Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Notes: Hello Loves! I just want to say thank you for your patience in waiting for the conclusion of this story! I didn't forget about it, but between school, family, a nasty double bout of pneumonia and flu, and getting the latest chapter of The Mission written, I had to push it back a bit. But it's finally here and I hope you enjoy! As always, leave me a review to let me know what you think, I love hearing from you! 3 ~ Luna

Naruto isn't really thinking about it as he leads Hinata through the village but there are few places they could speak quietly and his apartment is the closest. They are dodging through other pedestrians on the street and as they do so Naruto can feel Hinata alternatively move away and then closer to him as needed. Their fingers are still tangled together, keeping them tethered to each other. Occasionally he can feel Hinata reach out and catch at his forearm with her other hand to further connect them. This is past casual touches and Naruto doesn't want it to stop, so he slows his pace just a bit, just enough to draw out the time a little more.

As his building comes into view, Naruto glances back to look at Hinata's face, checking in to make sure she's alright. She seems calm on the surface, cheeks just barely brushed a light shade of pink. Her eyes are focused down, watching the ground as they walk, but her features are relaxed. Naruto feels a bit of tension leave him as well. He still pauses at the base of the stairs that will lead up to his apartment and asks quietly, "Okay if we go inside to talk?"

Hinata meets his gaze immediately and nods without hesitation, so he turns and begins to ascend the steps. He still hasn't released her hand and there's no excuse now. Naruto is acutely aware of the fact that Hinata doesn't release him either. He has the door open and is stepping through, turning just enough to say "Please come in" over his shoulder as he begins to slip his shoes off and place them to the side of the small genkan. Hinata follows him and bends to slip her own shoes off. Then it's suddenly a bit awkward, because they still haven't let their hands drop and Hinata has to shuffle a bit to get around Naruto and place her shoes next to his. And really, now is the time to let go, isn't it? There's absolutely no reason he should keep holding her hand now that they are in his apartment, no reason for keeping contact beyond that fact that he doesn't want to let her go. Naruto watches as Hinata's eyes flicker to their hands, feels her fingers twitch and is about to release her, afraid he's made her uncomfortable when her fingers slide along his to settle in a more comfortable position. He blinks once and then turns to pull her further into his apartment, small as it. He spares a moment to think that he really should have cleaned before bringing her here. The place doesn't smell but it isn't tidy. He made his bed, something he's always done even when he was younger and a lot less civilized and mature than he is now. But there are dishes in his sink and barely any food in his fridge, he thinks his milk might be bad. He won't be able to offer her anything to eat (thank goodness they'd just eaten ramen), and the only thing he can give her to drink will be water. His dirty clothes are in the basket, he sees after a quick glance which is good, he would hate to have his boxers lying on the floor in plain view at a moment like this. There's only a few steps of space between his entryway and his kitchen/dining area, the small table with two chairs the only place to sit beside his bed. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, Naruto opts for the table and chairs, reaching out to catch one of the chairs, lift it and set it adjacent to the other. "Would you like to sit?"

Hinata nods her thanks and takes a seat, watches him as he takes his and then their hands are on the table in the space between them. Hinata looks down at them and so does he, each quiet moment that ticks by beginning to build tension while Naruto struggles to force words from his dry throat. He's really going to do this, now, with no prior planning. It has to be obvious by now, she has to have guessed what he wants to say, but she still could doubt him. Casual touches and small affections have made up the bulk of their interactions since her confession. It's his fault it took so long to sort out his own feelings, and then there was the war. He's aware of his feelings now, sure of what they are, what they mean but he isn't sure he deserves her. Not sure he has the right to want her, to want her feelings. It's been years, maybe she's moved on. But he hasn't heard anything about her having any relationships, and he's listened, paid attention to any bit of news that involves her. That doesn't mean she still feels the same, but she hasn't let go of his hand.

Naruto's eyes leave their clasped hands to look at her face. Hinata's cheeks have slid past pink to red, her mouth slightly open, puffing nervous little breaths. Something Naruto has seen her do before, in the past, when he would startle her or catch her unaware and her nerves would get the better of her. She liked him then, and he was oblivious but now he's aware. He can see the pulse fluttering in her throat. He swallows his worry, licks his lips and clears his throat. All nervous actions he hopes will prompt the words to start. He has nothing planned but then again, he usually does better when he just speaks from his heart.

"Hinata, I…." The words get stuck again and he coughs lightly, covering his mouth with his other hand. Another deep breath and then he's moving to stand, "Would you like something to drink?" He looks at her to catch her response and she shakes her head, "No, thank you Naruto-kun."

