My deepest apologises for updating so so so late. I've been super busy, got sick and travelled overseas to visit family (I only got back into the country late last night!) On top of that, I have an enormous pile of work from school and I'm about to start getting my university applications done. So, it's been difficult to find the time to update.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the last chapter.

I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter. A little short, so I give you my sincerest apologises.

Chapter 17:

Sasuke smiled in happiness as he watched Hinata turn around to face him again. It was pleasing to the eyes, to watch her hold the necklace he had bought for her in such fascination.

"It's so beautiful," she repeated.

"Aa."

Hinata peered up at him and smiled. In a blink of an eye, she threw her arms around him and embraced him. Sasuke froze, unsure of how to respond. He closed his eyes and raised his arms behind her. With delicacy, he placed his hands on her lower back. He returned the embrace and pulled her closer towards him. Sasuke's eyes widened when he felt Hinata nuzzle herself into his neck, her hair tickling him in the process. He was unsure where she found this new sense of confidence, perhaps she's had a little bit to drink? Nonetheless, he didn't care. Holding Hinata felt right.

Hinata then surprised him by moving her face right in front of his. Due to already being quite close from the embrace, their lips were so close to another. It would only take one of them to inch closer to the other for their lips to touch. Hinata gazed into his eyes, blinking and then she stared back at his lips. Sasuke removed one hand from her back, to place it on her cheek. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. Hinata closed her eyes at the touch, leaning into his hand. He then placed his forehead onto hers, whilst he continued to hold her.

"Hinata," he whispered, "I have a lot of bad habits…"

She fluttered her eyes open and peering up at Sasuke. Hinata smiled. She ran her fingers through his hair as she replied, "I don't mind."

Sasuke let out a faint laugh. He kissed her forehead.

"No I mean – When I want something," he paused and then kissed her again on her temple, "I won't stop until I get it."

He felt Hinata tremble at his touch. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She let out a faint moan as Sasuke's kisses travelled down her cheeks, to the corner of her lips, to her jaw and then her neck. Hinata immediately leaned back a little, to give him more access to her neck.

"I know… I like that about you," Hinata whispered.

He paused and removed his lips from her neck. Hinata opened her eyes. Their eyes met at once.

"If you let this continue, I won't be able to stop myself. It'll become a bad habit."

Hinata smiled, her cheeks dusted with a faint blush.

"Sasuke, I want it all - your bad and good habits," she confessed.

Unlike the last time they had kissed, Sasuke's lips had not come crashing onto Hinata's. Slowly, the two Heads moved their heads closer and closer to one another. It seemed that time had moved slowly as they edged closer to one another. Their noses touched, brushing past one another. Sasuke caressed Hinata's cheek with his thumb again. He glanced into her pearly eyes, which radiated with light and warmth. Hinata was truly an exquisite woman in Sasuke's eyes. He felt Hinata's breathe on his lips, causing him to shake in anticipation. He had waited for so long for this moment. And now, she was in his grasp. Sasuke couldn't wait any more. The tension was unbearable. His self-control when it came to Hinata had tipped.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Hinata blinked, unsure of what he was thanking for her. She smiled regardless. Hinata couldn't help but feel happy when she heard Sasuke usher those words. Before she knew it, Sasuke pressed his lips gently against hers and she too, pressed her lips against his.

Merry Christmas, Sasuke.

Xx

The next morning, Hinata couldn't stop smiling. She ran her fingers over her lips, grinning at the memory of the kisses she and Sasuke shared last night. It was through his gentle touches and passionate kisses that she finally understood how much Sasuke craved her. And she too, craved him so deeply. She smiled again and ignored the plate of food placed before her. Hinata kept thinking about how long she had waited for a moment like last night to happen. Now that it had happened, Hinata wondered would things between them change. Before last night, Sasuke would try to avoid touching her in such a manner. Most of the time, it seemed like he was keeping a barrier between them. The past months she had spent with Sasuke, she was never confident on his true feelings towards her. He rarely expressed his thoughts about Hinata. And, when he would, Sasuke usually teased her, rather than discussing what he wanted out of their relationship.

But now…it's obvious our feelings are mutual.

Hinata grinned again, fiddling with the necklace Sasuke had gotten for her. It's so lovely.

"It looks like you had a good Christmas, Onee-san," Hanabi said as she sat across from her sister.

Hinata jumped, trying to hold in another smile. She hadn't realised Hanabi had walked into the dining room.

"You'd better eat before your breakfast gets cold," Hanabi said.

She gestured towards the untouched food placed in front of Hinata.

Hinata nodded her head, gave her thanks and began to eat.

"So," Hanabi grinned, "was it a good Christmas?"

Hinata nodded her head, as she swallowed her food.

"Yes, it was wonderful to spend time with everyone. What about you, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Mmm," Hanabi replied whilst chewing on your toast, "it was good. Probably not as fun as yours though… you've been smiling non-stop."

