The 'Almost Never Happened' Date
Naruto knew he was pushing it, trying to hold on to his sanity and pretending he was fine in front of his friends, in front of the village. A couple of weeks had passed since that night and he knew that at any time, something could happen to make him lose this dangerous game he was playing. Anything could trigger him, make him snap, make him howl at the moon, break down the gates to her house, and then drag her back into his arms.
Still, he gritted his teeth and fell back into his old routine—the one he'd lived before she'd come into his life. He was still Hokage, he still had a village to run.
And even broken-hearted Hokages still had work to do.
It was just so damned hard to keep on smiling when he was around people, but all he could do was live his life as normally as he could, forcing himself to be cheerful even though he didn't feel like it.
Inside, though, he was a fragile piece of glass with cracks, a wounded bird trying to heal, merely a fool crying for all that he'd lost, throbbing with so much pain from the shards of ice that lanced his heart, aching to fill that hole in his chest, dying a slow painful death—
Wow, the melodrama.
And he suddenly laughed at himself, finally finding something amusing. He didn't know he had it in him to take such poetic flights of fancy.
Naruto shook his head and smiled grimly to himself.
The sound of the party echoed all around him, making him wonder at the normalcy.
How was it possible that the world continued to function when he felt as if a part of him was missing?
But Konoha still needed him. He had to soldier on and work for the sake of the village.
He just wished he had a particular woman's hand to hold while he was doing it.
Even now, he should have stayed home, but he knew he was still punishing himself by pretending as if nothing had happened between the two of them.
He felt like his face was perpetually frozen into this fake smile at Temari's birthday party.
He glanced outside the window, grateful that he could hide his face away from the other guests. He gazed at the moon in the sky, thinking of her, and hoped that she would make the right decision and come back to him. Hopefully, soon, because he didn't know what to do if she didn't come back to her senses.
He prayed with all his heart.
Hinata! What the hell are you doing?
He hadn't thought it would take this long for her to make up her mind.
What the hell was taking her forever, though?!
He refused to believe that her continued silence was a complete rejection of his love. A life without her just didn't make sense…but if she never came back then he would just have to move on—
He shook his head, suddenly angry with himself.
No.
She wouldn't do that, she wasn't that kind of woman.
The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts, and he heard Temari ask Shikamaru to go see who that was.
Of course, everyone had expected Hinata to come as his date for the party. Inevitably, they'd asked about her and he'd had to lie and mumble an excuse of her canceling because of a family emergency. Some were content enough with the vagueness of his answer. Some looked at him speculatively, sensing juicy gossip. And some had looked into his eyes and thankfully dropped the subject.
He knew he shouldn't have come, but he owed it to Temari to put in a good face for her and her party. She still didn't know—even though he suspected that Shikamaru knew. He'd been distracted at work, had less than his usual focus, and the time his advisor had asked him if he was okay, Naruto had grunted noncommittally with an answer and buried his face into the document he'd been trying to read for the last twenty minutes.
He looked at the clock and wondered whether he should stop staring out the window and start to mingle with the other guests.
But he stayed where he was and never moved. He tried to think of something that would take him out of this perpetual funk.
At least Gaara was here in Konoha. Naruto had been hoping to talk to his friend about kage duties, about work. Maybe that would distract him from dwelling too much on his relationship with Hinata. But he'd gotten word a few minutes earlier that Gaara and his brother wouldn't be at the party until later tonight.
A hand came to suddenly rest on his back. He turned around to see Temari with her green eyes crinkled into lines of worry.
"Naruto, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Her smile was gentle.
"Oh, honey, you know you can never hide anything from me. We were together for years before you introduced me to Shikamaru. I know you. So go ahead, tell Temari-nee-chan what's bothering you."
Temari, in love with Shikamaru, would understand, and Naruto quietly unburdened himself knowing she would be sympathetic.
She was silent when he was done speaking.
