He would never admit this in a million years, but...
Yeah.
He was jealous.
Of ramen toppings.
Well, to be fair, he wasn't jealous of all ramen toppings. Just the ones not named Naruto. Lately she was ordering a lot of ramen toppings not named Naruto whenever she was at Ichiraku with him.
He noticed this, just as he noticed everything to do with Hinata whenever she came to Ichiraku.
The way she'd pull back the noren, just a little, like she was afraid of sending unwelcome gusts of wind into the little establishment. The way she'd greet Teuchi and Ayame with a tiny smile that conveyed infinite gratitude. He didn't know how she could pack all that into such a tiny, tiny smile. Like a nutshell containing infinite space, her small smile contained infinite grace. Her lips would curve slighly upwards and her eyes would close, crinkling at the edges. And then she'd nod her head in a polite greeting. Somehow, he knew, a million years into the future, when she was old and grey, she would have deep, deep smile lines, the edges of her eyes permanently crinkled. That would be so cool, he thought, if she could live a million years with such deep smile lines on her face. If he could transfer some of his clan's famed Uzumaki longevity to her, just to see her old smiling face a million years in the future – he'd do that, in the fraction of a heartbeat.
It was never fake, never put-upon. Blessed were those she smiled at. Naruto could never smile like she did. Whenever he felt small, he had to make up for it by talking big, showing off all his teeth in those ear-to-ear grins. And yet, for some reason, she said that his smile of all things was the one that saved her?
Hinata always covered her mouth, like she was afraid that spit would come flying out, like someone would see food stuck in her teeth and consider her a boor.
He blinked as he considered that maybe, she smiled like that because she felt small too.
But then, there was no need for Hinata of all people to feel small. She was like a nutshell containing infinite space, infinite energy.
Like right now, when she just greeted Old Man Teuchi and Big Sis Ayame with a small, small smile, bowing her head slightly.
"I'll have a miso ramen – "
Naruto's heart leapt. That was his favorite –
"With some aonegi, please?"
He deflated a little.
Aonegi was all right. It wasn't naruto. But aonegi, to be fair, did go well with ramen.
And when the food arrived, she gave Old Man Teuchi and Big Sis Ayame that crinkly eye-smile again, clasping her hands together. When she said, "Itadakimasu," he knew she meant it. She was honestly, from the bottom of her heart, thankful. To Teuchi, to Ayame, to every single ingredient that went into the ramen, to the chopsticks, to the ceramic bowl, the rim decorated with red, infinitely repeating bands like a labyrinth.
Naruto appreciated her appreciation. No, really.
Ichiraku deserved it. And blessed were the people who appreciated Ichiraku.
Blessed were the people who appreciated miso ramen with...aonegi.
He blatantly stared as she snapped apart her chopsticks and tucked her dark, silky hair behind her ears, blowing gently on the broth as though she had cat's tongue and she was worried that it would be scalded.
Then she ate twenty bowls of ramen.
Her stomach like a black hole from which no light, no life, and no ramen escaped.
Hinata was different.
Hinata was awesome.
He didn't even realize that maybe, staring so intently at someone as they ate wasn't very polite until it was too late. She looked up, her white eyes meeting his blue.
Instantly she shrank back, ears rosy, giggling nervously. With a jolt, he realized that in her nervousness, she had forgotten to cover her mouth like she usually did. Her pearly white teeth glinted at him with what he thought was mischief, and she didn't even have any food stuck between her teeth! So why didn't she laugh with her mouth open more often?
She was mesmerizing, when she laughed with her mouth open.
"I-is there something on my face?"
"Yeah." He reached out and plucked the tiniest bit of aonegi from the corner of her mouth.
Seriously, why did she pick aonegi? Naruto was right there on the toppings list, much more reasonably priced than aonegi.
Just to make sure that aonegi really was all it was cracked up to be, he popped it into his mouth, barely noticing her mortified yelp nor the crash of something somewhere in Teuchi and Ayame's working area.
He scowled viciously.
It was true. Aonegi on miso ramen was amazing. Old Man Teuchi never messed up ramen, ever. What did he even expect? He'd had aonegi on miso ramen before.
Still.
Hinata could have chosen Naruto, the BEST ramen topping, and he would tell her so! He whirled around determinedly, hoping to catch a glimpse of those pale, pale eyes and that dark, silky hair and those –
"Hinata, next time, ya know – "
"Thank you for the meal, Teuchi-san, Ayame-san!" She placed a fat, fat wad of bills onto the counter in a tearing hurry, racing away. Cold gusts of winter wind flooded into the interior of the shop, coloring everyone's breaths a pale, puffy white.
Huh. That was weird.
Old Man Teuchi beamed and shot Naruto a thumbs-up as he bent down to pick up his dropped rolling pin.
"Naruto, listen. Hinata's a very nice young lady, and as my Number One Customer, you have my blessings – "
"THANK YOU, Old Man Teuchi. I knew I could count on you!"
"Yes, I hope to see both of you here, spending many happy days eating – "
"Yeah, I do too! But you have to tell her that Naruto's the best!" he said, words spilling from his mouth like a gushing waterfall with no end.
"I – what?"
"Old Man Teuchi. Please, PLEASE tell Hinata that Naruto's the best!"