Hinata blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Hanabi laughed, "Onee-san, it's good to see you smiling like that."

Hinata raised her head, meeting Hanabi's eyes. They were full of sincerity and kindness. Hinata giggled.

"It feels good to be smiling like this, Hanabi-chan."

Xx

Sasuke sighed as he stretched his arm out on his bed to find it empty. Another dream huh… Hinata would usually occupy his dreams but recently, she was appearing more often. And after last night, Sasuke couldn't argue against the reasoning behind it. He had kissed Hinata before but last night was different. Sasuke was unsure on how to explain it but it had felt like there was fire within his chest that had been set ablaze. Hinata's kisses burned into him. Sasuke felt like no time had passed, it was just the two of them all alone, absorbed in one another's presence. When they had finally broken apart, Christmas had ended and morning had come. Moreover, without himself realising, he had carried Hinata onto her bed and his body hovered over hers. In that moment, Hinata looked so serene, her smile reaching to her eyes. Afterwards, Sasuke had laid beside her. He held her in his arms until she fell asleep. A small part of him regretted leaving Hinata's side to return to his lonesome bed. Being apart from Hinata is probably why I have all these dreams of her. Most of the time – like this morning – his dreams of her where sexual. Yet, there were times when his dreams of Hinata became like a nightmare. It always seemed too realistic that Sasuke would wake up in panic and sweat. Sometimes, he dreamed of the Uchiha massacre and the horrifying things he had seen during his time with Orochimaru. Sasuke had become accustom to the dreams though. After all, they were repetitive dreams he had growing up. Unfortunately, he would now see Hinata in his nightmares. Sasuke felt even more terrified when she was in his nightmares.

Sasuke sat up and pinched his nose. I need to get it together. He pulled his bed sheet off of himself, got off the bed and went to his bathroom to shower. Afterwards, he made his way to the kitchen in to prepare breakfast for himself. He opened his fridge and immediately groaned. During his rush to get back to Konoha before Christmas had ended, he had forgotten he no longer had any consumable food left. His eyes twitched as he stared at all the remaining food in his fridge – they're all expired.

Sasuke glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen. It was only nine in the morning and he mused that Naruto would most likely still be sleeping. Sasuke sighed, deciding that seeing Naruto would be the easiest way to kill two birds with one stone.

Xx

Naruto groaned into his pillow as heard the continuous knocks on his door getting louder and more violent. There could only be one person who would knock in such a manner this early in the morning – Sasuke.
Naruto rolled over onto his back, staring at his plain ceiling. He sat up, got off the bed and rummaged through some clothes on the floor to find a shirt. He slipped a random shirt on quickly, letting out a frustrated sigh as the knocks got louder.

"I'm coming!" He yelled.

That damn bastard. He knows where I keep the spare key but never uses it.

It was always like this. Whenever Sasuke wanted to train early in the morning, he would continuously knock furiously until Naruto had no choice but to wake up. For some unknown reason, Sasuke refused to use the spare key. Naruto had always assumed Sasuke's choice of not using the spare key was in order to spite him.

Naruto unlocked the door, opening it to find his brother, best friend and rival. On the surface, Sasuke seemed the same. However, with one glance, Naruto managed to decipher that Sasuke was somewhat pleased. As if he was triumphant about something.

Naruto yawned, "Sasuke, what's up? I'm tired so this better be important."

"Aren't you lazy for someone who's going to be Hokage soon," Sasuke commented as he noticed Naruto's messy appearance.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm not Hokage yet, so let me enjoy being lazy. Plus, yesterday was Christmas! So I have a good excuse of being tired. Speaking of Christmas, shouldn't you be tired?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "The mission wasn't that complicated."

Naruto sighed, despite being acclaimed as prodigy, Sasuke could sometimes not read between the lines.

"I meant last night… you know?"

Sasuke cocked his eyebrow, "What about it?"

"You were with Hinata weren't you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scowled and Naruto grinned in response. Bingo!

Naruto crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. The grin never leaving his face.

"I thought so. I was using my sage chakra last night and sensed you with Hinata. It was fairly late as well."

Naruto observed as a slight expression of irritation and guilt pass through Sasuke's face. Seconds later, his stoic face returned.

"Is there a problem with that?" Sasuke asked.

"Not that I'm aware of…. So, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he finally realised Sasuke was dressed in civilian clothing. "You're obviously not here to train… Ah! Here to give me a Christmas present dattebayo!?"

Sasuke scowled, "Don't' be stupid. Get dressed, we're going out."

"Huh? Why?"

"Breakfast," he growled.

Naruto laughed, slapping his hand onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Ha! So teme, does this count as Christmas present?"

Sasuke did not reply to Naruto's question. Instead, Naruto was met with Sasuke's infamous glare.