Then she looked around at her guests and turned back to him with an apology. "Okay. This is more complicated than I thought."
He shrugged. "It's not your fault, Temari."
She inclined her head towards a door. "The bedroom's over there if you want to crawl into bed and hide under the covers."
Naruto laughed. "That's just going to make things worse. I'm not going to hide."
She smiled. "But you'll stand here and not talk to anyone instead?"
"Yeah. It's bad, but I don't want to be alone, you know? It'll make me even more morose."
Temari squeezed his arm. "I know."
"I feel a little bit better now that I've talked to you about it, though."
She sighed and looked into his eyes. He gave her a lopsided smile. She shook her head. "I wish we didn't have this party right now. I'm sorry. Naruto, but can you continue pretending to be okay for a couple more hours? I can't kick everyone out, but when everyone goes home, you, me, and Shikamaru are going to talk about all this."
He smiled fleetingly. "Yeah, don't mind me. I'll be okay. I've gotten good at pretending."
The doorbell rang just then, emphasizing her point. More guests had come and she had to go greet them.
He, meanwhile, nodded to another guest when their eyes met.
"You picked a bad time to get your heart broken," she murmured sympathetically, which made him laugh.
"Go, Temari. Your guests are waiting. I think I can keep it together for a couple more hours."
"Alright."
She left him standing where he was, and Naruto continued to stare out the window until he was able to compose himself, and he was able to hide his melancholy and put out a passable imitation of his normally cheerful self that other people became comfortable enough to approach him and chat.
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when she walked into the empty living room. Her father was away, attending a business meeting with his suppliers. Hanabi wasn't home, still at work considering it was only 3:00 pm in the afternoon.
She was glad nobody was home right now. She'd been banking on it and had planned to come home to the empty house to avoid everyone. Her shrewd sister had noticed that she wasn't her normal self these last couple of weeks. Hanabi had asked about Naruto and why she hadn't seen him around lately.
Hinata hadn't said anything about their break to her sister. Hanabi had seemed to believe her lies about being busy with the school. And Hinata hadn't been completely lying. She really had been busy with the wave of new student enrollments and had been staying later at work to finish up things at the school. It allowed her to come home late at night and avoid the puzzled glances Hanabi threw at her.
She walked to the couch and sat down, but she was unable to relax because she felt antsy, still thinking about Naruto and that night.
The first few days after that, she'd been able to go about her life normally, surprising even herself at how easy it was to adjust to her days without Naruto. But eventually, she grew listless and dissatisfied with herself for the way she'd handled her reaction to everything.
Hinata desperately wanted to see him, but she just wasn't sure if he wanted to see her again.
She fidgeted and looked at the clock again. It seemed unreal that she was home right now. She knew where he was, of course. They were supposed to be out together, had even chosen the gift together. Today was Temari's birthday party and she'd been looking forward to it before their break—
Wait, she thought with a wave of anxiety. They were not broken up, were they?
This thing. It was just a little time off, a small respite, a lull in their relationship. He said he would wait for her, so that meant he was expecting her to come back to him, right?
She was sure he wanted her back…?
He had to.
Because Naruto said 'break,' not breakup.
And her heart clenched painfully at the thought. The idea of not getting back together made her take in a breath and hold it, releasing it slowly. The thought of never seeing him again made her heart ache and her mind started racing, thinking about the things she would never experience again if she never saw him again.
It was unbearable but she forced herself to imagine it, of waking up every day and not having him greet her in the morning. He wouldn't pick her up from her school anymore, playfully pat the messy bun on top of her head, and press a kiss right on her temple. She wouldn't see him pout at her for limiting the sugar he dumped into his coffee.
To know that she would never wake up next to him, never see that smile she'd come to love, the way his mouth first lifted up at one corner whenever he was in his moods to be naughty and mischievous. The way his eyes crinkled with merriment, and then his husky laugh would come right after he'd make a teasing comment.
God, it hurt.
And she didn't want to hurt.