Old Man Teuchi blinked and exchanged a puzzled look with Ayame.
"Um. Doesn't she know that already?" Ayame asked. Naruto was the village hero. Everyone knew that he was the best.
"No, she picked Aonegi, didn't you see? So tell her next time to pick Naruto!"
Teuchi blinked again.
"R-right." He blinked for a third time. "We'll tell her for sure."
Naruto beamed at that, eyes winking shut and smile crinkling the corners, just like Hinata had done.
"Thanks, Old Man. You're a lifesaver."
Later that night, as they were closing up shop, Teuchi turned to his daughter.
"Has there been another village hero named Aonegi lately? Is Hinata seeing someone like that?"
"I don't think so. How many other village heroes have ramen topping names?"
"Still, our boy Naruto asked us to help him out, and as our Number One Customer, I think it's our duty to help him."
Ayame snorted. "Just make sure you don't get kicked by a horse."
Hinata stopped by Ichiraku next week, ordering some shio ramen with kikurage. Teuchi's heart gladdened at how compatible she was with his Number One Customer.
He owed Naruto. Naruto was like a good luck charm. After the ear, business boomed like a firework lighting up the sky. Everyone knew that Uzumaki Naruto, hero of Konohagakure, hero of the Fourth Ninja War, was obsessed with ramen. They knew that Naruto loved eating Ichiraku ramen, especially Ichiraku ramen with naruto. The world at large knew that it was he, Teuchi, who made the best, BEST ramen, and the best, BEST naruto.
That boy had turned his struggling small-time business into a pilgrimage center.
It was the least Teuchi could do to help him out.
"Hinata, Naruto is the best," he kindly advised. "I give you our blessings."
"He's the village hero! A really good catch!" Ayame pitched in. She had decided that getting kicked by a horse was all right, if it meant helping out her Number One Customer. Such sacrifices were trivial. "You should hurry up and take him before he's all sold out."
Hinata choked on the last of her noodles.
"He's our Number One Customer! After you, of course," Teuchi said earnestly, oblivious to the dull heat creeping down Hinata's face and into her neckline.
"Do you remember the day he first came to our shop, Dad?"
"Yeah, it was such a cold night..."
"Everyone kicked him out. They hated him. Because of the Kyuubi."
They did. He'd noticed the boy, all of maybe five years old, wandering the streets at night, staring at patchworks of glowing windows and twitching when he heard peals of happy laughter, a baby's squeal, and a parent's scolding.
He had just been a kid. And Teuchi didn't believe in going to sleep on an empty stomach.
"They didn't see that he was the BEST." Teuchi emphasized this part, because Naruto had told him to. But even if Naruto had never told him to, Teuchi would have emphasized this part anyway.
Naruto was the best. Naruto deserved the best.
"But you did, didn't you?"
He knew this, because Naruto, oftentimes, lauched into animated rants about how awesome his friends were these days, especially her, with her dark hair and white eyes and pretty, pretty Byakugan and –
Teuchi knew a boy in love when he saw one.
"Like I said, you should catch him before he's sold out – " Ayame repeated, stirring a pot with gusto, also completely oblivious to the sweat pooling on Hinata's forehead.
"Um, thanks for the meal, Teuchi-san, Ayame-san!"
Hinata fled in what appeared to be abject terror, pushing back her stool so hard that it made an ugly scraping sound, letting gales of wind flood into the store – not that it really mattered when you were standing in front of a vat of boiling broth like Teuchi and Ayame were.
Still. It was super weird.
"Hinata? Where are you going? We have a naruto discount special today! Hinata!" Ayame frowned, staring after the poor girl.
She'd overpaid again.
She didn't mean to run away like that. It was rude. She knew that.
But she couldn't help herself.
They were teasing her. Teasing her for being so obvious.
What else was it supposed to mean?
Hinata, Naruto is the best. I give you our blessings.
He's the village hero! A really good catch! You should hurry up and take him before he's all sold out!
And then there was that other time. That time two weeks ago, when she'd stopped by Ichiraku, because she wanted to se – because she was hungry after a mission. He'd been there, just like she expected, but she steeled her nerves and mustered a smile, hoping that no one would notice her sweaty palms. Or the dull heat pooling in her gut and the frantic pulsing of her heart. She knew that logically speaking, no one at Ichiraku could detect those things, but she worried anyway.
She'd eaten twenty bowls of ramen, because when he was there, she felt the urge to do foolish thi – because she was very hungry.
And then –
She groaned and covered her face in her hands.
His thumb had been so warm, even though it was winter and he wasn't wearing gloves.
It tickled, when he brushed it up against the corner of her mouth.
She...did not mind this.
His thumb had been very warm.
And – and it was sort of like a pocky game. Or drinking out of the same straw. But with a ramen topping. Again, not that she minded.
She groaned again, suddenly very thankful that her teammates hadn't been around. Kiba would have been merciless in his teasing, far worse than Teuchi-san and Ayame-san.
They would have somehow strong-armed her into ordering naruto, her favorite topping, and that would have been truly mortifying.
A/N: Just some fluff. Plus, I just like writing about Naruto getting jealous of other ramen toppings. Tell me what you think! :)