A/N: An early update! Huzzah! Enjoy, my lovely readers! [and, as always, thank you for the reviews and the alerts and just for reading this story c:]

"What can I get you kids?"

"We'll both have the miso ramen, please."

"Two orders coming right up!"

Hinata gave the owner a grateful smile as he turned away to prepare their meal, and twisted in her seat to look around the restaurant, which was completely devoid of life. Well, it was to be expected; it was quite a while past noon, and most of the villagers had finished their lunches long ago. Outside there were just a few people milling about and enjoying the afternoon sun, but apart from that there wasn't much to see, and it didn't take long for her gaze to make its way over to the red-haired boy sitting beside her. Even though they'd already ordered, his focus was still on the menu, the letters reflected in his bright green eyes. Every so often a light breeze would flutter into the restaurant and play with his hair, tugging the long strands away from his face long enough for her to see the tattoo etched into his forehead before it was hidden away once again. She thought about starting a conversation, but immediately decided against it, content with watching him in silence. In the beginning, when she'd first run up to him outside her gate, she'd thought she'd seen a flash of something dark in his eyes, a shadow lurking beneath the surface of a glittering ocean, but the instant their eyes met it passed, and a small smile had come to his face, one that brought butterflies to life in her stomach. She couldn't help but feel rather elated, simply because he had looked happy to see her. It had made her happy.

I still can't believe I'm here. On a date. With him! Drumming her fingers across the countertop, she took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. It was a hard feat to pull off; she'd never been so self-aware in her life! Her heart was a hammer pounding against her ribcage, every beat pulsing in her ears, and the butterflies just wouldn't stop their incessant fluttering. She was a bundle of nerves, and he was the complete opposite. He was the epitome of composure, betraying no sign of anxiety, but then again, hadn't she expected that? He wasn't the open book that she was. She opened her mouth, gripped with the sudden desire to speak, to even ask him what he was thinking, but the words felt thick in her mouth, and nothing she could think of seemed eloquent enough to say.

"This is a nice place," Gaara commented, breaking through her trance. "It's very cosy."

She nodded in agreement. "Even though it's small, it's a very good restaurant," she said.

"So I've heard – Tsunade-sama was the one who told me about it," he said.

"She did?"

"Yeah; I asked her for some recommendations for today, and this was one of the places on her list. 'Ichiraku Ramen, you can't miss it'. She was right about that, too. The only reason I chose it was because I actually knew where it was," he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I had a horrible feeling if I tried to take you somewhere else I'd only end up getting us lost."

"I could've guided us back, though."

"...Ah. Well you see, up until this moment I hadn't actually considered that."

A tiny giggle found its way out of her lips, and just like that her anxiety began to melt away, calming her heart and loosening the tension in her limbs.

"You look lovely, by the way," he said suddenly, his words acting as the spark which lit the flames in her cheeks.

"E-eh?"

"I especially like your hair; when it's up like this I can see your eyes a lot better."

"A-ah, um, thank you," she stammered, unable to hide her embarrassment. The butterflies were going crazy! Why was she so easily affected by his words? "Y-you look really nice today as well. I was kind of surprised to see you dressed so casually." Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. "I m-mean, not that i-it's a bad thing, it's just different, and I mean that in a good way – not that your normal clothing isn't nice, it is, I mean..." she fell silent, unsure of how to carry on without making an even bigger fool of herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't –"

"It's alright," he said. Incredibly, he didn't seem the least bit offended. In fact, he was actually chuckling, and she could see the amusement as clear as day on his face.

"I-it's not that funny!" she complained indignantly, twiddling her thumbs.

"Of course, of course," he said. He swivelled round in his chair so that he faced her directly. "I'm sorry. You're right. It's not funny at all." Even though he said this reassuringly, the smile never left his eyes, but she didn't mind so much anymore. "If it helps, I'm not used to it either. I haven't been out on something so unofficial in a long time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've never had any free time. Nor the incentive to find some."

"I c-can understand; I've spent s-so much time concentrating on my training that I can't remember the last time I went out."

"That doesn't surprise me – you told me yourself that you're going after your dream. Becoming stronger takes a lot of dedication."

He remembers? Even though she merely nodded in response, she was unable to hide the delight she'd received from his comment. She's never expected him to remember what she had told him. Then again, she hadn't expected him to ask her on a date, either. He was constantly shattering her expectations.

