them. I mean, I'm no Yamato, but my shadow clones helped move things along. They were very grateful. Haruko is passing through for a plant convention thing and we were just happy to see each other. That was all."

She sniffs airily, "it didn't look like that was all."

"She's just affectionate. Too affectionate. Makes me uncomfortable." Her expression relaxes and the color leaves her face.

It looks like Hinata is struggling with what to say next so I wait patiently, wondering.

"So, the whole time ... you were gone, you didn't- I mean there wasn't anyone-um..." She trails off, her cheeks reddening again, "that you..."

Comprehension finally dawns on me and I'm floored. She's worried about that?! Doesn't she know me at all? "No, Nata. There wasn't anyone. How could there be?"

She nods, still staring down at her plate as if it's the most interesting thing in the world, "because you weren't in one place long enough, you didn't have any opportunity to-"

I lean forward, putting a finger under her chin and gently push until she looks at me, "there wasn't anyone because of you, Nata. You have to know that?" I pull my hand away as her eyes fill with tears, not wanting to push her too far.

"It was six years though, I j-just thought ... that's a l-long time." she bites her lip.

I just shake my head, astounded that that's been bothering her. "Nothing like that would ever happen with me. The whole time I was away, and even now, I never stopped lov-"

She stands up abruptly, cutting me off. "I think you should go," she says in a much higher voice than before. "I-I'm going to take a nap. Thank you for looking after me and for breakfast, that was very kind. You know where the door is, good bye." The last few lines she says very fast before bolting down the hallway back to her bedroom. Now I know why the sweatpants were so familiar; they used to be mine. There's a little Uzumaki patch I sewed onto the back pocket. I gave them to her after a growth spurt.

I stand up, feeling dazed and heartbroken, put our empty dishes in the sink and let myself out of her house, locking the door behind me. She still has so many of the things I gave her or things to remind her of our time together. I don't know what to make of it combined with her behavior. Does she keep them because she just hasn't gotten around to tossing them out yet? Or does she keep them because they're still important to her? Does she still have feelings for me? Ugh, it's all so confusing. It seemed like things were going great for a little while there.

Now my head hurts.

Maybe I'll go talk to Sakura. See what she can make of this.