I do not own Naruto.

Author's Notes: Finally! The Date has come. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do not you will get coal for Christmas. I have mad powers when it comes to influencing Santa Claus.

Sorry if parts don't make sense. I have strep throat and am hopped up on enough drugs to kill an emu.

Also, huge thanks to all who reviewed!

oOo

"Attraction is not a choice." -David DeAngelo

oOo

The restaurant was a small, private affair that took up a little corner at the crossing of Winchester and Norman, with dim lights and ambrosial smells. There were garlands wrapped around the wooden beams, swaying occasionally when the wind whipped through the door with another arrival.

Naruto and Hinata had been led to a table near the back, where the wind was less likely to blow them over, and candles had been lit. Hinata was staring very hard at the menu, half of it was in Italian, and so it needed her full concentration. Also, she was trying to escape Naruto's eyes, which had been darting appreciative glances her way ever since he had managed to put his eyes back in his head when she had taken her coat off.

Hinata rather thought the attention was going to her head. She felt light, and a smile was constantly near.

"Well," she said, peeking over the top of her menu. "What are you going to have?"

"Hmm…" Naruto said slowly. "The third one from the top. It's a French name, and I cannot speak French. Too many Z's, and… other letters that are just completely un-American."

"I think that's kind of the point," Hinata said, trying to find something on the menu that wasn't Italian. Ah. He was looking at the wines. "I meant, what are you going to eat?"

"Oh," his brow furrowed, lips puckering, and Hinata had to hide behind her menu again for a moment. It was a cute expression—too cute for her poor heart. "Let's see… appetizer could be the… what the heck is calamari?"

"Squid."

He shuddered. "No. Way."

"In some countries," Hinata said, flipping through her menu. "They bolt a live monkey into the table, cut off the top of its skull, and then the brain is eaten raw." She smiled at his look of curious disgust. It was a little strange for her, saying such things at a dinner table, but Naruto was obviously enjoying it. "It's a delicacy."

"That's so gross," Naruto said in wonder. "Eww. Where do you get this stuff?"

"The same place I get that they bolt a snake to the table, one that gives live birth, and rip opens its guts to eat the still wriggling babies," Hinata said.

Naruto shivered in disgust, grinning. "Aw man, that is nasty. You know there's a place that puts scorpions into candy? You lick away the sucker until you get to the bug and—chomp! You eat it up."

"Ugh," Hinata said. "Don't think I'm brave enough for that one."

"Aren't you glad we chose Italian?"

"Very."

There was quiet for a moment, both of them staring at their menus again.

"So… what do you like to do in your spare time?" Naruto asked.

"Read mostly," Hinata said. "Sketch. Clean."

"Clean?" Naruto repeated. "Okay, first time I've heard that one."

"I find it relaxing, after it's done, and I hate just sitting around when I could be doing something."

"You play sports a lot when you were little then? Active and all…"

"My coordination was lacking," Hinata admitted, smiling as the waiter came to take their drink orders. Naruto ordered some expensive wine, and Hinata requested some water as well. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, and Hinata continued. "I like to run though, and hike, and rock-climbing is okay. Catching a ball though…" she sighed. "Can anyone say fat lip?"

Naruto chortled appreciatively. "Oh yeah! I fought a lot when I was younger. I think I came home from school with a black eye or bruise every day."

"Why?" Hinata gasped. She had grown up where hitting was never tolerated, she had never even had the opportunity to throw a punch. "Bullies…?"

"Partly. Mostly, it was because I picked fights. I wasn't exactly the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree when I was a kid if you catch my drift." He rolled his eyes in mock disparity. "Jiraiya was paid back three times over raising me."

"You call your father by his first name?"

"Guardian."

"…Oh."

Naruto was reticent for a moment, eyes staring off into space while Hinata fiddled with her napkin. She felt awful for bringing up such a sensitive issue. It wasn't like she could have known of course, but she should have taken the hint of him calling this Jiraiya character by his first name…

"Here are your drinks," the waiter said, smoothly offering Naruto a sample of wine, approved, and pouring two glasses of sparkling purple liquid. Bread was brought as well, with the oil and flavoring so popular at these places. The bread crackled and steamed. "Are you ready to order?"

"What do you think?" Naruto asked. "After our horror stories, do you think we can brave the calamari?"

"I'm up to it if you are," Hinata agreed, and Naruto grinned.

"I'm up for a lot of things."

He did not just say that.

"Right," the waiter said, blinking at the red spotlight that had become Hinata's face. "The calamari it is then. And for your entrée?"

"I think we need a few more minutes."

"Of course."

"Hinata," Naruto asked gently. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Hinata squeaked. "Totally fine."

He laughed, taking a swig of wine. "Okay."

More silence while Hinata got herself under control, and Naruto fidgeted a little.

Hinata racked her brain for something to say, but came up blank. The atmosphere in the restaurant was soft, and made her sleepy…

Naruto slammed a fifty down on the table and jumped out of his seat. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Hinata blinked, avoiding the stares of the other patrons. "But—but won't it be annoying for them…?"