But what was even more difficult to stomach was the not knowing. What was their relationship status at this point? Were they still together? Was this really just a cooling-off period to figure out a future together? Or had he really meant to break everything off?
The light abruptly switched on in the suddenly darkened living room, startling Hinata and disrupting her morbid thoughts. Hanabi was suddenly in front of her, her hands planted on her hips, frowning at her older sister.
"Nee-chan, why aren't you getting ready for your date with Naruto? Weren't you guys supposed to go to Temari's party tonight?"
Caught unaware, Hinata fumbled with an answer. "Uh, something came up so I'm staying home tonight." She smiled and added, "He's a busy Hokage, after all."
"That sounds suspiciously like a lie to me. Try again." Hanabi glared at her.
"Hanabi, I'm not lying! There was an emergency so our date was canceled!"
"Bullshit."
"Hanabi!"
"Yeah, I don't believe you at all. He's not that type of guy. If there was an emergency, he'd send a clone, or somebody, to reassure you." Hanabi glared at her. "What happened?! I thought you guys were fine?"
Hinata felt anger welling in her. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
But Hanabi was just as stubborn. "Nee-chan, what the hell happened? I am not leaving until you tell me what's wrong because obviously, something happened between the two of you."
Hinata wanted to refuse, and she ignored her sister. She started to get up from the coach, but Hanabi pushed her back down.
"Nee-chan, this is seriously bad if you don't want to talk about it. You're never like this."
"Hanabi, mind your freaking business, alright?"
"No." Hanabi peered at her sister. "Your makeup's on real thick, right under your eyes, which means you've been crying. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding me."
"Drop it, Hanabi."
"I can't. This isn't like you, and it's scaring me because you normally talk about things with me. I'm always here to listen, you know."
And with that, the dam broke through the weeks of hiding that had taken a toll on Hinata's mental state. She looked at her sister, sighed, and finally spilled the truth.
There was a long pause after Hinata was done talking, then Hanabi said, "I didn't want to believe this about you, but Nee-chan, you're a dumbass."
"Hanabi!"
"Alright, fine." Hanabi tried to calm down and breathed deeply. "I still can't believe you let him walk away. And you guys were doing so well!"
"I thought so, too, but sometimes that's how relationships go."
Hanabi snorted but pressed her lips together, still looking at her sister with accusation.
"Don't you find it strange, though?" Hinata asked quietly, wanting to hear her sister's honest opinion on their relationship. "I just think it shouldn't be like this. Something feels a little bit off, that our relationship seems—" Hinata shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. Sleazy? Tawdry? Because this whole thing started off with casual sex. It was supposed to be a one-night stand."
Hanabi waved a fist in the air. "You keep making me repeat myself! That's just dumb!"
"I'm not going to keep talking to you if you continue insulting me, Hanabi!"
"Nee-chan! What the fuck are you doing?!" Hanabi flung her arms up in frustration. "Naruto fell in love with you the moment he saw you. Do you know how many people would love to experience that?! How can you even say that's tawdry?! That's fucking romantic!"
Hinata shook her head in disbelief.
Hanabi growled with irritation and then paced, but she whirled around and folded her arms as she continued glaring at her sister. "Well, there's no denying that he loves you! All he's ever done is show you—in so many obvious and flashy ways! Not only that, he then came straight to you and admitted it so openly to your face."
Her sister's eyes were starting to tear up, forcing Hanabi to continue with her diatribe. "I want to smack you all over right now, Nee-chan! Poor Naruto! Oh, I feel so bad for him! But then you went ahead and agreed to take a break after he told you he loved you?! How?! And why would you do that?!"
"That's not fair, Hanabi! He was the one who thought we needed the break. He's the one who suggested it!"
"Argh!" Hanabi yelled as she scratched at her hair. "God, you can be so dense sometimes! Obviously, he wanted you to say no when he asked you about it!"
