Author's Note: Sorry for my absence! I got super sick for a few weeks and didn't have a chance to write. But I'm back! And I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than the other more recent ones to make up for it somewhat. We've got I think two more chapters to go and then we're through!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dinner had been… amazing so far.

Really, Naruto could not have asked for the evening to go any better. It seemed they had indeed experienced all their bad luck up front and were now free to enjoy each other's company.

The food was great, their server had been attentive while still allowing them space and privacy to talk, and there had been no random fans approaching to request an autograph or picture!

Not only that, but most of the staring and murmurs had died away after the first ten or so minutes. He wasn't sure if the restaurant staff had something to do with that or if it had been a natural boredom once they realized there wasn't anything super scandalous happening (as if either of them would do anything incredibly scandalous in public in the first place). Honestly it hadn't taken Naruto very long at all to tune out everything but the young woman sitting across from him.

Hinata was crazy nice and even though she had the best manners of, like, anyone he'd ever eaten with, she didn't make him feel bad about not knowing the ins and outs of nicer dining. He wasn't a slob - Jiraiya had thought it important to teach him some of the standard rules and behaviors of eating with important people - but he had never really put much of that part of Jiraiya's teachings into practice. It had seemed pretty irrelevant until now. But instead of whispering harshly or chastising him because he might have held something the wrong way, or spilled, or set something down so hard it made a loud noise, Hinata would just shrug off his embarrassed apologies and tell him it wasn't a big deal.

His jokes seemed to be on fire, as well. Because unlike his teammates who often rolled their eyes at his jokes - or possibly smacked him on the head - Hinata giggled at every one. Every. Single. One. And it was genuine! That was the best part! She genuinely seemed to find him funny. He'd probably gone a little overboard with his antics, trying to get her to smile as much as possible. Jiraiya had always said that women loved a man who could make them smile. And as perverted as his godfather had been, Naruto could testify to the fact that Jiraiya always had women smiling around him regardless of how full their wallets were. So he must have known something.

In the middle of regaling Hinata with the latest story concerning Konohamaru and his crew (who still insisted on calling him boss), their server came over to ask about the possibility of dessert.

"We have a banana flambe dessert that has been very popular!" the lanky brunette offered as a suggestion.

"Do you want dessert, Hinata?" Naruto asked. She had looked excited for a moment at the mention of the banana something or other the server had said, but then her cheeks had gone that rosy hue he liked so much and she'd bit her lip looking hesitant.

"Um, I'm not sure if I sh-should eat any more," she murmured, eyes looking down to the side.

"It's a perfect size for two to share!" the server informed them, helpfully.

"Sharing is fine with me if you'd like to try it! What do you say?"

Hinata smiled politely and nodded her head and the server went away to inform the cook.

"Are you sure you want dessert, Naruto? I don't want you to feel obligated or anything…"

"What? Why would I feel obligated? Dessert is awesome! Though I have no idea what the thing is. You looked excited so I thought it was probably good enough to try."

"Oh! Banana flambe is really yummy. And it's fun. I'd tell you what it was but I think you'll like the surprise."

Naruto had figured it wouldn't take too long and sure enough, the server set a shallow bowl on the table filled with ice cream and fruit and sauces and promptly set it on fire.

"WOAH!" he exclaimed, not at all expecting literal flames in front of him. But Hinata's giggle quickly made him realize this was part of the experience. He supposed that's what the surprise was.

The server left them as quickly as he'd arrived and both Naruto and Hinata dug into the sweet treat in front of them.

"Mmm, this is really good!" Hinata exclaimed happily after swallowing her first bite. Naruto could only nod eagerly as he went in for another spoonful.

"I can't believe you almost said no when you knew how awesome this stuff is!" Naruto said, ignoring the manners he'd been focused on most of the night and speaking as he chewed. He figured if he put his hand in front of his mouth it was fine.

"Ah," Hinata said, looking a little sheepish, "well we've already been here for a while and I didn't want to take up too much of your time. I know you're really busy."

"Huh? Don't be silly. I already said I wanted to spend time with you. That's why we're here."

Hinata couldn't help but turn bright red at the proclamation. Even if Naruto only saw her as a friend, her heart swelled at his words. The evening had been going so wonderfully. Naruto was sweet, attentive, and had made every effort to make sure she was having a good time.

It actually made her a little upset with herself that she had never attempted to spend any real alone time with him in the past. Granted, she'd only recently accepted - at least somewhat - that the boisterous blond would only ever see her as a friend. And even then she was still terribly shy around him. If he hadn't asked her she probably wouldn't have had the nerve to do it herself. It was frustrating that she had such a hard time speaking with someone she admired so much. At least she'd stopped fainting in his presence.

...Well, mostly. Earlier was different. How was she supposed to stay conscious when her father had just finished lecturing her about her supposed sex life with the jinchuriki?!

No matter what, this evening was going to be a memory she cherished for years to come.

