The community gardens were beautiful, at least from the outside. The flowers had just started blooming in the spring time, and the weather was just warm enough to make a pleasant outdoor walk.
The only lull in the plan, was Shinachiku Namikaze-Haruno's willingness to proceed.
"But there's bugs." Shinachiku had his hands pressed against the window of his father's car, pressing his face against it like thick prison Plexiglas.
"I have bug spray." Naruto had already go out of the car. His door was open, so he could still speak to his son who was not getting out.
"What if I get a sunburn?" Shinachiku eyed him.
"I have sunblock."
"What if… someone steals my DS."
"I'll lock the car." Naruto promised.
"What if I fall and get hurt? What if there's a bear?"
Naruto braced his hand on the top of the car door, to lean closer to his sons, face to face. "Then we'll die. And honestly, if a bear somehow makes its way into town, into the garden, specifically driven to kill us, I mean, then, that's the way we go."
"Dad!" Shinachiku pouted.
Naruto blew a raspberry, tilting his head back in disbelief. "Shina, you know I would suplex that bear in like, six seconds." He held his hands out, puffing up his chest. Like he was gesturing to how obvious that outcome would be would be and how obviously amazing he was.
"Dad," His son whined, in the age-old tradition of being completely exhausted with one's parents. "Bears are way stronger than humans. Even you."
With the obvious flaws in his father's plans fleshed out, Shinachiku still ended up conceding and hopped out of the car.
"Don't listen to him, I could totally protect you from a bear." Naruto winked over at Hinata.
She had been watching the interaction between father and son fondly, standing a little off to the side as to not interfere with Naruto's parenting.
Spending time with Naruto was actually a much more positive experience than Hinata's anxiety had originally foreseen it. And not as nearly disruptive to her life than she expected from Naruto either.
Naruto just seemed to pop up, even more so than he had previously, in her day to day. He made it a point to see her after her yoga class. He made lunch plans. He worked a lot, but he tried to dinner a couple times a week.
The one true conflict that came up, was Shinachiku. Naruto's time with him was weekly, every other. When Naruto had his son, he, naturally, had to be focused on him. Which Hinata admired and respected. But when Naruto didn't have Shinachiku, and thus freer afternoon time, time he would want to spend with Hinata – she happened to be his baby sitter.
Naruto had suggested the community garden to her previously, and it was a family friendly activity, even by his less outgoing son's standards.
"T-pose."
Shinachiku jumped to attention, arms out, head up, patiently waiting. Hinata watched Naruto crouch down, to be face to face with Shinachiku and with much detail and care, sprayed his son arms and face down with sunblock and then bug spray.
"Hinata, do you want some?" Shinachiku asked, politely.
He had dropped the 'Mrs.', she was sure from his father's not so subtle suggestions.
"Yes please." Hinata smiled.
Hinata held her hand out for the bottle but Naruto licked his bottom lip, raising is eyebrow, his smirk was showing off a little dimple near one of his whisker marks. "T-pose." He enunciated.
Her cheeks flamed, her lips pouting to fight down her smile but she complied. The spray was cold on her arms. His rough hand trailing down her skin after it, rubbing it in. She could only look down, eyes trained to the ground, unable to match the intensity in his. She glanced quickly to Shinachiku, maybe embarrassed for him too, but he was preoccupied with saving his game, before he was forced to abandon it, left behind in the car.
"You've got to rub it in, Hinata." Naruto smirked, stepping closer to her.
She bit her lip.
She might've had sex with him already, but it was just the one time. In her defense, she had also been inebriated.
In reality, being next to him was still a dizzying experience. He was tall, and muscular, and tan and handsome, even in jeans and a t-shirt. He smelled good too, something that a handsome man would smell like, more expensive than she expected. His smirks were boyish and playful and he was kinder than she remembered him being. Thoughtful.
All of him together was something of a drug. The potent combination of him made her want to wrap herself in him, tight like a blanket.
Really, it just had her looking at him in quick glances, awkwardly bushing.
After he was finished, he had barley misted himself with bug spray before putting both the canisters, and Shinachiku's DS, into his glove box.