Hinata glared at her sister. "Well, it wasn't obvious to me! Plus, we both agreed to tread carefully in this relationship when I asked him to take our time getting to know each other. He's just showing me this is his way of going slow, the way I wanted it to go about it. That's why I agreed to it."
"Slow?! Why?!" Hanabi sputtered. "Relationships happen whether you want it to or not. It happens when it happens, however it happens. Love doesn't work that way. It goes slow. It goes fast. There's no way to predict or dictate it. It's like trying to control lightning!"
"Hanabi, don't give me relationship advice. I just don't need this from you right now."
Still, Hanabi ignored her and became even more aggressive. "I'll say it again: you're an idiot!"
"Hanabi, you're not helping!" Tears of frustration were in Hinata's eyes. "This is not what I need right now."
Hanabi gentled her tone. "Okay, I'm sorry. But Nee-chan, somebody has to knock some sense into you, and apparently, that's me. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but you have to listen carefully to me because I am doing this out of love for you and for him."
Hinata jerked back in surprise.
"I get that Toneri did a number on you, but can't you see what's happening? You're doing the same thing to Naruto. You keep telling him not to compare you to other women, but here you are doing that exact thing. You keep comparing him to Toneri, and it's not fair. They're very, very different men, completely opposite from each other."
Hinata gasped and blinked, realizing the truth to her sister's words when they finally penetrated her mind. It cut through her confusion and self-doubts because it was undeniable.
Because looking back, Hanabi was right. She was comparing Naruto to Toneri, the way she'd thought he was doing to her and Haruhi.
Hinata continued to listen to her sister, who was still talking.
"Think about it. Every time I see you before you go out on your dates with Naruto, you look excited and happy. When you were with Toneri, though, you were either frowning or shaking or both! It's different this time, but you keep hanging on to the past. And that's what Naruto wants you to do, to let go of this hold that Toneri has over you. He wants you to go to him, to reciprocate his feelings for you with nothing held back."
Hanabi must have sensed her opening her mind because she pressed on. "Let me put it this way: in all the times you were together, has Naruto ever made you feel bad about yourself?"
Hinata shook her head in denial.
"No? Then who did it? Who keeps thinking they aren't good enough? Who made you feel bad about yourself? Who keeps sabotaging their own happiness?" Hanabi grasped her sister's hands and squeezed gently. "Be honest. Who, Nee-chan?"
Hinata blinked back the tears. "I did it to myself."
"Why?"
"Because I don't think I'm worthy enough to be with him."
Hanabi snorted. "You, not worthy?! Nee-chan, first of all, you're a Hyuuga. You carry the name of one of the most illustrious clans in Konoha. Second, you're a celebrated ikebana artist. People love your work! They're always asking you to create for them whenever there's an opening event for a shop or a place. Everybody knows who you are!"
Hinata shook her head. "No, it's not that!"
Hanabi railroaded her. "It's the truth! You're doing it again, refusing to let me praise you, doubting your worth."
"Hanabi…"
"And your students! Do you know how much they gush about you?! People seek you out because you're kind, calm, quiet, and patient. I wish you can see how much we love you exactly for who you are. You're perfectly fine just the way you are. The people who really know you understand that."
Hinata was bawling at this point. She couldn't speak, touched to hear her sister speaking so frankly with her.
"We all love you, plain and simple," Hanabi said as she finally gripped her sister's hand and pulled her up to stand. "I know it's hard, but you can't keep doing this to yourself. You can't let the doubts ruin your life and your chance at happiness."
Hinata faced her sister and nodded, wiped away her tears.
"Like Naruto said, you have to trust him. Nee-chan, you belong to each other. He loves you and he wants you as you are. I mean, he saw through that geisha mask that night, right? Then the next day, he purposefully came to find the real you."
"Oh, Hanabi!" Hinata wailed, blowing her nose on the tissue she'd produced from her pocket. "You're so right! I am an idiot!"