It's then that he realizes he's going to have to let go of her hand, that or drag her around with him as he gets a drink of water. He flushes, feeling his cheeks burn as he stands there hesitating. A few seconds later and he hears a quiet "Pfft" to his right. Hinata is smiling, a quiet laugh slipping past her lips, her free hand coming up to cover her mouth as if she wants to muffle the sound even more. Naruto feels his own lips curl, and then he's laughing quietly with her. He squeezes her fingers once and then slides his slowly from hers. It's more a glide, a lingering caress. The laughter quiets for both of them as he turns to collect his drink. He's still smiling as he fills his glass and resumes his seat. Hinata has pulled her hand back, both hands now resting in her lap beneath the table. Naruto slides his seat closer to hers, lets his knee bump hers under the table, an action that could be an accident but he's sure at this point that she will know it's deliberate. When she doesn't move her knee away from his he smiles and taking a deep breath, he places his right hand back on the table between them, palm up. Hinata looks at it, takes a shallow breath and then lifts her hand back to his. Her eyes stay locked on their hands, cheeks still red, pulse still fluttering.

Naruto watches her, waits and when he's sure she's not uncomfortable, he begins "Hinata, I'm sorry. I should have said what I'm about to say years ago. I have no excuses, because there really isn't a reason except that I didn't know what to say. I'm still not sure if I know what to say now, and it's probably going to come out a big mess." He takes a steadying breath and continues, "You're amazing Hinata, something I've known for a long time, since we were young. I've always thought of you as a friend, a cherished one. I was dense as a kid and my thoughts were clouded by everything that was going on in the lead up to the war. After, it was all about recovering, surviving. These aren't excuses, as I said, there's no good reason for how long it's taken for me to talk to you. I never forgot what you did, what you said that day with Pein. I don't think I ever thanked you, not enough. You can't know how much it meant to me, to have you try to save me. To have someone fight so fiercely for me, and what you said…" he trailed off, watching the emotions play across her face as he spoke. She looked dazed, unsure, even a little uncertain. Not the reactions he had been hoping for but he pushed on.

"I thought you had died, that he had killed you," he voice grew deeper, cracked at the end and he squeezed her hand, "I couldn't bear it. I'm sure you've heard what happened after. You are a precious person to me. I think…I think it would have broken me if…" he had to stop again, swallow the lump forming in his throat and take a sip of water. "I didn't understand what love was back then, not romantic love. I was just figuring out what family and friendship really meant, community and village. I thought I had a crush on Sakura," he saw her slight wince, but her eyes widened a bit when she registered the past tense in his words, "I know now that it wasn't quite a crush, just a close friendship. Still, it took a while before I could parse out the differences. And after that, well, I didn't know how to bring it up. I was worried I had waited too long to talk to you about it, that perhaps your feelings would have changed or that in the heat of the moment you'd said something you would regret." He paused to take a deep breath, felt her squeeze his hand in turn, "I would never, could never regret it Naruto-kun" she said quietly.

Naruto let his lips curve in a small smile, and nodded in thanks. "I'm not going to ask if your feelings have changed, I hope they haven't, but it's okay if they have. I just need you to know that I love you."

There, he'd said it. He watched as Hinata's eyes blew wide, and realized that even with everything he had said up to that point she hadn't been expecting him to confess, hadn't expected him to fully return her feelings. It wasn't how he had wanted to do it. No grand gesture, no romantic setting, he had failed to make it special in any way but it was done. His feelings were out in the open and that was what mattered. When the quiet continued to stretch between them, Naruto drew in a deep breath and smiled at her. "You don't have to respond, and I'm not expecting anything from you. It was just important to me that you know." When he went to pull his hand from hers and rise from the table Hinata tightened her hold. "You love me?" She asked in a quiet voice, almost a whisper. "Yes" he said confidently, weight lifting from him and giving strength to his response. Hinata looked at him, eyes searching his face. The redness of her cheeks had paled a bit as he had talked, now it redoubled. A small sound escaped her before she released his hand and covered her face with both of hers. Naruto blinked, startled by the sudden movement after the stillness and reached out to brush his fingers over the back of one of her hands. "Hinata?"

"Thank you for telling me." The words were muffled by her hands, and Naruto leaned closer to hear. He drew back after, let her have the time she needed to process. Sitting quietly in his chair, he was reassured by the fact that her knee still pressed to his. She hadn't withdrawn completely, hadn't broken all contact with him.

A few moments later, he heard a sniffle and straightened in his seat. "Hinata?"

She shook her head, then pulled her hands away from her face, brushing her fingertips under her eyes to catch the moisture beginning to pool there. "I'm sorry, it's just been…." She trailed off, kept brushing her hands over her eyes as Naruto jumped up and looked frantically for tissues. He didn't have any apparently, so he grabbed a towel from his kitchen counter and held it out to her. She smiled in thanks and wiped her eyes. The smile was reassuring as well, "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes, thank you."

As he moved to sit again, Hinata reached out to catch his hand. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

—

It's the casual touches that do it. Their hands brushing as they walk side by side, the press of her leg to his in a booth as they eat with friends. It's the casual touches that lead him to catch her hand and clasp it tightly as they walk, slide an arm around her shoulders or rest a hand on her knee as they sit side by side. It's the small affections, a hand brushing over his arm as she speaks, notes in the lunches she brings him at the Hokage office. It's the small affections that have him kissing her in stolen moments whenever he can. It's the family she gives him, the strength of her bolstering his own, that sustains him.