"Mom says that sunblock is important." Shinachiku frowned at his dad.
There was a pause, in the light attitude that had formed in the little group. Hinata looked between the two boys and then away. She didn't have a part in the conversation. In any conversation like that.
That was another, extra dynamic, trying to navigate her new found, not relationship, not friendship, whatever was going on with her and Naruto. The dynamic of Shinachiku. She was not his babysitter when they were with Naruto. She was just his dad's… friend?
"That's why I put it on you, bud." Naruto interceded easily, shutting the car door behind him.
He locked it with a quick click-click of his key fob, before putting them in his pocket. "Let's go!" He shooed them good naturedly towards the garden.
Hinata had to admit that the garden as beautiful. Even just at spring time, when a lot of the flowers had just been placed there, probably from greenhouses. She knew it would fill out more, as time passed, but it was good enough for her now. As it was.
There were beautiful trees all around, and flowers that Hinata hadn't even heard of, would never be able to identify. She thought that maybe, some of the long rows that were planted, by color, were tulips, but she wasn't that savvy. She did like them a lot though.
Especially the sunflowers, that obviously didn't need a trained eye to be identified. Only about a foot tall, with, flowers the size of fists. She knew that could get bigger, grow taller than a person, it taken care of correctly. Their massive stalks stretching towards the sun as the flowers followed it across the sky.
A personal favorite.
There was a little park, near the sunflowers. Not very big, with just a few children playing around it.
"What am I supposed to do here?" Shinachiku frowned.
"Um, it's called 'playing', bud." Naruto smirked at his son, leaning back onto the park bench.
"It smells weird." The younger boy huffed.
Naruto smiled while rolling his eyes. "It's called 'the outside'." He took a deep, exaggerated breath and sighed.
It was probably all the mulch, insulating the soil for some of the more temperamental flora.
Shinachiku kicked his foot into the dirt before finally retreating to the scant amount of playground equipment.
"I feel so bad." Naruto threw his arm around the back of the bench, almost around her shoulder, but further back, perched on the wood.
He did scoot closer to her though, where her shoulder was almost brushing against one of his toned pectoral muscles. She was immersed in his smell again. It was just as distracting, intoxicating. She had to purposely zone back into the conversation.
She had paused for too long, making it awkward after a few beats too many, when she finally took the bait to his question. "Why?"
"My son. I broke him." Naruto gestured.
Shinachiku was standing in front of the only slide, peering at it sideways. A little girl had queued up behind him, but he had side stepped out of the way, shaking his head adamantly when the little girl had still offered for him to go first.
"I was given a perfectly good kid, and now look at him." Naruto laughed.
Hinata smiled too, watching Shinachiku avoid another little boy, rubbing his hands on his pant legs, nervously.
"He's a good kid." Hinata put in her two cents.
Naruto shrugged good naturedly. "Yeah, sure, like objectively." They laughed for a moment. "But, I don't know. He just seems so, little."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Shinachiku seemed like an averaged sized nine-year-old. She didn't remember him being bigger than Shikadai Nara and Inojin Yamanaka. If her memory served her correctly, they had all looked around the same exact height and size, or close enough. None of them truly being a standout.
"I don't remember being that little. Even when I was that age."
Hinata tried not to frown, finally looking at Naruto's face. She knew him, as a nine-year-old. He had been rough, dirty, angry, loud. Not like Shinachiku. Not childlike. Shinachiku's youthfully innocence seemed perfectly preserved, Naruto's had been ground out quickly, stamped to make room for survival techniques and coping mechanisms.
Naruto had not had parents to take care of him. He had been shuffled through foster homes and group homes. She had seen bruises on his arms, his clothes torn and ripped.
Hinata put her hand on his leg. Not sexually. Lower down, closer to his knee. In comfort. "You would have broken that DS by now."
Naruto looked down at her, in her eyes, his hand tilting up to touch the back on her shoulder. "Hell yeah. I'd lose one life and just fucking tank it on the side walk, probably."
They laughed together, watching Shinachiku finally strike up a conversation with a little kid his age near a weathered teeter-totter.
"Thanks for bringing me." Hinata finally mentioned.