Hanabi smiled. "He's asking you for your whole heart, not just half, or a part of you. He wants all of you. Now go fix this, Nee-chan!" She gave her sister a hug. "So then what are you going to do?"
Hinata shook herself and took a deep, calming breath to steady herself. She looked at Hanabi with resolve in her eyes. "What am I going to do? I'm going to reciprocate."
Hanabi laughed. "Exactly!"
Naruto looked at the clock and sighed again. He wondered whether it was okay to leave the party. He was so tempted to just quietly slip out, but he knew it was impossible. People would notice his absence. Plus, Temari had said to wait until it was over so they could all talk with each other. There was no way he could leave just yet.
He was alone again, the other guests were mingling among themselves while he stayed at his chosen spot. For some reason, as the party dragged on, everybody seemed to be giving him a wide berth and nobody wanted to approach. Just as well. He was so tired of pretending in front of everyone. He was glad to be left to himself.
He laughed silently to himself when he looked down. He imagined the floor had grooves that matched his shoe size. He hadn't strayed from the window much, only going to the bathroom or grabbing some food he couldn't taste.
Naruto groaned quietly. He should really go home. There really was no point in being lonely at a party when he could hear everyone having a good time while he was miserably alone and missing Hinata. Hell, even Kiba had a date, he thought with amusement.
While he continued to stare out the window, at the streets of Konoha, he heard a commotion coming from the living room. But he paid it no mind because he was still lost in his thoughts, wondering what Hinata was doing. How different his life had been just a couple of weeks ago…
He took a sip of his drink but his advisor was suddenly by his side, gripping his arm.
"Naruto, come with me right now."
Naruto frowned. "Shikamaru, I don't really feel like socializing right now."
"Hinata's on television."
At the mention of her name, Naruto abruptly realized that everyone was looking at him. He could suddenly hear the television in the living room so clearly.
He followed Shikamaru and they walked the few steps to where the television stood…and stared with fascination at Hinata's lovely face on the screen. Her father and sister were standing next to her.
"This isn't live, is it?" he asked Shikamaru.
Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't think so. This seems pre-recorded? Looking at the lighting, I think this was done earlier today, maybe a couple of hours ago."
But Naruto was only half paying attention, his eyes still glued to the screen.
They appeared to be at home, in one of the rooms of the Hyuuga house that looked out into the tei-en. Hinata, her sister, and her father were in a ceremonial hall with wide, open windows. In the background, the cameras picked up the breathtaking views of the garden, the sunlight filtering through and giving everything an ethereal glow. Hinata, dressed in a formal gold kimono, was standing in front of her sister and father. She was facing a crowd of reporters.
"...comes from many sources," she was saying in response to a question. "The inspiration for this came specifically from one man."
"Oh? We can guess who the man is!"
"You'd be right in your guess." She was joking—or trying to joke because she smiled shakily and placed a hand over her heart and patted it a couple of times as if to still it.
Naruto's chest tightened in response. She did that all the time whenever she was nervous. He saw Hanabi standing next to her reach out with a reassuring hand on her sister's back.
He was still in shock, still unable to believe what was happening. Hinata was on television! It looked like she'd called a press conference, something she would never do since she hated being the center of attention.
But there she was standing before the throng of journalists, enduring the questions, the lights, the flash of the cameras.
"It's beautiful, Hinata! Can you tell us more of this newest creation?" a reporter yelled.
Hinata nodded and slowly pointed. The camera followed her arm to where she was pointing, panned to the dynamic arrangement of flowers sitting in a shallow dish of black ceramic.
It was an explosion of bright yellow flowers, of vivid sunflowers reaching up to the sky, and encased in a cloud of delicate baby's breath. But throughout the piece, a vibrant green vine wove through the stems, the dark color contrasting with the brightness of the more delicate shades of yellow and white.
A strong, sturdy vine threading through the blossoms that somehow united everything together, breathed energy into the composition that made the whole work complete.