And she liked that.

Their talk was cut short as the food finally arrived, two steaming bowls of ramen which gave off a rich, delicious aroma.

"That smells amazing," Gaara said, immediately going for his chopsticks.

"It tastes amazing, too," Hinata replied. She watched him take his first bite and then mimicked his actions, starting on her own food.

They fell quite as they ate, both their minds occupied by some distraction or another. She would sneak a glance at him from time to time, wondering if she should say something, and what she could say. Yet, ironically enough, she felt no need to fill the silence at all; in fact, it was rather comfortable. All the same, she was curious. What was going to happen after this? Would the date just end? She'd assumed it would just be a lunch, but was there a possibility he'd take her somewhere else?

She really wanted him to.

"Eh? Hinata? Gaara?!"

She froze, her ramen hanging limply in the air before her. No way. She hadn't just heard that voice, right? That wasn't him. It couldn't be him. The urge to turn her head was strong, but she refrained from looking back, afraid that she was right. He was out on a mission. There was no way he was here –

"Naruto?!"

He is here! She screamed internally, attempting to imitate Gaara's usual calm as she looked in his direction. The blonde jinchuriki wore the same large, jovial grin she was so used to seeing, and the air he carried with him was as cheerful as ever. "N-naruto-kun! You're back!" She couldn't help the elated tone of her voice; she hadn't seen him in ages, and here he was!

"From an incredibly successful mission!" he said cheerfully, patting her shoulder. "And I'm starving, too!" He waved at the man behind the counter, who needed no more than that gesture to start whipping up something for his favourite customer. "It's good to be back! And even better to see you here, Gaara! Why aren't you in Suna?"

"I have business here with Tsunade-sama," he explained as Naruto dragged an empty stool away from the counter to sit between the pair.

"I'm happy to see you again!" Naruto said, clapping his hand against Gaara's back. "Hey, is it your first time in this restaurant? It's amazing, isn't it? My favourite place!"

The two continued chatting away, unconscious of the uncomfortable girl hastily digging into her meal. How am I supposed to feel about this?! she asked herself, stuffing a large bite of noodles into her mouth, if only to have an excuse not to speak. Of all the people in the entire village to show up in the middle of the date, it just had to be her long-time unrequited crush! What had she done to the universe for it to act so cruelly towards her?

She glance at Naruto through her peripheral vision, and felt that familiar attraction she'd always felt towards him, the adoration she'd held close to her heart for the longest time possible. His face lit up as he laughed at some senseless remark he'd made, and with it she could feel her spirits rising. Why?! Why was she letting herself feel this way now?! It wasn't fair to Gaara – if she still felt so strongly about the blonde, why had she ever agreed to this whole thing in the first place?

This was absolutely insane. The sheer discomfort of it all made her squirm in her seat, and she half-deliberated making an excuse to get out of there straight away. But she couldn't do that. It was too rude a gesture no matter which way she looked at it. Then she would have to stay; somehow, this decision didn't dishearten her much, but was that because she was on a date, or because Naruto was here? What was she supposed to do?! Just stay calm. Breathe. It was fortunate for her that they were completely engrossed in their discussion, otherwise there would have been a chance of them noticing her internal struggle.

"Hinata!" Naruto said, nearly causing her to leap three feet out of her stool.

"Y-y-yes?!"

"How are you? You're being really quiet, you know."

"I'm f-f-fine!" she replied quickly. "S-so, your mission went well?"

"We kicked ass," he bragged. "I think a lot of people are mad at us for snagging it – I ran into Kiba on the way here and he nearly bit my head off warning me to stay out of the way next time."

"E-everyone's a little stir crazy," she said apologetically.

"I don't blame them at all," he said, ogling their food with a ravenous gleam in his eye. "Nothing good has come up in ages. So, what brings you guys here?"

Do we tell him? Am I supposed to tell him? Do I want him to know? What do I do?!

"We're on a date."

Hinata choked on her food, and nearly descended into a full-out coughing fit. Gaara had said it so blatantly that it had taken her aback, as though she was also hearing it for the first time. He hadn't given her any time to think! Naruto's reaction was just as dramatic; he gaped at the pair in shock, his eyes going back and forth between the two so many times she half-expected them to pop right out of their sockets. "Seriously?!"