"'Course." Naruto leaned his chin back, side eyeing her. "I told you, I wanted to."
She ducked her head. "I know." Her voice was quieter. "It's really pretty. I like it."
Naruto's hand, had stayed close, next to her shoulder, brushing it again. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but Shinachiku had made his way back over to the pair. Apparently, his new-found teeter-totter friendship had struck out. Hinata leaned away from Naruto, a millimeter or so. Just for herself it seemed. Shinachiku hadn't even batted an eye at the seating arrangement.
"I'm hungry." He announced.
"Hungry?" Naruto echoed.
Shinachiku nodded his head, to add to the severity.
"Alright," He turned to look at Hinata expectantly. "Hungry?"
She smiled, nodding.
They ended up at Naruto's town house, instead of a restaurant, which was fine by Hinata. She hadn't seen his house since recklessly abandoning it on bare feet in the middle of the night. Drunkenly crying in shame.
It was much nicer the next go around. Sober. In the day time. When she wasn't having an emotional crisis.
He had a town house, in the city. It was smaller than she expected him to have. But even as small as it was, it still probably cost a small fortune, to be this close into the city-center as it was. It was plainly decorated, if you could call it decorated at all. But the small, little touches that were there, were distinctly Naruto. It looked to only be a two bedroom, two-bathroom split level. The kitchen and the living room on the bottom floor.
"Ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly?" Naruto asked her, walking into the kitchen.
"Are you making the food?" Hinata asked, trying not to sound as surprised as she was.
He nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry. I'm better now."
She smiled, easily thinking about enough of Naruto's inept cooking experiences to fill a book.
"So?" He prodded.
She chewed her bottom lip. "Peanut butter and jelly."
Naruto shrugged his shoulders, reaching into the cabinet. "Good ole PB 'n J." He hummed. "You would pick that."
She wrinkled her nose. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing." He sang, smirking over at her from his loaf of bread.
"Dad!" Shinachiku slid into the kitchen on his socks. "Don't forget the carrots."
"Have I ever?" Scoffed Naruto. "But there's no ranch."
"What?" His son gasped.
"Gotcha."
Shinachiku frowned at his dad, standing off to the side of him like a little mini me. Like an American Girl doll, that Hinata had when she was a little. That looked just enough like her to make it uncanny, even strange, but still with some obvious differences.
"Don't even joke about that." Shinachiku frowned.
Naruto looked at Hinata dead in the face, very gravely. "Hidden Ranch is serious business around here."
She nodded along with him.
"You're not being funny, dad." Shinachiku huffed. "Carrots are – Hey! Hinata, my project. Come check it out."
He rushed to grab her hand, tugging her away from his father and the kitchen. She looked back, to smile apologetically about abandoning Naruto alone, making sandwiches. He had paused, still holding a loaf of bread by the plastic packaging. He was watching them leave, with a look that was a little more than passive observance.
She blushed when their eyes met, she felt caught in something but he just smiled at her.
"The bedrooms are upstairs." Shinachiku explained.
She was aware, obviously, but let him pull her along anyways like she didn't.
There was a little table at the top of the stairs, she was sure it was designed for holding knickknacks and family photos, as a decoration piece. But it was cleared off and displaying, proudly, six clear cups of different vegetables, and a note book.
"They're growing!" Shinachiku sounded so excited, and informative, like Hinata wouldn't believe it.
Perhaps forgetting that it was her that had brought him the knowledge in the first place. She didn't mind though. His green eyes were wide, his mouth was wide and smiling. Quickly he leaned forward, eye to eye with the cups.
"I make the notes in this book." He pointed to his notebook, opening up to his own, large script, a little sloppy, but good enough for a nine-year-old boy.
"When the data is all in, we'll put it all together, right?" Shinachiku looked up to her.
Hinata leaned back. Why would Shinachiku want her to do his project with him? He had a perfectly good dad and mom. Why would he ask his babysitter?
He wasn't waiting for her answer. He had a cheap ballpoint pen in hand, making quick notes. "Garlic. Celery. Onion. Roman."
"Romaine." Hinata tried to correct, as nicely as she could.