"Th-thank you," she couldn't help but stutter at his sincerity. "I, um, I really wanted to spend time with you, too."

Blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? Like you wanted to spend time with just me?"

Hinata smiled and giggled slightly at his astonishment. "Yes, I like spending time with you."

Her stomach was lurching at her admission, but if she didn't say it now she feared she would never get another chance this perfect. Whether they were colleagues, friends, or mere acquaintances in the future, she would always want to spend time with her first love.

"Ah," Naruto swallowed thickly and rubbed suddenly sweaty palms on his pants.

"I was actually going to see if you wanted to take a walk after this. With me. Just me. Unless you have somewhere to be which I totally understand because I only mentioned dinner so you might have already made other plans and it's fine, really."

His nerves were making him ramble and he both wanted her to agree to the walk and was terrified of her agreeing. Sasuke had asked him earlier if he wanted to do some sensory training that night, but he'd told him he'd be busy until late. It's possible the Uchiha had then gone to Hinata to request training. Or something. He pursed his lips at the thought.

"Oh! Uh, no, I don't have to be anywhere," she said. "That, uh, that sounds really nice actually."

"Yeah? Yeah! Cool, cool," Naruto nodded and drummed his fingers on his thighs.

Shit. It was like his brain was shutting down and the delicious food they'd just consumed was twisting in his gut. Though even with his discomfort he could tell Hinata was feeling a bit uncomfortable herself. Had he said something wrong?

"Uh, you okay? We don't have to go on a walk even if you have the time free. I can just take you home if you want."

"It's not that I don't want to," Hinata said quietly, staring at her hands, "but I just don't want you to keep doing things with me because you feel bad for hurting my feelings the other day."

"What?! No, that's not why I'm offering! I mean, that was part of the reason I invited you out, but not really. I did feel bad, but really I just wanted to take you out. I'd have wanted to do this with you anyway, but it seemed like a good excuse. Not that I was being dishonest!"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, messing up the locks he'd spent so long trying to make presentable earlier. He could feel his body thrumming with adrenaline. Should he tell her now? He'd planned on saying something on their walk, when they had more privacy. But considering their walk to the restaurant, maybe they actually had more privacy in this booth than they would once they left. Was he ready? Would she hate him?

"Hinata, I need to tell you something," he said. Her expression immediately switched from confusion to concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, leaning forward and placing her hand atop his. Her timidity was put on hold as she looked at Naruto's serious face. He had turned somber so quickly!

"I'm not exactly," he said slowly, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. After a moment's deliberation, however, he realized subtlety wasn't his thing and he'd just have to come out with it.

Naruto turned the hand that Hinata's hand rested on and grabbed hers, ignoring the fact that she would surely be able to feel how sweaty it currently was.

"Hinata, I've been dense. I mean, I've always been a little dense, but I think this time I really messed up."

"Wh-what are you talking about, Naruto-kun?" Oh Kami, he was holding her hand. She was worried and she was going to listen and tell him that he wasn't dense, but it seemed like all of her senses had zoomed in on the hand clutching hers across the table.

"I know how you felt about me. I didn't get it for a long time, but I know now. And even though you've got that thing going with Sasuke and you probably don't feel that way anymore, I just wanted to let you know that I feel that way about you. And I know it's too late and I don't expect anything from you, but I needed to be honest with you. I love you, Hinata."

Her face went hot and her head felt light and for a moment all she could hear was ringing in her ears.

Did he just say he loved her? Was she dreaming? Had she laid down for a nap before her scheduled dinner and concocted this elaborate dream in her mind of how the night might go?

"What?" she whispered, feeling dazed and confused and hopeful and terrified all at the same time.

"I love you," he repeated, looking sheepish.

"But I thought - I mean you never - you don't have to - wait, what did you - ?"

Her thoughts were all over the place. She'd dreamed of this basically her whole life. Literally dreamed of this. And now that it was here she had no idea what to say. No idea where to start.

Naruto was going to attempt to respond to her fairly incoherent string of questions. Not that he'd expected anything different, really. He had known it would be a surprise. Hinata definitely wouldn't have suspected that he was taking his best friend's … person out to dinner to confess to her. But there was no going back now.

The blond gripped her hand more firmly and leaned towards her across the table. "Look, I know you're probably - "

"What the hell is this?"

What was that? Was that the sound of shit hitting the fan? It was like a record scratched and suddenly Naruto found himself looking up at Sasuke, who had appeared out of nowhere (how the hell did he find them, anyway?!) and now stood beside their table looking terrifying.

"Uh," Naruto desperately tried to think of what to say. "I can explain..."

You've all been incredibly sweet and thanks to all your reviews and messages I was determined to get better and get back to writing! I loved getting to write this chapter between Naruto and Hinata. They're so awkward, but also so cute and I was happy Naruto finally got to express his feelings! Now for the big mess to get cleared up!