Naruto's wide eyes immediately flashed red for a moment as everything came back to him all at once. He saw the entire fight with Pain in an instant. He saw Hinata boldly jump in to help him, desperately trying to free him from his constraints. He saw her fight without any regard for her own life, no matter how many times she got knocked down. He saw Pain stab her through the chest with a chakra rod, and he saw himself let everything go at once and give in to his rage.

Naruto had fought with everything he had to save the lives of the people who had shown him the most unrelenting hatred they could muster. And when he was beat down, when he was on the brink of failure, they just fucking watched.

But not Hinata.

What stood out the most was her confession. She had told him her feelings before and he simply didn't remember. The dream he had about her when he was recovering in his tent made sense now. It was a fragment of his memory that was trying to come back to him. Now, it was here, and it was trying to tell him what he should have known all along.

After a brief moment, the intense red left his eyes and returned to his piercing blue color.

"Do you remember now?" Hinata asked, her hand still gently pressed against his cheek.

"Hinata... I... I remember it all. Every bit of it. You fought for me, even when you knew you would lose. You didn't care if you lived or died, you just wanted to save me. And during that, you told me that you... Hinata, you nearly died for me..." Naruto said as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"And I would do it all again. I never regretted anything I did that day, and I don't regret it now." Hinata said, her eyes beginning to water as well. Her cheeks were still red but she spoke with confidence.

"I-I'm... I'm so sorry, Hinata. I'm so sorry that I couldn't see it, that you've been here all this time waiting for me. Even after you said it to my face, I never remembered until now."

Naruto was sobbing at this point, the feeling of guilt overwhelming him further and breaking him down with each passing second. It was her. His suspicions were right. But now that he knew that, he hated himself for not seeing it before, and for making her wait this long for him. He couldn't imagine what it must've been like for her, to wonder every day if he would ever feel the same. Naruto had laid awake at night wondering if anyone would ever care for him, and Hinata had laid awake at night wondering when he would notice.

He felt that he truly didn't deserve her. How could he possibly be worthy of someone so caring, patient and faithful?

"I'm sorry I never saw you before. I will never forgive myself for being so stupid. I don't deserve your love. I've never deserved it, from you or from anyone." He said between sobs.

Hinata took her hand away from his cheek and embraced him, pulling him tightly to her. She hated hearing him talk about himself like this. She wanted nothing more than to show him how valuable he truly was. Naruto quickly returned her affection and embraced her as well, crying hard into her shoulder.

"Naruto, you don't have to apologize to me. I don't want you to be sorry. I just want you to see me now. Even if you don't feel the same way about me, I want you to know how I feel about you."

"I do now, Hinata. I see you. You... love me. But, how do you know you love me? I don't understand it... how does someone know when they're in love?"

"I don't just love you. I... I don't even know how to say it, Naruto. I just know. Even if you never spoke to me again, or purposely broke my heart into a million pieces, I would still adore you. That is how I know I love you. I know I love you because the feelings I have for you are unconditional, and nothing you do will ever change how I feel."

"I would never do that to you, Hinata. I never want to hurt you, and I don't ever want you to love anyone else. I want it to always be me."

"It will always be you, I swear it. There's never been anyone else. Even if you didn't know it until now, my heart has always been yours, and nothing will ever change that."

Hinata was crying now too, not in sadness, but because a huge weight had just been lifted off her chest. She finally did it, she confessed her true feelings again. And this time, he would remember it. All that was left now... was if he felt the same.

Naruto released himself from her and met her eyes again. He couldn't bring himself to speak, for he was still in shock at this sudden revelation. He stared into her pale eyes and so easily let himself get lost in her again. For a moment, he didn't think about anything at all, as if her beautiful eyes had numbed his brain. He didn't think about war, about his childhood, or even about ramen. He was simply too fixated by her caring eyes. This, he wanted to be able to do this forever.

"Naruto? Please, say something..."

Hinata looked concerned, as if something was wrong. But to Naruto, everything felt more right than ever before. He had finally found someone that loved him for who he was, and always had, even if he was too blind to see her before. He saw her now, and he knew he would always want to.

There was no doubt any more. He had kept trying to tell himself that in order to know he loved her, something specific would have to happen. He kept thinking that some kind of incredible realization would bring him to life and make him understand his feelings.

But it wasn't like that in the end. In the end, you just knew. Hinata herself couldn't even explain it, even after years of feeling this way. She just knew.

Naruto thought for a moment longer, to make sure he felt the same as her. The feelings he had for her, they were unconditional as well, even if he just now understood them. It didn't make them any less sincere.

There could never be anybody but her. If she ever abandoned him, it would crush him, but he knew he would still chase after her forever. As soon as he realized this, that's when he knew too. He wiped his tears, regained his composure, and Hinata broke the silence once more.

"I-I understand if you don't feel the same, I just wanted you to -"

"I'm ready, Hinata. It took me a long time to see how you felt about me, but now I know. And, I know how I feel about you."

"Please, Naruto... if you know, don't hold back. Tell me the truth, I want to know. I need to know."

Hinata looked at him with desperation in her eyes. He could see it in her, the need to know the truth. He knew that if he were to suddenly get up and leave without telling her anything, it would shatter her. She needed to hear how he felt, no matter what the answer was. He decided he wouldn't make her wait any longer.

Naruto cupped her cheek with his hand, just as she had done a moment ago. He slowly brought her head toward him as he leaned in, touching their foreheads together, their lips closer than they had ever been. Hinata immediately wrapped her fingers around his neck, and he could feel her hands resisting the temptation to pull him in. This almost made him melt into her lips before he could even get his words out.

