As always, reviews are appreciated!
January 1st
I don't know why I'm so nervous, I've spent time with him hundreds of times. Hinata thinks to herself. But hardly ever alone. His house comes into sight. We haven't been alone since the last time I was half naked on his couch. She goes to knock on his door.
"Hinata! Let's go." Naruto, not even taking the time to invite her in.
"Wait, what?" She questions as he takes her hand pulling her back down his front steps.
"I have today all planned out, our first stop is Yamanaka Flower shop." Naruto eagerly makes his way to the village's shopping district.
"Why do we need flowers?" Hinata follows him reluctantly, the confusion from the night before coming back.
"Oh yeah I probably should explain." He comes to a dead stop in the middle of the road, bouncing slightly back and forth from foot to foot, unable to contain his excitement. "Well I was thinking we could get flowers for my parents' graves, there's something I want to tell you about and I think part of it should be done there, ya know." Hinata could tell he spent time either last night or this morning planning their day. "Then I thought maybe lunch, wherever you want."
"That sounds great, but I was hoping to spend more time with you." Hinata slightly frowns as she looks up at Naruto.
"Oh, well I need to do a bit of shopping. I feel silly having that whole kitchen and only instant ramen, you could come with if you want." Naruto offers as he pulls the door to the flower shop open.
"Naruto, Hinata!" Ino eagerly greets her friends. "Did you have a good New Years?" The blond shinobi asks arranging flowers in different vases as she goes.
"Oh, it was great." Hinata launches into a detailed explanation of their night before as Naruto begins to look at flowers, tuning them out until Ino squeals in delight.
Hinata must of told her about the prospect of marriage. Naruto picks up a bundle of pink roses.
"Don't get any ideas Ino, I don't need Sakura breaking into my house and decking me cause I didn't tell her we're getting married." Naruto giving Ino a knowing looking noting her notorious reputation as a gossip and bringing two large bouquets to the counter. "I'll take these."
"Naruto, you don't…" Hinata stops as he raises his hand as if to brush away her words.
"What date do you know of where the girl pays?" He hands the money over to Ino.
"Have you ever been to your parents' graves?" Hinata asked as they made their way to the memorial that was made after the Kurama's attack on the village.
"Not officially, I've walked past them a handful of times but I've never stopped. I never knew who they really were." They walked down the rows until they reached the largest grave in the memorial.
"Hey Ma, Dad." Naruto weaving signs as he greets his parents, the soft snow that rests both in front of and on their graves, floats away with the sudden breeze of his wind release. Naruto digs into the pack he has on his side, to produce a green checkered blanket.
"You came prepared." Hinata lightly smiles at him.
"I went out and bought a blanket this morning. All I had was the one for my bed. And I wanted you to have a great first date, you deserve it." Naruto eases his way down onto the blanket patting the spot next to him. "And I know this isn't the most conventional start to a date."
"Naruto-kun." Hinata's voice coated in happiness. "This is what I want to get to know you." She pauses. "Well on a more personal level."
"Now dear, you wanted to hear about my parents."
"Please?" A curious grin spreads across her face.
"There's something I thought a lot about last night when I got home, trying to think of how to make today the best for you. So, I want to tell you about when I met my mom. I was thinking about giving you the whole story later today but this part my mom needs to hear, ya know." Nervousness coats his voice, like it had when he told her about his feelings for Sakura when he was young.
"When I went with Lord Killer B to the island…" Naruto glances at his mom's grave.
"I remember that." A faint blush covers her cheeks.
"Something I don't know about?" Naruto questions while he runs a bandaged covered finger across her pink cheek.
"I asked Lady Tsunade if there was another mission to bring food to your ship like Sakura had got to go on." Hinata mumbles quickly, Naruto barely catches the words.
"What?" Naruto asks, surprised.
"I missed you. You were gone for almost three years and then when I finally got back to getting to see you building our friendship then you were gone again." Hinata looks down at her hands as she speaks.
"That has got to be the cutest thing I have ever heard." Narutos reaches out to cover her folded hands with one of his, shifting his gaze back to the markers in front of them.
"What?" It was Hinata's turn to be surprised.
"I've never had anyone want me, truly and honestly want me." A broad happy smile covers his face. "It's a nice feeling."
"That's my aim, Naruto-kun, so the boat?" While she enjoyed this new slightly romantic side of him the curiosity still seeped through.
Naruto launched into a story of a long voyage at sea, with nothing but fish to eat, and the company of a sea sick Guy-sensei.
"When we got to the island Octopops." Hinata smiles at his silly nickname. "Didn't want to train me, I come on a bit strong at times, ya know." Naruto chuckles as he reclines back on his elbows, his legs stretching off the edge of the blanket. "I finally convinced him to work with me, my first task was the waterfall of truth, this was the hardest part of the training." Naruto trails off.
"What happened?" Hinata questions, imagining intense training under a waterfall, a bruised and worn out Naruto struggling.
