Time had passed since he had seen the village almost completely obliterated, and although the Konoha he had grown up in was now long gone and slowly being rebuilt, Naruto still expected to see the streets and shops he had grown up around. There was still much construction left, but what had already been reopened had a modern flair to it that unsettled him. Nearly everything was unrecognizable, except one shining beacon.
"Ah, just as I remember it," He said smilingly.
The pair stepped inside the shop and took a seat at the counter. Immediately the owner, Teuchi, rang the bell to call his daughter Ayame back to the front. Upon seeing Naruto, Ayame exclaimed, "So we finally see your face! My father was worried you were unwell."
Naruto chuckled, "Oh, come on now. It's only been a couple of days."
"Two weeks," Teuchi interjected.
"No..." Naruto counted the days on his fingers and yelled out, "Wait! You're right!"
"I know I'm right, you notice when your best customer doesn't come in."
"Well, I'm here now and I'm ready for pork ramen."
"Ah, me as well," Hinata said, lifting her hand and waving to Teuchi and his daughter.
"Hinata-Chan, it's been a while." Ayame remarked as she looked at them both, noting the lack of space between them, "It's nice to see you both here...together."
Teuchi noted his daughter's tone and took in the scene before him as well. With a grin, he asked Naruto, "Taking the girlfriend out on a ramen date?"
"O-oh I-I," Naruto cleared his throat, "It's not a date unless I pay...right, Hinata?"
Hinata looked as if the life had been sucked out of her, he wouldn't be expecting a response from her any time soon.
"So...we're witnessing the first date?" Ayame asked as she started pulling bowls to serve them.
Naruto pulled out his frog wallet and hurriedly counted out the few bills he had to his name. It was just enough.
"I think we are," He said as turned to look at Hinata once more, "What do you say? I told you it was my treat anyway."
"A d-date? We...we're on a date?"
"Not unless you don't want to be."
"I..." She cleared her throat, obviously trying to regain her composure, "Ask me. Ask me the right way."
Naruto could feel his ears burning as he locked eyes with Hinata and asked, "Hinata, can we call this a date?"
She nodded, "Yes. I'd like that."
"We're on a date!" He said loudly to Teuchi and Ayame, who both laughed at his foolish behavior.
"A special date calls for special ramen." Ayame placed two large bowls with extra toppings in front of the pair with a flourish.
Naruto was about to remind Ayame that he only had a limited amount of cash on him, but she quieted him before he could say a word, "It's on the house! And if you want another, dad will be more than happy to cover it. All we ask is that you invite us to the wedding," She said half-jokingly.
At that point Naruto couldn't bear to look at Hinata, so he picked up his chopsticks and quickly bowed his head while saying "Itadakimasu!"
The pair ate in silence, not quite sure what to say to each other. Naruto, personally, thought he had pushed Hinata too far. Although she had agreed to technically calling it a date, he swore at himself for not asking her if she would go out with him, officially, from the get-go.
Once they had finished their meal both Teuchi and Ayame bid them a warm farewell and made Naruto promise he'd come back with his...girlfriend...sooner than later.
The sun had set by the time they walked back onto the dirt path leading to the Hyuga compound. They walked with more distance between them now than before, Hinata a couple of footsteps behind him.
"I-I'm sorry," He muttered.
"What for, Naruto-Kun?"
"I...um...I shouldn't have attacked you like that about the date thing. If you don't want to date me that's totally fine, I mean, I didn't even technically pay for the meal...so I mean, since I didn't pay it doesn't really count as a date right?"
She took a pause before responding, making Naruto even more unnerved than he already was.
"I...would like...to date...you."
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, causing Hinata to bump into him roughly. He took advantage of their clumsiness by turning and placing his hands on her arms, almost as if to center her at the moment.
"You do?"
"I-I do."
"O-oh. Wow."
She looked down at the ground, clearly overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment.
"I feel like we just didn't do this right, maybe we should have a do-over?"
Hinata laughed, "This was perfect, Naruto. I promise."
"Yeah?"
She nodded, looking down at his hands which were still gripping her arms tightly. He felt his face flush and murmured, "Sorry," as he let her go.
He turned to walk once more but froze before he started down the path again. He felt like Hinata was still waiting for him to start walking so she could trail behind him. So, he did the only thing that felt right.
"Come on, we have to get you home," He said, grabbing her small hand in his and pulling her forward.
She had gasped at the initial contact, acting almost as if she was surprised that he'd want to walk home hand in hand. Nonetheless, the moment she realized what was happening, she laced her fingers through his and tightly grasped his unbandaged hand in hers.
Naruto was feeling quite light-headed at this point. He wasn't sure what his next move would be and honestly, he didn't have a plan. He just let it happen, and now they were here. He was walking her home, a path he had taken hundreds of times. But, just as the village had changed in the last few months, he was realizing that so had he. So had she.
This time, though, he wasn't alarmed at the change he saw around him. No, he embraced the updated architecture in the buildings he passed. Thought the new signs looked colorful and eye-catching. But, the biggest change he enjoyed the most? The flutter in his heart as he turned to look at Hinata and her delicate features that were just so beautifully illuminated by the moonlight.
"That was some good ramen," He said, breaking their comfortable silence.
"It was," She agreed.
"We should eat together more often. Like we used to."
"I would enjoy that."
"So..." He started, not quite sure how to make it clear that although it was like before, it wasn't, "I mean..."
Naruto groaned, making Hinata giggle.
"I'm glad my pain can bring you such joy."
"It's only fair after you tormented me for so many years."
Naruto tilted his head, "What? When did I..."
And then he remembered all of the times Hinata fainted around him and it all made sense.
"Oh! Hey! How was I supposed to know that you liked m-" He stopped himself, not ready to open up that discussion yet. "I'm sorry, but it's not my fault you were so easily embarrassed back then."
"Naruto-Kun, just last week you apologized for embarrassing me as well. I can't tell if you do it by accident or y-you just like to see me blush."
He recalled the strawberry shortcake incident that had set this all in motion and visibly stiffened.
"I don't do it on purpose," He said as he came to a sudden stop and turned to face her, "But the making you blush part is pretty fun."
Almost as if on cue he could see her cheeks redden, even in the darkness. He tipped her chin towards him, and without thinking about it twice, pressed his forehead against hers.
Neither of them moved for what felt like ages, didn't dare to. But, Naruto knew that if Hinata made it home any later his intentions may be called into question by the elder Hyuga.
"Do you want me to drop you off at the gate or in front of your home?"
He could tell Hinata knew better as well, immediately saying "Gate," as they approached it.
"Well, thank you," Naruto mumbled, feeling a touch bashful, "Next time I promise I'll properly ask you on a date, it's the least I can do to make up for my years of torment."
"B-But, this was still our first date, wasn't it?" She asked shyly, still grasping his hand.
"Yeah, it was. If you're okay with that?"
"I already told you I am," She laughed.
"Alright, well, I'll let you go. But next time, I'm walking you in," He warned her.
Sadly he let go of her hand and leaned in to press his forehead to hers once more before lightly pressing his lips to the top of her head, "Have a good night, Hinata."
"Y-you too, Naruto."
She turned from him and opened the gate, waving goodbye before heading into the compound. He watched until he could no longer see her, knowing that she had to have already made it to her front door by now.
He turned, almost reluctantly, and began the same path back to his home. He told himself that nothing had to be rushed, as much as he wanted to have kissed her he knew now that slow and steady always won the race.
So instead of fretting over what may have been, he replayed their first date over and over again in his head and looked forward to finishing the next book in the Pervy Sage's collection before finally getting some well-deserved sleep.