"I always thought I'd be alone forever. Even if I did manage to become Hokage, I never stopped fearing that all the memories would follow me. I searched so long for something to get rid of that fear, and I could never find what I was looking for. I didn't even know what I was searching for. Not until you caught my attention, I mean really caught my attention."

Hinata's eyes were widened in shock, her mouth slightly opened at his declaration.

"Hinata, I know it hasn't been long, but ever since we had that first campfire, I've thought differently about you, and I've been desperately trying to figure out what it was. To be honest, that night was when I had started hoping that you were the one Sasuke told me about. I knew I wanted it to be you, but I couldn't understand why I wanted it to be you. I kept searching for some kind of explanation, and I couldn't find anything. But now... I know why I wanted it to be you. I know why I still want it to be you. Hinata, what I'm trying to say is...

He pulled his forehead away and gazed into her beautiful irises again, and as he did, he nearly broke down again just from the pure love he could see reflecting back at him.

"I love you too. There isn't any doubt in my mind at all. I couldn't stop questioning myself about whether or not I could ever feel love. But I know now. I know I love you, because what I feel for you is unconditional as well. I want to be with you and only you, and I know that I will always want to, no matter what. I wish I could go back to that day at the academy, because if I could, I would write your name on that paper. If I had one day left, I would spend every second of it with you until we both faded into nothing. That's how I truly feel, Hinata. My only regret is not seeing it sooner."

Emotionally, this broke her. She had only been hanging on by a thread, barely managing to control herself. Naruto's memories had come back so suddenly and caused such emotional distress, and she needed to be strong for him. But there was no way in hell that she could keep it together after that. She had always fantasized about how Naruto would confess his love to her, but she never guessed it would be as beautiful as this. She started sobbing harder than when she had first mourned Neji's death, when Naruto had held her close and promised to always take care of her.

Naruto embraced her again and held her tighter than before. He hated seeing her cry so hard, it certainly didn't make his guilt any better. Even if these were tears of happiness, it was his fault that she was crying. Knowing this felt a punch to the gut.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I never wanted to hurt you. I promise, I'll do anything for you to forgive me."

Hinata pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes once more, and to Naruto's surprise, she smiled brightly at him, a couple of tears still making their way down her face.

"You haven't hurt me, Naruto. I've wanted to hear you say that for so long, and now that you've finally come around, I just... I can't explain how happy you've made me."

Hinata wiped away the rest of her tears and smiled at him. As their eyes met again, they both became entranced and found themselves captivated by each other. Naruto could have stayed just like this forever, and he was starting to think she would let him. He was finally brought back to reality as Hinata brought her hand to his cheek once more.

"Did you really mean all of that, Naruto?"

"Every single word. I know it seems fast, but I don't doubt any of it. I know my feelings now. I love you, Hinata... I always will." She could see the sincerity in his eyes. He was telling the truth.

Hinata slowly got up and sat herself in his lap. They were both sitting up, facing each other and now only inches away. Hinata wrapped both her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes once more, her desire building.

The feel of her hips move against his was something he knew he'd never get used to, and somehow, that comforted him. Hinata was the only one who could make him feel so vulnerable, and as long as it was her, he was happy with that.

"Prove it." She whispered.

Naruto knew exactly what she meant. He had been thinking about the same thing but didn't know if it was the right time. It was now.

He moved one of his hands to her cheek, letting it roam to the back of her neck as he ran his fingers through her hair. He pulled her closer to him, and when he felt her pulling him too, he finally closed the distance, melting into her as their lips finally met.

Naruto immediately felt his heart stop for a split second, and as soon as it came back to life, it began racing faster than ever before. This was easily the most nerve wracking experience of his life, and he was loving it.

Though it was new to them both, it was pure, and it was blissful. For the first few seconds, life and time around them seemed to come to a halt. All that mattered now was that they had finally broken the powerful tension that had unknowingly bound them to each other.

Naruto couldn't help but relish the feeling of her soft lips pressed against his. This was only their first kiss, and he was already addicted to her. Being this close to her allowed him to take in her scent, which was just as intoxicating.

Hinata was the first to pull away, suddenly remembering that she needed to breath.

"Hinata? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is perfect, Naruto. You don't know how long I've wanted you to do that." She replied softly.

As soon as she had pulled away, Naruto began to panic and think he was a bad kisser, or that he had made her uncomfortable somehow. He was relieved to hear that wasn't the case.

"I love you so much, Naruto. I want you to always know that."

"I know that now, Hinata, I always will. And I want you to always know that I love you too." Naruto said, his smile reassuring her that every word he said was true.

Hinata planted another kiss on his lips, a shorter but sweet one, followed by her slowly pushing him down onto the sleeping bag. She laid on top of him and nuzzled her head into his neck. As much as Naruto wanted this moment to last forever, he knew they needed to get to sleep.

As they laid there together, holding each other both in their arms and in their hearts, Hinata slowly dozed off and eventually fell into a deep sleep. Naruto laid awake a little while longer, still processing everything that had happened, his smile growing with each not so distant memory. Things had changed for him so fast, but that was just how his life was. Now that Hinata was a part of it, he realized he had never been happier than he was right now. He had been chasing something greater than himself for so long, and now that he had found her, he was right where he wanted to be.

He tightened his arms around her and let himself fall into a much needed sleep, his smile still intact. Even if it had taken him another thousand lifetimes to see it, he knew that him and Hinata were always meant to be.

Really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

As always, the next chapter awaits. That's right, we ain't stopping here.