Shinachiku winced, embarrassed. "Whoops."
"It's okay." She pressed quickly, regretting the interjection.
"Romaine." He emphasized the correct enunciation. "Sweet potato. And carrot." He ended on his favorite, giving the orange plant a much warmer smile than the others received. "Dad said I could eat it when were all done."
She smiled, holding in her laugh. She didn't want him to think she was making fun of him, but it was too cute for her to contain.
"Do you think I could ever have an unlimited supply of carrots?" He asked, though more to himself, resting his chin on the table to gaze at it more evenly.
Hinata shrugged. "Maybe that can be your next year's project?"
"Whoa, really?" He snapped back up.
"If you want."
"That would be so cool. I could have my own carrot farm, but from old carrots. In the cups. I hope they taste good. Let's only do it if it tastes good."
Hinata smiled at Shinachiku's rushed excitement. She nodded with him.
"Project still there?" Naruto was standing at the bottom on the stairs, leaning on the banister.
"Yep! They're still growing." Shinachiku bounced on the balls of his feet exited to inform his father.
"Sweet." Naruto grinned, in the perfect way to foster all of Shinachiku's happiness.
Hinata's heart beamed.
"Lunch is ready." Naruto finally turned his attention from Shinachiku to give her a little wink before headed back into his kitchen.
Shinachiku bounded down the stairs without a second thought.
Hinata herself was much more content to stand there, simmering in her own embarrassment. She got caught ogling him. She groaned, rubbing the crease in between her eye brows. This is precisely what her anxiety had thought would happened, spending time with Naruto. Luckily, it was few and far between. In the meantime, waiting for her next mortifying moment, she couldn't just stay hiding in his upstairs.
"Hinata, sit next to me." Shinachiku patted the seat adjacent to him.
Naruto's kitchen was cozy, and had a small square table that could seat four. The seat that Shinachiku was kindly patting for her, was right across from Naruto. There was a circled white luncheon plate with a peanut butter and jelly, on wheat bread, cut in half evenly. With a side of carrot sticks.
"Thank you." Hinata said, to both the boys.
Shinachiku and Naruto bantered easily together while they ate, though the conversation quickly turned to Hinata.
"Hinata's my friend." Shinachiku argued. "She's my babysitter."
"Hinata was my friend before you were even born." Naruto countered.
"Well, Hinata helped me with my project."
"Childs play." Naruto scoffed. "She used to let me cheat off her homework."
Shinachiku's jaw dropped. "You cheated?" He shrieked.
Naruto paled, as he just realized what he had admitted to, right to his very impressionable adolescent son. "Shi- well, it was her fault. She offered." Naruto turned his eyes onto her, in a mock glare. "Temptress."
Hinata herself snorted behind a covered hand.
"You make me do my homework myself." Shinachiku spoked slowly, frowning at her.
"I'm sorry." She smiled at him.
"Can you do my project for me?" Shinachiku's green eyes glimmered.
She could feel her resolve weakening at his cherubic little, smiling so sweetly at her. Her heart clenched. "I promised I'd help you with it." She tried to ease him down as gentle as possible.
He pouted.
"Come on, Shina. Cheating is for losers. I got caught a bunch and had to get an F or redo it anyways." Hinata was surprised to hear Naruto admit that so honestly to his son.
Shinachiku nodded, taking in his father's wisdom.
"Well, can we start working on it tonight. You're already here." He pointed out.
"Sharp eye son, she is in fact here, but you have to go back to Mom's house tonight. So, you maybe might not want to start anything too big."
Shinachiku's shoulders sighed in defeat. "Can you just look over my notes?" He asked.
Hinata nodded. "Of course."
"Finish your food first." Naruto reminded him.
Hinata helped Naruto clean up afterwards, which wasn't too hard in the first place. Just three plates and a peanut butter and jellied knife.
"So, was it as bad as you remembered it?" Naruto asked her, as they stood side by side at his sink.
"Much improved." She told him, truthfully.
He laughed, loading the plates into the dishwasher. "I've had a lot of practice."
"What else are you proficient in?" She asked, blushing a little.