Gaara nodded, and Hinata managed a small one of her own, still attempting to clear her throat. It took Naruto a minute to process the information, and then another minute to realise exactly how he was encroaching upon them. As soon as he did, he immediately shot out of his stool and returned to its original position.

"You should've told me right from the beginning!" he scolded them, wagging his finger at the pair. "I wouldn't have interrupted like this if I had known!"

"I-it's okay," Hinata tried to say, but he held his hand up and cut her off.

"Not another word! I'm getting out of your way right now!" She opened her mouth to object, but he interrupted her once again. "Sakura-chan is meeting me here in few minutes, anyway."

"Ah, of course," she said.

"Well, it was good to finally see you," Gaara added.

"And you! Don't be a stranger while you're here!" Winking at Hinata, he gave the two a knowing smirk and moved over to the other end of the counter; a futile action, really, as it only made a few seat's difference, and it didn't once prevent the occasional glances he threw in their direction.

The two exchanged a look before going back to their meals, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Well, at least, one of them was. Hinata didn't know what to think; she was still fixated on Naruto's reaction. The blonde had found out that was on a date, but apart from being astonished by the news, he hadn't responded in any other way.

It was slightly disappointing.

But then again, had she really expected anything more?

She snuck a peek toward Naruto's side of the bar, and found that somehow during the last two minutes she'd missed the entrance of his pink-haired teammate, who was gawking in their direction and muttering something sideways to him. Clearly he had relayed the circumstances of their presence to her.

"...They're staring at us." She didn't realise she'd made the observation aloud until Gaara spoke.

"Apparently we're a fascinating subject," he remarked, tapping the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks.

"Well, it is news to them, I guess..." she tried, hoping that thinking about it rationally would make it less awkward. It didn't help. She could practically feel their stares boring holes into the back of her head.

"I think they're waiting for something," he said.

"Yeah..." Her eyes swivelled left and right as she desperately searched for something to take her mind off her audience. Unsurprisingly, this dull tactic brought about no results.

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked.

"Huh?"

"They don't bother me much, to be honest, but if it's making you uncomfortable then just say the word and we'll leave."

"No, no, it's not that bad," she lied, plastering an encouraging smile on her face.

Now she could hear them whispering.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah...it's okay."

"Okay, then." He sounded unconvinced, but he didn't press the matter any further, and resumed eating. With a sigh, Hinata took another bite, and resisted the craving to glace back once again. Since he'd arrived, Naruto had become a dominant presence in her mind. Why had he and Sakura come here anyway? Well, actually, that was obvious; not a day went by when he wasn't in this restaurant. Not to mention they usually tended to eat together. They could've been here simply to have an innocent, celebratory lunch, or even something more, yet they were so captivated by her and Gaara that it looked like they'd completely forgotten about their original plans. Why couldn't they have showed up an hour later?

This was all Karma's doing. Her guiding hands had led them here; somehow Hinata had made the universe angry, and this was her punishment.

"Are they still watching us?"

Gaara straightened up in his seat and casually glanced over her head. "Yes, they are." He dropped his chopsticks into his bowl, his ramen still unfinished, and placed a handful of money onto the counter. "Let's go." Without any sort of warning, he took her hand.

"W-what are y-you d-doing?!" she stuttered, squeaking out the last word.

"Taking advantage of the situation," he said nonchalantly, slipping his fingers in between hers. "Come on."

Eh?! "H-h-hang o-on!"

Apparently oblivious to her incoherent protests, he pulled the stuttering girl off of her stool. From the other end of the counter there was a gasp, and then a bout of animated chatter followed, one which prompted her to go along with the Kazekage willingly. She allowed him to lead her out of the restaurant and down the deserted street, her gaze fixed not on the road before them but on their interlocked fingers. He walked with a confident stride, and she followed with her own clumsy gait, trying her hardest not to accidently trip over her own feet.

He's not letting go, she thought, unconsciously squeezing his hand a little tighter. The feeling was so unfamiliar. She'd never actually held hands with anyone before.

"Sorry I yanked you out here without saying anything," he said, bringing her out of her reverie. He'd slowed his pace to match hers, and they wandered aimlessly down the pavement, neither of them quite aware of the direction they were heading in, nor their destination. "You just looked like you were uncomfortable in there."

"I-it's okay," she reassured him, gracing him with a small smile. "I understand."