"None of my training was physical, ya see I had already conquered the physical part of Kurama, oh that's his name." He taps gently on his stomach noting Hinata's raised eyebrow. "This was purely mental. He," making a reference to the raging fox spirit inside of him. "was angry. It was an anger I didn't know I even had latched onto him. I grew up without them." Waving his hand towards his parent's graves
He stops, to steady his breathing, Hinata leans down onto her side to be eye-level with her boyfriend.
"I grew up without a lot of things. And without even realizing it I was lonely, I put on a brave face for most of my childhood and even after I graduated. Things turned around with Kakashi-sensei mentoring me, but there was this darkness inside me that came out to visit in the presence of the waterfall." Naruto goes into his meditation, how he accepted the darkness.
"I never knew that you suffered, you always seemed so happy." Hinata leans down onto her side to be eye level with her boyfriend.
"I was happy. I am happy." He shoots Hinata a reassuring smile. "Iruka-sensei thinks it's why I was such an as he would say 'problem child'." They both laughed at the memories of Naruto as a boy causing havoc in the village. "But, enough of that. We released the seal on him."
"Seal?" Hinata interrupts.
"Yeah, that's how he's kept in me, my parents did it the night he attacked. Part of the seal though had my moms' chakra. It was, I'm not sure how to say it, but it was tied to the seal and it came out when we opened it." He pauses, his eyes reading over moms' name engraved on the stone before them.
"She was perfect Hinata. Everything I ever hoped for. I look like her, ya know." He frowns slightly. "I got my dad's hair, but my mom's face."
"What about her hair?" Hinata questions.
"Red, bright red. And long, like yours." Naruto twirls the ends of her hair that lays on the ground next to him. "She told me so many things, things I had wanted to hear my whole life." Naruto launches into the story his mom told him. Of how his parents fell in love, the tragedies that happened due to who they now knew was Uchiha Obito, ending with the wishes his parents had for him as they died.
"Naruto, that's…" Hinata trails off, she blinks trying to make the tears that had come to her eyes disappear.
"I've tried really hard over the past few years to do right by what she told me. I think Sakura almost died when I started eating loads of vegetables in my ramen." This causes Hinata to go into a fit of laughter picturing him eating vegetable ramen with a sour look on his face.
"Hey you." Reaching over, placing on her shoulder trying to steady her shaking from the laughter. "You're making this really hard laughing at me like that."
"I'm so sorry." The laughter subsides. "I was just picturing you eating ramen and being grumpy about it having no meat in it. But continue, please."
"I'm not a romantic man," The confusion she had on her face at the beginning of the date reappears. "and I'm not the best with words, ya know. But the last thing my mom told me was to find a good girl. Someone to umm take care of me I guess since she wasn't around. And well umm, ma," he turns from facing Hinata and back to the graves in front of them.
"I think I found her. She's smart and strong just like you. She fights for what she believes in, and stands by her ninja way. She's supported me in so many ways I never even knew, I'm so thankful for her. And she may not look like you but Gods above she's beautiful. Her name is Hyuga Hinata and well I wish you were here to meet" Naruto speaks in a sad tone to the mom that he wishes was in front of him.
This wasn't what I was expecting, I thought he would tell me how he met his parents. Tell her how happy that made him feel. He may not think he's good with words but that was the best thing I've ever heard. Hinata thinks to herself, shocked at the confession he just made. This is why he wanted to do this here.
"I don't want you to think you have anything to live up to Hinata, I've just realized after rethinking what my mom told me about how she was there for my dad for everything, you're that for me."
"You've, well you've made me the happiest girl Naruto-kun." Finding herself at a loss for words. "Thank you, so very much for sharing this with me, I want to kiss you right now but maybe not in front of your parents" Her lavender eyes stare into his bright blue.
Naruto, disregarding her slight objection, leans in parting her lips with his own as she gasps into his mouth. Feeling a hand on the back of his neck Hinata scoots in closer before gently pulling away resting her forehead against his.
"Now this is something we should be doing in private." She whispers her lips still inches from his.
"I thought that sort of um relationship was on hold." Placing his hand on thigh giving it a light squeeze.
"I'm not sure Naruto, I want to see how today goes. I want to be close to you in more ways than you know." She moves backwards across the blanket so she can gauge his reaction. "I think I just got nervous last time, I was worried what you would think of me." Covering his hand with her own.
The look in his eyes is new to her, she had seen every reaction from curiosity to anger but this, this was new. Naruto's normally ocean blue eyes had gone dark; they looked like the sky before a summer storm.
"I think this is one of those things we need to discuss with just the two of us, ya know." Moving his hand to push himself off the ground, offering her a hand as he stands. "Let's go get some food okay?"
Once again placing a hand on the back of his neck, pulling his face down to hers for another kiss. Naruto pulls away from her grasp taking her hand in his making their way back into town.
"I'll take that as a yes to food. So, what does my girl want to eat." A lump forming in his throat at the sweet smile that appears on Hinata's face at his use of a pet name.
"I'm kinda in the mood for ramen." Hinata glances at Naruto out of the corner of her eye, shooting him a sly smile.