"I've almost mastered the average basic food groups for a boy. Sandwiches. Cereal. Mac and cheese. I have to learn how to cook chicken correctly, which took me the longest. My spaghetti is pretty boring but edible."
Hinata's eyebrows raised, because it was truly, and honest improvement. "Wow, next you're going to tell me you can make eggs."
Naruto turned from the sink to look her dead in the eyes. "Fried and scrambled." His mask from before snorting, at himself, his eyes crinkling with his laugh.
Hinata swallowed, having to turn away from him. He always had that effect. Like the sun. Sometimes he was just too bright to look at with the naked eye, straight on. Painful. Warm.
Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Shinachiku skidding back into the kitchen with his notebook in hand. "Here, Hinata."
She took a step away from Naruto, if only for a breath, and leaned against his counter top. She leafed through Shinachiku's notes quickly, just to make sure there was enough information there to make into the project later. It looked thorough enough, especially for his age. His attention to detail was very impressive.
"It looks really good." She gave him the well-deserved praise.
"You sure?" Shinachiku asked, nervously.
She nodded. "Yeah. This is more than enough. You're going to have a great project."
"And we can start working on it? The next time you baby-sit me?"
"I promise." She did mean it, as well. If that's what she really wanted, then of course she would help him.
"I'm going to be the first one done!" Shinachiku fist pumped. "Dad, can I play my game until its time to go?"
Naruto drummed his hand on the counter top a moment while he was thinking. "Is your room clean?"
"Yes."
"Bags packed?"
"Yup."
"Weekend homework finished?"
"Yes, dad. You checked it." Shinachiku huffed.
"Watch the sass." Naruto reminded.
Shinachiku pressed his lips together, to hide his pout.
"Alright, if everything is done, you can go play it."
Hinata handed his notes back to him before he dashed off.
"Kids these days." Naruto snorted. "I swear he's glued to that thing. I have to pry it out of his hands just to remember what his face looks like."
Hinata smiled, not quite agreeing. Both Naruto and Sakura had set up good boundaries with TV and gaming in her opinion but she wasn't ever going to argue about that with him.
"Hey, you should come with me." Naruto suggested, a little offhandedly. "To drop off Shina. We can go get some dinner, after. If you want."
"Dinner?" Her mouth felt dry.
"The meal you eat at the end of the day, yes."
Hinata frowned at him. "Watch the sass."
Both of them froze, the words hanging in the air. Hinata almost visibly flinched, but she was too 'doe in the headlights'. How could she have said that? Did she want to make him mad at her? She was only trying to be funny, but-
Naruto let out a snort. "Oh, are we being funny, now, Hyuga?"
Hinata licked her lip, trying to get her body to calm down from whatever kind of PTSD induced shock it just went through, without giving away that she was a total basket case. She laughed a little, if only to let some experimental sound out, that wasn't some kind of sob.
She helped Shinachiku carry stuff out to Naruto's car when it was time to go. Which felt weird and personal to him and Naruto's life. Like she was encroaching into occupied territory, without a treaty. But she was a simple woman. She saw a lot of bags. She offered to carry them out.
It's not like she could decline an offer of help after it was put forth.
Plus, neither Shinachiku nor Naruto thought it was weird, and seemed to be pressing forth without concern.
She was trying to follow suit.
She took a couple breaths.
"Do you have everything?" Naruto double checked as they got into the car.
She buckled herself in.
"Dad, I know I know. Double check. Triple check. Hurry up and wait." Shinachiku gave his dad a mock salute.
Naruto turned around and frowned at his son, unamused.
"You better get good grades, Shina, because you would not survive the first day of boot camp."
"Sir, yes sir!" Shinachiku shouted from the back, having not taken the hint from his father to shape up. "Everything is checked and accounted for, Sir!"
Naruto's jaw jumped, and for a second, Hinata thought he really was going to snap. Her own father would not tolerate any of that kind of behavior. But he just shrugged his son and started backing out of the driveway.
"Well, if you forgot something, better hope you can live without it till next week." He threatened while still using his normal speech.
"Aye-aye sir."
Naruto's lips made a tight line. "You're going to lose the DS."