"Then you admit it?" he asked, staring her down. "You were uncomfortable."

"J-just a little bit..."

"Was it because of Naruto?" She flinched at her crush's name. "After he showed up, you were distracted the entire time."

He noticed...damn it. This wasn't good. Her stomach was knotted with guilt, and there was a pressure in her chest which just wouldn't go away. It really wasn't fair to him, was it? She was supposed to have been on a date with him, yet half the time she'd been wrapped up in her contemplations of the blonde, and of her own emotions. Because of her, it had come to an early end. She owed him the truth. Even if she'd rather not say anything at all.

"I...I don't want to lie," she murmured, lowering her eyes to the ground.

"Then don't." They came to a halt, and he looked at her expectantly.

Just say it! "I...I have a crush on him!" she confessed loudly. Peering through her eyelashes, she tried to get a glimpse of his expression without being too obvious about it; it was hard to tell, but from what she could see, he wore no visible reaction. Even so, she felt the slight change in the way he gripped her hand, and somehow this indication spurred her to continue. "I've a-always had a crush on him. For a really long time."

The silence was deafening. Her initial guilt had faded to nothing with her confession, but the pressure was still there in her chest, and she had no idea why.

"...I see," he said finally, scratching his head with his free hand. "Yet you still agreed to come out with me today."

"Y-yeah," she admitted, unable to look him in the eye. Why had she accepted? It wasn't like her feelings for Naruto had simply vanished during those few seconds she'd needed to agree to this date, and she certainly wasn't the type of person to lead someone on.

Why was she here?

"He's a lucky guy," he sighed. "I'm jealous."

"Y-you're j-jealous?"

"Of course I am." Once again he was being so honest, so absolutely blatant about it that her heart couldn't help but palpitate. "Konoha became a lot more interesting the day I met you. And I never expected to fall for you, you know. It just happened. You have something I just can't explain, something that draws me to you." Each statement made her heart pound just a little faster, and the pressure just kept on increasing. "You're incredible, Hinata."

Thump thump thump went her heart against her ribcage. "I guess I should let you go now," he said, loosening his hold on her fingers. Her body automatically reacted to the motion; she clung on to him, unwilling to let go, yet completely incapable of comprehending why.

What was going on with her? Why won't I let him go? she asked herself, furrowing her brow. She didn't understand – she had literally just told him that she had feelings for someone else, yet here she was, clutching him in an iron grasp, forcing him to remain beside her.

"...Hinata?" he said, his voice tainted with confusion.

"..."

"You're still holding my hand."

"...I know."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

She shrugged, just as puzzled as he was going on with her?! While everything she'd said had been true, she must've been holding something back, because that something was keeping her fingers wrapped around his, effectively trapping him in her grip.

Something brushed against her other hand, and it took her a minute to register that he'd taken her other hand in his own.

"Why are you keeping me here?" he asked, leaning in slightly.

"I don't know," she said in exasperation, fed up with her failed efforts.

"Really?" he leaned in even closer, until they were so close that their foreheads lightly bumped against each other. "You really don't know?"

"I d-d-don't," she stuttered breathlessly, overwhelmed by his proximity to her.

"Is it because you want me to stay?"

All she could do was shrug, simply unable to decipher what her body was trying to tell her. Her throat was parched, her pupils dilated; she had gone from being somewhat sure of herself to utterly perplexed in nothing more than a minute.

"Would you mind...if I kissed you now?" His quiet question made her heart stutter once again. She couldn't answer – she had no answer, she wasn't sure of what she wanted anymore, or even of what she was thinking. "...I apologize for this, then."

With only that warning to inform her of what was coming next, his lips met hers, and everything was lost to her in a haze of touch; as his mouth moved against hers she felt his fingers flex around hers, tightening and relaxing with each passing second, and she slowly became conscious of the fact that he was gently tugging her closer and closer, until there was no more reason to pull. They were pressed tightly together, their clasped hands wedged between them, the only thing keeping them apart.

After a few seconds he drew away from her, though he still kept her in his grip. Hinata's normally pale complexion had taken on a colour resembling that of his hair, and she could see the turmoil in her eyes as she fought a battle within herself.

He kissed you! Without permission!

I couldn't answer him –

He just took the initiative! It's rude! Completely out of line!

He did apologize though.

But you like Naruto!

But...

But what?!

But I also liked that kiss.