"It just feels nostalgic when you blush and stutter like that."
Naruto had meant it and it was not deep of a statement. It was as is, literal. However, it seems that he wanted to convey more, wanted to mean more than just tell her that he misses her.
He misses her.
Is that a weird thought? He asks himself as he was now lying on his bed. The party had ended and he was exhausted to the bones. But, that was not enough to put him to rest. His thought keeps nagging him.
No. Maybe? Why would he miss her though? They do not meet constantly but they see each other in an adequate amount of time, so why miss her? No, it's not like that. Truth be told, it seemed to be more than that.
After his proposal to Sakura, the raven- haired girl started to act differently. He had noticed that she seemed to avoid him as much as possible. At first, he just felt indifferent about that, but soon enough he felt upset for some reason. She is his and his fiancée's friend and he knew how he felt was normal. He convinced himself that he would just have to make do with her attitude towards him and maybe it would even pass through time. He was wrong. So, maybe saying that he misses her is true and quite appropriate.
Yup, that's it exactly. It's nothing more than that.
But then he remembers her cream eyes that reflected the luminescence of the city lights. It held his stare for a moment and at that time, he swore he felt something pleasantly weird happen to him. Then she just had to bring back her old self, her persona he knew so well, the shy and timid girl and he swore he felt weirder. He doesn't know how to describe that feeling. He felt giddy and happy and… complete? He does not know for sure. It was extraordinary for him. He was not able contain it that time so he laughed and said those words.
No, it's definitely more than that.
But, what?
He tossed and turn in his bed, feeling really annoyed. "What the fricking hell is wrong with you, Naruto? It's the night before your wedding and here you're thinking of another girl for goodness' sake! I think I need serious help." He thought. He dug the heels of his palm to his eye, trying to calm himself. He looked at the clock on his bedside table and read 4:47 AM. How long has he been thinking about this particular girl exactly? Shouldn't he be thinking about his life beyond after his wedding? He decided to take a breather just to clear his head off.
He ended up in the second floor lobby of the hotel that has a ceiling- to- floor windows. He was about to sit on one of the benches faced on the window when he spotted a familiar mop of midnight on a bench. "Coincidence." He shrugged, dismissively as he pushed down the feeling of excitement. He walked up to her.
She seemed as though she was staring at a piece of paper and there was a pen standing limply on her hand. Her head was bent low as her locks curtain her face. Is she asleep? "Hey." He said and slowly, she lifted up her face. It was tear- stained and, immediately, his heart felt heavy. "What's wrong?" He asked gently. Her expression changed from wide- eyed into a forced happiness. She bent her head again but this time in a normal angle. "W- well, I was getting anxious and pressured b-because I haven't … I haven't written a message that I would deliver for you guys… on the reception." She punctuated her statement with a weak chuckle which matched the fake cheerfulness in her voice. It's more than that, he knows. He took the seat next to her.
"You don't have to sweat it, you know? It's okay to tell me that your paper is an onion skin. I won't judge." Hinata looked at him and, in a matter of moments, managed to bubble out giggles from her lips. "What? You find that funny?" Naruto said as he joined Hinata with her giggles.
"No, I don't. I find it very unfunny that it has become laughable." Hinata was now folding the piece of paper and tucking it inside the pocket of her sweatshirt.
"I believe that the term you're going for is corny."
"Probably." And then they were silent, both of them just enjoying the urban scenery presented before them by the massive window.
To his surprise, she was the first one to break the silence. "Can't sleep?" He examined their proximity from each other. They were closer than usual, and she doesn't seem to mind. Or maybe she doesn't notice. She was too absorbed by the view that she did not even looked at him when she asked.
"Yeah." Please don't ask why.
"Why?" Too much for wishing on his lucky stars. He opted to just shrug it out. He thought that she could interpret his insomnia with the combination of excitement and anxiousness from his in- coming wedding. Well, it wasn't entirely false. He is clouded by excitement and anxiousness, but because of a different reason though.
"And you? Can't sleep because of your speech?" Her lips slowly stretched into a graceful smile and shook her head.
"Actually, I've gotten my sleep."
"And how many hours of sleep exactly did you have?" Naruto was trying to get her to look at him. It was almost working. She would give him a side- eye glance in an amicable way and would look away again.
"More or less 2 hours." She said, and this time she's looking at his general direction. Behind him to be exact. And then it was silent again. Both of them stared out the window. Naruto had lost interest of the sleepless city underneath them, and so, he stared at the dark sky. It was mysterious and wonderful. Dotted with shining stars, it resembles a dark silk adorned with crystals. He could see that the sky has turned Byzantium in color at the far end. Soon enough, the sun would rise on them.
Suddenly, he felt like he wanted to be just cased in this moment. The thought of the wedding gone from his mind. He didn't want for tomorrow to come just yet. He wanted to smear the lighter parts of the sky with its darker shade. He just wanted to stay here because here, his mind was in peace despite being beside the cause of his confusion. It felt like she was the problem and she was also the solution. And for once, he felt like he fit into something, like he is where he should be. Don't get him wrong, though. He wasn't feeling out of the place before this or anything like that. But he didn't know either that there would be something better. Before, he was only contented, but now, he witnessed happiness. Everything was so simple, but in his eyes this was extravagant, a priceless moment.
Naruto was shaken from his thoughts when he once again heard Hinata's voice. This time it was somewhat dreamy. "The first item in my bucket list is to have a night escapade. I used to enjoy car rides when it was already evening. Everything seemed to shine brighter yet it was peaceful. It made me feel like I can do just anything. I wanted that escapade to last until the sun rise and I would watch it. Maybe the sun would be surprised why I was still up despite being always strict about resting hours." She giggled after saying those words like she was really delighted. "Sorry if that was out of the blue, but that bucket list seemed to be perfect for this moment." She was smiling dreamily. Naruto could sense it. Hinata also felt the sense of happiness he was feeling that moment, and he was happy that somehow they felt the same. He smiled as an idea came into his head.
"Why don't we go right now?" He asked, his smile unfaltering. Hinata's eyes widen and she looked at him in the eye. Her cheeks dusted with a deep shade of pink.
"O-oh my.. er.. um.. Sorry i- if that c-came out wrong. I- I wasn't s-suggesting anything! I just… I j-just said what was in my head. S- sorry."
"No, I know. It's just that I was just thinking about how I didn't want for the sun to rise just yet. That's not possible though, but I can go away from it. I can watch it from afar as it rises. While you on the other hand, as we go away from here, can experience the night, well not exactly night but nonetheless, escapade that you want. And just like what you said, doesn't this seem the perfect moment for that?" Naruto said with a smile Hinata had never seen him wear before. His smile was a little bit childish, but the rawness of his happiness were seeping from it. She was weighing the pros and cons, but with him giving that smile, all of her thought came flying to the window. "There's still an abundant amount of time before the wedding and we're not doing anything wrong, now are we? Just seizing the perfect moment." were Hinata's thoughts before diving, eyes closed, to the uncertainty that being with Naruto in an ungodly hour would bring her.
A/N: I'm gunna make this quick. MY SINCEREST APOLOGY FOR KEEPING YOU GUYS WAITING. I really am sorry, but after publishing the first chapter, I became stagnant with my writing. It's probably because I found other hobbies and I neglected writing. Don't worry I started writing the third chapter so that you guys wouldn't wait any longer
LotsALove,
Che