"Well that solves it, you are perfect." Naruto returns Hinata's smile, taking her hand in his. "We both know this is my favorite place, what about you?" Looking down at her as they walked back to the village.
"Oh, well there's this little café Sakura and I would actually meet there. They have the absolute best cinnamon rolls. We would actually meet there and talk about you." A nervous giggle accompanies her, as she turns to meet his gaze.
"You what?!" A look of pure shock covers his face.
"Yeah she was the one who gave me the confidence to give you the scarf." Looking dead ahead.
I don't know why I'm still nervous about that night I tried to first give it to him. Hinata thinks to herself, being brought back as Naruto gently squeezes her hand.
"In that case I'll have to remember to thank her." Naruto follows Hinata into the ramen shop.
"Aaaahhh! My best customer, and he's brought a pretty lady with him." Old man Ichiraku, grins over a steaming pot as the pair take their seats
"So, Hinata, what exactly did you and Sakura talk about?" Naruto questions as she skims the menu board above them.
"Do you really want to know? It isn't that interesting, just girl stuff really." Hinata silently hopes that his answer is no.
"I don't need all the drawn-out details but a little bit would be fun, I guess."
"After the war Sakura asked if I wanted to meet up sometime, I assumed she was just looking for a girl-friend someone to talk to who wasn't Ino. Ino talks about boys and herself mostly. I like the girl but she can get a little dull at times." Naruto raises an eyebrow at his normally sweet girlfriend. "But, when I first met her here the first thing she did was ask me about you!"
"What about me?" Naruto asked, his tone light teasing almost.
"My feelings and what I intended on doing about them. Like I said she encouraged me to give you the scarf but in a way to make it for you. She convinced me not to give up on you, cause I had tried to tell you and show you countless times but you were oblivious."
"Hey," Naruto sets down his menu. "I was what? Fifteen, maybe sixteen and then there was a war, cut a guy a little slack."
"Sakura said you might not understand the difference in-between loving someone and loving sweets." She giggles, eyeing Naruto over her menu.
"Sakura-chan would say something like that, she was right though. If it hadn't been for those bubbles." He references the memories they shared while rescuing her sister. "You probably would have had to tell me you loved me everyday for a month for me to get it."
"If that's what I would have had to do, I would have done it to get us to this point." Her lavender eyes soft as she looks at him across the table.
"I'm glad you didn't have to go through that trouble." Naruto absentmindedly running his thumb across the back of his hand "Do you know what you want?"
"I'll take the special with extra miso."
"Make that two pops!"
This is the first place I saw him really smile after we started the academy. Hinata thinks back to a newly twelve-year-old Naruto, saying thanks for his food, a smile so wide it split his face in two.
"I remember walking by here with Ko, when we first started the academy, you were so easy to spot back then with all that orange." Hinata giggles. "I begged him for ramen, he didn't want me to be here with you I guess." Naruto's face falls. "But finally, he agreed, we sat at the end but you were just the happiest boy. And I, well, I was too shy to even say hi to you. I wish I would have, it looked like you really needed a friend."
"You really are the most caring person I know, what twelve-year-old would notice things like that?"
"The kind that had a huge crush on the loud mouth, at the time secret jinjuriki, trouble maker. I am, however, glad you toned down the orange." Hinata kids as their food is placed in front of them.
"Are you saying my orange on orange wasn't a turn on? You think this is better?" Motioning to his dark grey pants paired with his orange zip up.
"Well, you are a tad harder to find nowadays, but I guess the height you've gained has made up for that." Hinata smiles as she blows on her hot food. "You really blew me away today, with your mom."
"In a good or bad way?" Naruto questions before placing a piece of pork in his mouth.
"Good, very good. I'm glad you think I'm the girl your mother would be proud to see you with." She glances up to gauge his reaction. "I expected you to tell me that you had somehow been visited by her presence for a short time in chakra form. Not that you had a full-on conversation with her."
Before Naruto could respond to the sound of a stool swiveling around and someone sitting next to him interrupts, the couple is greeted by Iruka.
"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto addresses his former teacher.
"I saw you guys through the curtains and I thought I would come say hello, is Sakura in the bathroom or something?" Iruka questions, oblivious to the fact they're on a date.
"Um, well sensei we're kinda…" Naruto cuts in, motioning between himself and Hinata. "It's just us today."
"Oh, well I was hoping to catch up with both you and Sakura. I was wanting to see if you would come talk about nature's affinities and she could speak on medicine at the academy next week." He glances between the two, noticing Naruto's hand covering Hinatas on the counter top. Iruka's expression changes in a matter of seconds, from hopefulness, to confusion. "Wait. Are you two, on a date?" Iruka questions.
"Yeah Iruka-sensei we kinda are." Giving his former teacher an awkward half smile. "But I wouldn't mind. I bet Sakura-chan would be okay with it too."
"Great! Well, you two enjoy the rest of your day." Iruka claps Naruto on the back, giving Hinata a warm smile as he exits the shop.
"Is everyone going to be like this?" Naruto questions, as he digs back into his food.
"Well you are the Hero of the Hidden Leaf." Hinata smirks at him, as he's unable to respond.