"Okay, okay. Give me a few minutes Sasuke, I'll be dressed in a bit," Naruto said as he began to walk back inside the house, "Something's obviously eating your ass since you're so damn insistent on 'breakfast'. You're paying by the way!"

xx

Naruto scrunched his nose as he watched Sasuke drink his cup of coffee effortlessly and with content. Naruto on the other hand, was much happier with his cup of black tea. He had never been a fan of coffee. It was always too bitter tasting for him. He recalled Hinata liking coffee despite being a fan of sweets. I wonder if Sasuke and Hinata drink coffee together…

"So," Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei filled me in about your previous mission and what not. Is the situation that bad?"

"Hn," Sasuke murmured as he placed his cup of coffee back onto the table, "on the surface, things look stable but it's more noticeable in poorer villages which are still recovering from the war."

Naruto rubbed his jaw, "We've had some incidents here in Konoha as well with the rebel organisations. Nothing major but it's keeping us on our toes… after all this is supposed to be an era of peace."

"It's that peace which has put a lot of shinobi out of jobs. Missions are common still but not as common as they were before the war. It's rare to get something high paying unless you're in Anbu."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Peace was a difficult thing to control. Especially, when people were getting restless. Already, rebel organisations had started advocating for change and threatening with uprisings. The Kages worked together on trying to resolve the issue and to avoid civilians on finding out about it. However, there was a high possibility civilians had already taken notice.

"Most of the re-con and assessments you did helped a lot. Kakashi-sensei is sending in a tracking team soon to pinpoint the exact location of their main base."

Sasuke smirked, "Look at you, being included in all this private information."

"Well, I am going to be taking over soon, dattebayo!"

"Aa… Anyway, a tracking team?" Sasuke asked

"Yeah! Konoha's best tracking team, Team Kureani!" Naruto said proudly.

Sasuke frowned, "Isn't that Hinata's team?"

"Yeah," Naruto smiled sadly, "but minus Hinata of course. As the Head of the Hyuga she's prohibited from going on missions. So Kakashi-sensei will employ another Hyuga of Hinata's choosing."

Sasuke clicked his tongue, "That's an idiotic rule."

Naruto frowned, "Yeah. You can tell Hinata hates it."

"I don't see why she hasn't changed it yet if she despises it so much."

Naruto scratched his cheek, "I don't think it's that easy Sasuke…"

"Hinata got rid of the branch seal. She's capable enough to accomplish anything within that clan," he spat out.

Naruto smiled, taken aback by Sasuke's sudden reaction to it. It was true though, Hinata was clever and knew how to work around the dealings of the Hyuga clan. Despite her sometimes meek disposition, Hinata was strong and above all was always determined. It had taken her long to get the approval of the removal of the branch seal. But she had done it. Hinata had accomplished it.

"You sound very confident of Hinata."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, as he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips.

"Of course I am, Hinata is – "

Sasuke paused in the midst of his sentence. Naruto watched as surprise registered in Sasuke's eyes. Whatever, the ex-avenger had planned to say, it was most likely in praise of Hinata. Naruto smirked, chuckling to himself lightly.

He's embarrassed.

"Ne, Sasuke, why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto as he placed his cup of coffee down. If Naruto was not accustomed to Sasuke's intense glares, his whole body may have shaken in fright.

"Don't be stupid."

"Hmm… I don't see why not. You both like each other. I'm pretty sure that you lo-"

Naruto jumped, letting out a small shriek as he felt Sasuke kick him hard under the table.

Naruto pouted, "Not a fan of labels? It could ward off the suitors though. Don't be mistaken, Hinata's pretty popular dattebayo."

"I know," Sasuke growled. He then sighed, "It's just…"

Naruto raised his eyebrow. He had seen Sasuke in despair, full of hate, lost, happy, and smug and a variety of emotions most were not privileged to. And now, he witnessed an emotion Sasuke had once discarded. An emotion that had become a blessing to both Sasuke and himself. Naruto was sure that Hinata was the one for Sasuke. Perhaps in another universe, his life with Hinata worked out. But in this universe, she and Sasuke were destined to be together. Naruto could see it and he could feel it. He had always wanted for Sasuke to be in love. To find someone he would cherish. If the woman wasn't Sakura, Naruto was positive that there was another woman out there. And if so, it happened to be Hinata, Naruto would not complain. Hinata and he were over. The two had mutually agreed to split, it was for the best. A small part of him would always long for her. She owned a part of his heart. That would always remain the same. One could never forget their first love.
As he stared at his best friend, lost in his own thoughts and emotions, it dawned on him why Sasuke was so lost.

"You don't know how to ask."

Xx

I hope the kiss scene was okay? I wrote this chapter almost a month ago and even now I'm not completely satisfied with it (might be me and my low confidence ha ha)

So I hope you all enjoyed it. I can't wait for their relationship to develop even more!

Ps. I'm going to be extremely busy these upcoming weeks and month with school and uni applications. So I'm not sure how long it will be til the next update. I'm terribly sorry but I promise this story will not be abandoned.

Thank you for reading and until next time. xxx

(please review! x)