An arrangement of flowers that expressed strength and joy. And something else that made his breath leave him in a whoosh, made his heart start beating erratically in his chest.
"I call it Belonging," she said.
Naruto heard the tremble of her voice, saw the way her fingers shook as she'd pointed, and knew that his normally shy Hinata was doing her best to fight for him.
"Belonging, huh? That's an interesting title."
She smiled again. "I know. I thought it was pretty clever myself."
The crowd laughed.
Naruto couldn't look away from the screen. She looked stiff, obviously uncomfortable, and very, very nervous. But for her to take on such an uncharacteristic move, to openly put herself out in the spotlight, so contrary to what she normally was, he understood that she was trying to show him that she was willing to do this hard thing—just for him. This was her own version of staking her claim on him.
Hinata, who guarded her privacy and shied away from public attention, was openly and publicly expressing her feelings for him.
Naruto looked at Hinata then at her ikebana artwork, the flowers somehow glimmering under the light of the fading sun. He saw again the message, recognized it and his heart rejoiced in what she was trying to say.
Belonging.
To each other.
Another reporter abruptly raised his microphone up in the air. "Belonging to who? Can you spell it out more clearly? Come on, don't be shy!"
"To the Hokage, of course."
Naruto's breath caught just as the burst of light from the camera flashes made Hinata's face disappear from the screen momentarily, and just as the explosion of noise from everyone's reactions almost drowned out what Hinata was saying.
"...I just wanted to make sure nobody's confused."
Hinata sent a sideways glance at her sister, who pressed her hand to the smile she was trying to hide at the joke only both of them seemed to understand.
But Hinata once more addressed the crowd in front of her. "Was I clear? I don't think I can make things any more obvious."
"Oh, don't worry, Hinata! We got the message loud and clear."
Just then, Hanabi stepped in front of her sister, smiled at the reporters, and declared the press conference over. "Thanks again, everyone! You guys are all heroes for coming through! We really appreciate you showing up here on such short notice."
"What?! When the Hyuugas ask for a press conference, we always come running!" somebody quipped, causing everyone to laugh.
But before they left, a pushy reporter raised his voice to be heard from the murmur of the crowd and asked, "Hinata! Before we go, is there anything else you want to say?"
"Yes."
A hush fell. Everyone quieted down, eager to hear what she had to say.
Hinata searched the crowd, found the lens of the camera, and looked directly into it. She took a deep breath, then her eyes soft, luminous, her voice pure and filled with emotion, she said, "I love you, Naruto."
The screen exploded again, lights and noise drowned everything out, but by then Naruto had already turned around, spurred to act by the truth of her words. It pierced him directly in his heart and made him burst with happiness. He wouldn't be able to contain it while he remained here and Hinata so far away.
He glanced briefly at Shikamaru. "I need to go to her."
Shikamaru grinned. "What are you looking at me for? You don't need my permission. It's your choice to go if you want to."
Naruto laughed, suddenly feeling like the world was right again, and sprinted to the door.
Hinata took a deep breath and steadied her hand.
She was in front of Temari's door, about to ring the bell.
Courage, Hinata, she told herself. She was doing this for Naruto—reciprocating.
Oh, she really hoped he'd seen the press conference. If not, if he didn't want to listen to her or see her again, then at least there was some kind of proof to show him that she'd tried.
But that's for after. She'd deal with that later because right now, there was no room for doubt. This was her moment of truth. She would not give in to her anxiety and run away. She had to face Naruto.
She took another deep breath and lowered her hands, curled them into fists as she tried one more time to steady her nerves.
After her conversation with her sister, she'd known that she'd had to make a grand gesture to win him back.
If he was the type of person who did flamboyant actions to get his message across to others, then she would meet him at his own game and do her best to make him realize that she loved him back.