Shinachiku froze. "Sorry, Dad."
Predictably, Hinata did not go inside Sakura's apartment to drop off Shinachiku. That would've been a whole box of awkward that she was a thousand percent not ready to deal with. Her and Naruto didn't have any particular agreement between each other, no label to define them. Just two adults hanging out was fine, until you added a child and an ex-wife.
So, sitting in the car and manning the meter was just fine with Hinata. Even when Naruto took the better part of thirty minutes inside of Sakura's house.
After about five minutes, Hinata broke down and started checking emails. She was trying to separate work and life, relinquishing her control, but… it was just emails.
What she wasn't expecting was an email from Karui Akamichi.
She stopped, setting her phone back onto her lap and looked out the car window, to make sure that Naruto wasn't about to hop in.
Hinata decided to leave it unopened. She didn't need that ruining her time with. She was still waiting back to hear about the deal she had made. She need a lot more time, alone, to deal with the after math of that.
"Sorry I took so long." Naruto apologized.
Hinata smiled and waved him off. Open communication and a cortile relationship with Sakura were a good thing to her.
"Hungry?"
She nodded.
"What's your pick?"
She mulled it over for a moment. "Noodles?"
"Oh, hell yes." Naruto fist pumped.
Spending time alone with Naruto was like a long stretch of them, when they were washing the dishes. It was easy enough at first. Easy conversation. Slurping noodles. But there were moments, every now and then. The cold spot. Where her stomach turned to knots, and she realized that she was alone with her crush of two decades.
But now she was old and washed up and used and ruined and any minute he would realize that. He would be disgusted and get up and leave right out of Ichikraku, not even bothering to throw her away.
And could she blame him? That's how she would treat someone's trash.
"Do you wanna go back to my place?"
As an adult, that question could be benign. Or loaded. It was hard for Hinata to discern them.
But the movie preview wasn't even half over until she was half on his lap, half on his couch, popcorn set carefully on the floor so it wouldn't be tipped over.
She never realized that kissing someone could be so intimate. His kisses were soft and sweet. His hand on her cheek, cupping her face gently against his. His fingers brushed to her hair softly. He smelled so good, like clean shampoo and cologne, and she wanted to touch him too. His hands were warm, warmer than hers. His fingers brushed down her neck, making every part of her body feel like he accidently shocked her. Her mouth opened in a gasp, but he adapted easily to it, his mouth filling hers.
He tasted almost vaguely like the dinner they had just eaten, but not in a bad way. He also tasted like something dangerous. Something that made Hinata's heart beat dangerously. Almost like anxiety, with her first reaction to push him away. Run away. Get way.
Her fingers curl into his hair and press him closer, because she's definitely not running away. In fact, breaking this kiss feels like a world injustice that just should not happen. Naruto seems to feel something along those lines as well, his hands moving to her upper arms, gripping her tight but not too tight, pulling her closer. Her hand fits tightly into his shirt.
She moved softly, fluidly onto his lap, during their kissing which was becoming a little more than kissing.
Naruto's fingers dug into her thighs, not too hard but enough for her to make a little sound. He let go just as quickly, pulling back from the kiss. Cold hair rushed back into her mouth, her eyes fluttered from the moment of clarity.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"It's okay." Her voice sounded weird, now. Too loud.
She was still straddling him on the couch, and that realization was starting to make things feel a bit more awkward. She leaned away for a moment, but Naruto caught her arms again.
"Do you, maybe wanna, spend the night… with me?" Naruto rambled, a bashful blush gracing his cheeks. "Please."
Her tongue felt too big and her throat too small like she was having an allergic reaction or like she had eaten kimchi that was a tad too spicy for pleasure. Butterflies in the stomach was a stupid analogy. If felt like it had tightened down, like a Charlie hoarse but not on her calf in the dead of night but her entire digestive system. It almost felt like her anxiety. The need to dash away, with glazed, dead eyes like a startled deer. But she didn't want to run away.
Her head tilted down into a blush, like she was a teenager again and not a fully-grown adult. "I'd really like that." She finally managed to get out.