"They'll get over it," Naruto said, a little impatiently. He held out a hand. "Come on, we'll be adventurous."

Hinata had never simply left a restaurant before, no matter how horrible the service or how crappy the food. It simply wasn't done.

Naruto waited, letting her decide.

Rules were made to be broken, stomped on, and buried in the dirt, Hinata reminded herself. She took his hand, and his smile made it all worth it.

oOo

Hinata crept quietly along between the big, fake rocks of the course, keeping her gun up and her eyes moving. Naruto had already tagged her once, and she wasn't planning on letting him do it again.

It was a little awkward, moving in the short dress and heeled boot, the laser tag vest restricting her movements, but she was managing better than Naruto. She hadn't really noticed before what Naruto had been wearing, too distracted by his face, but his clothes were a dead giveaway. He had been dressed in a suit, the jacket removed and his white shirt sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms, with an orange tie.

The orange tie was killing him, glowing in the dim lights like a beacon. She followed it stealthily.

They had attacked each other not five minutes ago, and for the past three Hinata had been following him stealthily. He had just disappeared around the corner ahead, probably trying to ambush her in the place she was supposed to be.

She snickered quietly. I am sneaky, she thought, peeking around the corner to see him pressed into the faux rock. Like a ninja.

Naruto was cautiously peeking around the corner, keeping an eye out for her, his gun held close to his chest and at the ready. He looked like a professional, the position easily familiar, his finger not even twitching over the trigger of the gun. If Hinata hadn't known him, she would have said he looked a little frightening. A little too easy, a little too calm, a little too familiar with the careful game of hide-and-seek they were playing.

She stepped forward, a breeze from the air conditioner stirring her hair, brought her gun up, and aimed carefully at his chest. One more good shot, and she would win.

Naruto whirled, gun coming up, and Hinata pulled the trigger.

Zsst, zsst, zsst! Went her gun, and Naruto was dead.

Again.

Hinata grinned at him, triumphant, and Naruto pouted.

"How did you get over there?" He demanded. "I didn't even hear you move! And—and your boot is over…"

Hinata hobbled over, reclaiming her boot from behind the rock Naruto had been watching, and pulling it back on. "Distraction is key, and noise is bad. I had to learn something from watching all those James Bond movies."

Naruto shook his head in wonder. "You are good."

"Mostly beginner's luck, I'm sure."

"Crossed with leprechaun gold, the devil, and a good dose of Harry Potter," Naruto shot back. "That is skill."

Hinata rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure… You almost had me though! You turned around so fast earlier you were practically a blur."

"Just call me The Flash. You can be my side-kick, Sneaky."

"If I had a name like Sneaky, I'd prefer to just be a normal human being I think."

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Something like that. Ahem. So, one more round?"

"Sounds good," Hinata said. "Then maybe dinner?"

Their stomachs growled in unison.

Naruto laughed. "Okay, maybe we should just eat now."

They left the arena, hanging up their guns, glasses, and vests on the hooks outside. The floor was sticky with split soda and other un-nameable bits of product scattered around on the industrial red and yellow zig-zag carpet.

"So, what should we eat?" Naruto asked. "Here, or somewhere else?"

"What do they have here?"

"I'm sure they'll claim it's something organic. Which might be true. I've heard dog intestines and penguin poop are very organic."

"Very organic-y," Hinata agreed solemnly, but her eyes sparkled. "How about we just drive around and see what we can find?"

"Do you suppose we should go back to Lorenzo's?" Naruto sighed with fake longing. "I'm sure they've managed to get the calamari out by now."

"But just think, Naruto, we would be depriving someone else of their cheerful atmosphere."

"That would be very cruel of us."

"Very."

"Alright then. We'll drive around, see what we can find!" Naruto announced, grabbing her hand to go to the parking lot.

There was a shock, a very pleasant kind of shock, as soon as his hand wrapped around hers. It was like electricity had raced up her arm at the contact, leaving it tingling, before it spiraled down into her stomach and flooded through the rest of her. Even her toes tingled.

Hinata squeaked.

"Oh," Naruto said numbly. They dropped their hands. "Um… static?"

"Sounds good to me," Hinata said, echoing his earlier words. She didn't want to admit that just holding his hand had lead to a whole string of images that involved a lot more than hand holding.

"A-heh. Right. Um, car. We should go to the car now."

"Uh-huh."

They got in the car, carefully arranging themselves so that the tingles didn't return, both a little shocked at the strength of their reaction. It was too soon, surely it was too soon, and well…

Hinata wasn't entirely sure how comfortable she was with all that. She had never been particularly touchy-feely, especially with men, so all of… this was very new territory for her.

But why didn't it happen earlier? Hinata thought, as Naruto pulled in through some drive through and she ordered mechanically. Her mind was racing, trying to break down the situation into controllable instances. Electricity? It sounds like a bad romance novel or something. Not bad, per say, but not—not ready. It was probably just all the excitement, our blood pumping, maybe some static, it doesn't matter. We'll just take it slow, it'll be fine.