Only, she'd done it in her own quiet way. She'd called the reporters and presented them with her most inspired art. She'd never worked so hard and so fast to create ikebana. But as she'd worked, twisting the flowers, snipping the stems, and sicking them into the kenzan that held them in the vase, the love inside her had burst and she'd instinctively reached for the sunflowers, the bright yellow flowers somehow seemed fitting. She realized that her love for him had been easy enough to express with her flowers. That had been the simple part.
Facing the reporters an hour earlier had been nerve-wracking. All the while she'd done it, she'd held down the queasiness in her stomach and surprised herself for not throwing up and embarrassing herself on live television. Her sister and father's support had enabled her to accomplish it.
That, and calling on Haruhi to give her pointers on how to look confident also helped. Her cousin had arrived at her home carrying the most gorgeous kimono Hinata had ever seen.
"You have to look amazing if you're going to do this," Haruhi had explained as she shook the delicate fabric. "I'll lend you my kimono. I know you're going to look beautiful in it, but the point of all this is to help you kind of fake the confidence that you don't normally feel. If you look fabulous, then you can brazen out anything."
Then her cousin had proceeded to quickly strip her and then efficiently dress her into the kimono, cinching ropes, arranging folds of fabric, tethering her into the layers of garments like a ham about to go into the oven.
Hinata had endured it all knowing she was doing this for Naruto.
But there was still one more fight. She was going to do everything in her power to win him back, to prove to him that she loved him and returned his feelings.
She thought back to that day when he'd gone on television and declared to all of the village that they were in a relationship, when he'd staked his claim on her and over her heart so publicly. She kicked herself for missing the signs. If only she had recognized it then.
She hoped he would forgive her and take her back.
But the door suddenly flew open and she shrieked with surprise.
He was suddenly standing in front of her, his mouth open in shock, too, to see her at Temari's door.
"Hinata!"
Then she was in his arms because he'd grabbed her, dragged her into the entranceway, and he was squeezing her so tight, she couldn't breathe.
"God, Hinata! I saw you just now on TV. But you're here?!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm so sorry for not being able to say it back to you."
"What are you talking about?! You know I can never stop loving you!"
Then she was crying, blubbering into his shirt with relief because she'd been so certain he hated her, but no: He still loved her.
But she had to tell him. She pushed at him so he could finally let go of her and she could finally tell him directly to his face.
"Naruto," she started to stay, but his arms only tightened and squished her more firmly into his chest, making her laugh.
"Hinata, I don't think I can let you go anymore, now that you're back."
Her heart was bursting, and she was laughing and crying at the same time. Still, he needed to hear it from her so she pushed at him again until he finally got the message and loosened his arms enough so that she could look up at him and he could look down at her and gaze into her eyes.
Before she lost her nerve, she burst out, "Naruto, I'm sorry for doubting you."
He shook his head, and he was about to say something again, but she reached up and placed a hand over his lips. "Just listen. I need to say this."
He kissed her fingers, nodded, and let her speak.
She smiled at him nervously. "I did some soul searching."
Then her eyes shone with sudden tears again because she was still so very sorry for putting them through this mess.
"And you know what, Naruto? I found you there. I wish I had realized it sooner, but I love you."
He didn't say anything back because he was kissing her.
In the entranceway to Temari's house. In front of everyone. In front of Temari's guests. At her birthday party.
But nothing mattered because the world was right again. Hinata knew and trusted that he still loved her despite what she'd done, that he would always love her and she would love him until she breathed her last.
Nobody could hear it, but when he broke the kiss, he murmured something in her ear that only she could hear.
Then Temari happily called out, "Glad you finally made it, Hinata! Just come inside and close the door, will you? You're letting in the cold air!"
But Naruto was still smiling at her, and she could only look into his eyes, nod, and smile joyfully back.
When they finally joined the party, everyone had teased them for that show they'd just put on. They both shook their heads and didn't elaborate further on what he'd whispered to her.
Shikamaru, though, had been the closest one to them. Naruto's back had been to him, but Shikamaru had seen Hinata nod, laugh, and then repeat what Naruto had murmured to her.
"No more slow."