Naruto's face literally broke into a massive grin, utterly surprising her about the absurdity of his desirable reaction to her acquiescence. She had already slept with him. She had been in love with him since… forever. How could he be the one to show perceived doubt? It was utterly preposterous.
Without warning, he hauled both of them up, holding most of her weight by her ass, which seemed pointed unnecessary and purposeful in her opinion.
She squeaked. "You can't just pick me up. I'm, I'm too heavy."
"Don't make me laugh." His voice sounded even huskier when it was an inch away from her face. "You've been eating salad for the past who knows how long, you're lucky you don't drift away in the wind, Hyuga."
It almost sounded like he was scolding her, but his eyes were glinting at her in a way that was both serious and not serious.
He started heading towards the stairs.
"It's not even dark out." Her protest came out reflexively. She was nervous. Almost uncomfortably jittery. She was sober this time. There was nothing to hide behind.
"Oh, I can make it dark." He leered at her as he started up the steps.
Did she want it dark? A part of her did want that extra security blanket. But… she had seen his biceps. His neck. If her memories served her correctly, Naruto was a now carved into an immaculate specimen to behold. A pleasant sight to see. To be under. Or on top of. Any which way.
But what was she to him?
They were closing in on his room, and he was nuzzling her neck. It felt unbelievable.
She had a choice to make.
She could stop it right now. It would be the responsible thing to do. They were moving too fast. Adults shouldn't act the way they were acting. On sheer impulse. Like horny teenagers. Or pathetic drunk women.
He was leaving a hickey again.
"Naruto," Her voice felt unconnected to her own body, and too loud in the quiet of their kissing.
But not loud enough for him apparently. He moaned into her neck, mistaking his name for her own lost sense in passion. He kicked his bedroom door open, gently enough not to break it, but enough for it to bounce back, a little. He had moved them around strategically, so it bounced off his own shoulder.
"Naruto."
"Huh?" He had finally responded, having already kicked the door shut behind them. His tanned cheeks were pinker than normal, his hair messy.
"Um," She swallowed. He had gone back to kissing down her neck and onto her should. "Um, m-maybe we should… not."
Naruto stopped suddenly, almost dropping her. "Wha… why?"
He looked like a deflated balloon, the day after a birthday party.
"It," She swallowed. "It just seems kind of soon. And, I'm not really the type that, um, that sleeps around." She tried to sound true to herself but it was hard when Naruto's disappointed face was an inch from hers, her legs wrapped around his waist, his hands on her ass.
Naruto made another whimper but nodded his head, letting her slide down from his hold.
The awkwardness was palpable.
"I'm sorry. I can leave." Hinata tried to offer. Anything to make him feel better after letting him down.
"What – no!" Naruto snatched her wrist. "We don't have to. We can do other stuff."
Hinata was trying to avoid the very obvious, well endowed, tent in his pants from their over the clothes action. Plus, the strain of his voice. She wasn't very sold.
"I promise." He pressed. "We can watch a movie, or-" He paused, turning his gaze away from her.
"What?"
She followed his gaze back into his room. Mostly clean, sparsely decorated. His bed was made but there were not decorative pillows.
"Or," His attention turned back onto her, catching her like deer in the headlights. He looked exactly like he did in high school. Same sideways smirk. His blue eyes glittering.
She swallowed. She was utterly fucked now.
"Or, we could just do you." His suggestion was so nonchalant that she almost didn't understand it for a moment.
"What?" She gasped. "That's a – thing?"
"What do you mean? Yes, that's a thing." Naruto defended. "Wait, has nobody ever just done you?"
Hinata was afraid to answer, but her silence was answer enough.
She could practically hear his smile.
Quickly, he hauled her back up into his arms, and then just as quickly, dropped her onto his bed. She bounced for a moment, creaking the springs, before Naruto joined her, with more grace.
He moved one hand onto her hip, the warmth of just one of his hands could've warmed her whole body. The other went to the back of her head. She froze, hoping that he wouldn't move to her neck. To her scars. But he didn't. His fingers splayed in her hair, pulling her into a deep kiss, tongue first.