Satisfied that she had reached a positive solution, Hinata smiled at a still blank Naruto, his hands tight around the steering wheel of his (what looked like a very expensive, very nice model, not that Hinata could tell the difference) car. His bag of Arby's resting in between the seats was untouched.

"Everything okay?" Hinata asked.

Naruto blinked like he had just woken up. "Huh! Oh yeah. Everything's cool. I had fun."

"So did I," Hinata assured him. "A lot of fun. Thank you, I never would have thought of leaving the restaurant and going to laser tag."

Naruto grinned, relaxing even more. "I can't help it, I love laser tag. I know it's not exactly for adults but…"

"Being adults is boring."

Naruto gave a surprised laugh. "Exactly!"

Hinata's fingers twisted over themselves in her lap, a tight knot. She wasn't exactly sure where they were going, just driving, but she didn't mind. She didn't want all of this to be over yet.

"So… What now?" Naruto asked, at the same moment Hinata blurted. "Where are we going?"

They laughed again, and some of Hinata's earlier giddiness returned. The smile wouldn't leave her face again, and Naruto's was similarly frozen.

"We aren't going anywhere," Naruto admitted, confirming what Hinata had said. "I'm just killing the planet I guess."

Hinata rolled her eyes. "If the planet had died as many times as they have tried to make me believe, the dinosaurs would never have even been born."

"Probably. What's your favorite color?"

"Question game?"

"Yup."

"I don't have one. I love them all. I'll bet I can guess yours!"

"Orange!" they both said. Hinata laughed again, realizing she was probably laughing more tonight than she had in a month.

"So what-" Hinata began, cut off by a piercing ring so loud she pressed her hand to his ears in desperation to block it out. It made the car buzz with the force. High-pitched, unending, the pressure on her ears making her head ache, and still the ringing sound went on.

Naruto swore, stomping on the brake right before a green light and ripping out his phone in one discombobulated motion. There were honks behind them.

"What?" Naruto hissed into the phone. The ringing stopped, finally, and Hinata tentatively felt at her ears to make sure they were still intact after the noise. They were.

There was a long moment of silence as the person on the other end jabbered, Naruto let off the brake and rolled forward to the now red light, ignoring the honks from behind him.

"No," he said, jaw tight. "No, yes, no. You do it. No!"

His right hand was clenched so hard around the steering wheel his knuckles were white and Hinata, ever so tentatively, a little scared it might cause another jolt, laid her own hand on it. There was something, but not as bad as when they were leaving laser tag. She smiled at him a little, patting his hand.

Naruto sighed slowly, his hand relaxing. "Yes," he said grudgingly to the person on the phone. "I know. I know. Don't push it. Twenty minutes."

"Sorry," Naruto said, turning left as the light went green. "Something's wrong at the office. I have to go."

"It's okay," Hinata said, withdrawing her hand, pleased that everything was alright. From the way he had been talking, she was afraid something horrible had happened. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Naruto hesitated. "That scared the crap out of me."

"Me too! Why was it so loud?"

"Stupid Sasuke, and his stupid speaker systems. I'm going to kill him!"

"Come on," Hinata wheedled, her chest tight at his upset face. "Cheer up. Let's not end the night on a sour note."

"You're right," Naruto said. "Sorry."

"Me too. Now, what is your favorite food?"

The drive to Hinata's apartment was filled with casual small talk and, near the end, laughter. By the time they arrived, Hinata didn't want to leave the car.

"I'll walk you in," Naruto offered, parking in front of the building.

"That's all right," Hinata assured him. "You'll need to hurry to your meeting, won't you? It's only twenty feet."

"Twenty feet is nineteen feet and eleven inches too many."

"If I can kick your butt at laser tag, I can probably make it the twenty feet to the front door."

"Alright," Naruto agreed, grudgingly. "I'll just make sure you get in."

"Thanks."

She paused, hand on the door, preparing herself for the cold and reminding herself why leaving was a good idea. The cold air hit her like a wall as soon as the door was open, and Hinata shivered. "I—I'll see you later."

"Wait a second?"

Every muscle in her body was frozen anyway, so that wasn't hard.

Naruto leaned forward, a little nervous, and Hinata nodded a little in permission, her breath coming fast. He kissed her, quickly, barely a peck, but a peck was enough to make the jolt come back again with twice the force of before. Hinata gasped in time with Naruto, and pulled back with her head dizzy.

"Bye," he agreed, swallowing hard.

Hinata nodded, jumped out of the car, and raced up to the building. She waited until his tail-lights had disappeared around the corner to get in the elevator, collapse against the wall, and smile until her face felt like it would split in two.

oOo

Author's Notes: Haha! It was long. Er. :)

Please tell me what you think!

Next chapter: Naruto takes care of that oh-so-mysterious phone call...