His hand dipped under her shirt, and because he was Naruto, his hand roughly felt the length of her side and then down across her stomach. Out the door was tentative touches and little skims. This way was nicer. Almost rough, but his hand was splayed out of her tummy with more care than most people gave him credit for.
He pulled her up a little more, so he could just discard her t-shirt. He broke off the kiss from her mouth, but didn't stop kissing her. There was just new territory exposed without the top and he attacked.
She was enjoying his kissing.
But she was pretty sure she didn't have enough concealer to mask what Naruto was doing.
The weather was getting too hot for turtlenecks, but there was possibly something at the ware house that could-
Hinata's train of thought stalled, when he dipped into her bra. Her head fell back onto the bed as she bit down on her lips to keep the sound in. Hands just shouldn't be able to move like that. She fumed, desperately.
Soon the bra was gone and he made short work of her jeans too. Though he did have to stand up, off the bed and yank them off her ankles. But, skinny jeans were just like that.
He laid back down next to her and kissed her on the mouth again. His hand dipped between her legs, brushing experimentally around her and then on her. In her. She stopped breathing entirely.
He licked his lips. "Okay, are you ready for-"
Hinata knew what he was going to do, but grabbed his forearm, freezing him in place. "Don't stop." She begged.
"Oh, do you like that?" He smirked.
But she didn't have time to stroke his ego. At least, not purposefully.
She was coming undone. It waves of such intense pleasure and convulsions like a seizure, she had somehow managed to finish and embarrassingly as possible. But her whole body felt too locked up to care. She couldn't even catch her breath. Her chest heaved like she had been sobbing. Her eyes were trying to focus back in on the tiny room.
Naruto still leaned on one arm, almost side-planking, but his one hand, that was in between her legs doing devilishly delicious thing, had moved up and was now resting on her stomach.
"Okay," Naruto leaned even closer. "Level with me. Did you just fake that? I know some girls fake that and-"
"Shhhhh," She tried to put her finger on his lips but her arms were like Jell-O and she settled for touching his chest. Hinata wanted to sound sterner but she still couldn't breathe correctly. She felt worse than a newborn calf, because even they could walk! Her legs were not so useful.
Naruto bit his lip before huffing. "Fuck, that's hot." He almost sounded like he was in pain.
They both paused, eyes locking. A thick silence filled the room until their faces smashed together in bitter passion. It was intense. More intense than it had been before, kissing easily in his living room.
She was ripping his shirt up over his head, which was hard to do because his attention was split fifty-fifty with making sure his mouth didn't leave hers and getting his own pants off. It wasn't even a minute later, until he was in between her legs, his forearm holding his weight off her, until he was pushing inside of her.
All of her movements were involuntary after that.
Grabbing him. Moaning into his mouth. She felt her nails dig into his back. His hands gripped her hips, tight enough to make her whimper but out of passion, because Naruto wasn't the type to leave those kinds of marks. Hickeys, sure, numerous amounts of them up her neck, under her chin, and onto her chest. Those were her favorite. Seemed to be his too, because he spent an exurbanite amount of time on those ones. Surely not egged on by her in any way.
She really came undone when he said her name. Even if it sounded like he was in duress, she lost it.
"Hinata," He moaned into her ear, thrusting so deep into her that she was afraid that he'd do physical damage.
She wanted to curl up into a ball, but her face pressing against his neck, her eyes squeezed shut, all of her clamping down on him all at one.
"Fuck," Naruto practically coughed, cumming too, pressing deep into his mattress, like he was trying to leave an imprint of her.
They were frozen like that for a moment, breathing hard like they had just finished one of Hinata's yoga-lates classes.
Slowly, Naruto wormed himself around her. Which is not what she was used to. He idly played with the end of her hair, shifting around her split ends.
"Sorry." He finally muttered.
"Hm?"
"You said you wanted to go slow, and I… didn't do that." Naruto laughed, nervously.
"Oh," Hinata blushed even though he couldn't see her. "It's okay."
"I can do slow. Promise. One hundred percent."
Hinata knew that he was saying that because that's what he thought she wanted. But her heart sunk. Naruto touching her felt like something out of some novel. It wasn't supposed to be like that in real life.
And after she'd had it, did she really want to miss out on it?