"Can't you just tell me where we're going? You've been walking for a while now." Hinata asked with a giggle.
"What's the fun in that?"
Hinata was currently being given a piggyback ride by Naruto, a blindfold upon her face rendering her completely unaware of where he was taking her. Wherever they were going, whatever they were doing, he seemed to have no intention of telling.
Eventually giving up and deciding to wait it out, she let her head rest on his shoulder and listened to the late autumn leaves crunch beneath his feet.
"We're here! You can take your blindfold off, Hinata."
Naruto let her down as she eagerly removed the dark cloth from her face. She opened her eyes to find themselves in the middle of a large, green clearing with a small creek nearby, the sun gently glistening off of its flowing stream. Next to them stood a tall and shady tree with a blanket underneath, on top of which sat a couple containers of food. Hinata's mouth opened in awe at the beauty of this isolated location.
"What do you think?" Naruto asked.
"It's so serene. What a perfect spot for a picnic date! How did you find this place?"
"Pervy Sage and I came here once. I thought it was a nice spot."
Hinata noticed his hand gently grab on to the sage cloak he wore. Her excited smile became that of a sympathetic one.
"You miss him, don't you?"
Naruto let out a small sigh, his own smile lessening but still present.
"Every day. This was one of the last places we saw each other, before he... uh, anyway, I hope you're hungry!"
Naruto sat down on the blanket and motioned for her to sit next to him before grabbing one of the food containers. Hinata decided not to press on about Jiraiya just yet, not when he was clearly trying to avoid the subject.
She sat next to him and grabbed the other container, opening it up to find... uh...
Hinata's eyebrow raised at the sight of the unfamiliar food. It appeared to be an odd amalgamation of chicken and rice...?
Naruto watched carefully as she took the first bite, chewing only once before her jaw froze shut.
"So, um, how is it?" He asked nervously. Hinata only looked at him with what he could tell was a forced smile.
"I messed up..."
Naruto reluctantly took a bite of the food and immediately spit it out onto the ground.
"Blegh! That's terrible!"
Attempting to discard her food a bit more gracefully, Hinata forced herself to swallow the food in her mouth, shuddering as she did so.
"Where did you get that, Naruto? That's... oh my..."
"I, uh... I made it."
Hinata's eyes widened.
"You... made it?"
"I wanted to repay you for cooking such delicious food for us before. I thought I could do it, ya know? You made it look so easy..."
"That's really sweet of you, Naruto, but why didn't you just ask me to help you? You know I would have."
"I know, but, it was supposed to be a surprise. I got up really early this morning so I'd have plenty of time to bring it all the way out here and have it ready for us. I didn't even think to taste test it... I'm really sorry, Hinata. You don't have to eat that."
"D-Don't apologize! It makes me happy that you put in so much effort." Hinata said with a reassuring smile. "Besides... I brought backup."
"Backup?"
Hinata reached into her pocket and pulled out a small scroll. When she opened the scroll and released what was inside, Naruto's signature grin reappeared in an instant.
"No way..."
"Way."
He was dumbfounded as Hinata placed her own homemade food in front of him.
"How... How did you know to bring this?"
"I wasn't sure what you had planned for today so I made us some lunch. I decided to keep it hidden until I knew what we were doing, just in case we didn't need it. Surprise!"
"I feel really lame now, but... thank you, Hinata."
"Don't feel bad. I promised to teach you how to cook, and I intend to keep that promise. But for now, let's just enjoy this together."
Naruto stared yearningly at her loving smile and into her gentle eyes. She was undoubtedly the most forgiving and most compassionate person he had ever met. And to top it off, he got to spend the rest of his life as her lover and companion.
He smiled brightly at her before they began to eat. Once again, Hinata had cooked something so delicious that it could've been presented to the feudal lord himself. They ate together in comfortable silence, enjoying the peaceful setting that surrounded them.
When they finished eating, Naruto moved over to the thick trunk of the tree and laid down with his back against it. Hinata wasted no time in laying beside him and leaning her head on his shoulder.
She noticed him slowly move his arm to the opposite side of the tree, as if he was trying to grab something.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked.
"Believe it or not, I did bring something we can actually eat. Hope you have room for dessert!"
Naruto presented to her another container, this one a bit smaller. He reached inside and pulled out what appeared to be a divisible pair of blue popsicles.
"Popsicles?" She asked.
"Yeah, I know it's not practical with it being this chilly outside, but, it's kind of a tradition I had with Pervy Sage. I was thinking maybe I could share one with you too?"
"O-Of course! I'd love to have one with you."
Naruto split the popsicles apart and handed her one. Although it was an odd treat given the current weather, she was happy that Naruto had decided to share such a tradition with her. Maybe this would become a regular thing for them.
As she ate her popsicle, she looked at Naruto and could see that he was deep in thought. No doubt, he had to be thinking about Jiraiya.
"What was he like?" Hinata asked softly. She wanted to know more about his mentor, as well as ensure Naruto that he could talk to her about his past experiences, no matter how painful. Although they had certainly grown closer since the beginning of their relationship, she still felt that they knew very little about each other's unspoken pasts.
To her surprise, Naruto cracked a slight smile.
"He was my teacher, yes, but he was also so much more than that. He was like a grandfather to me. He looked out for me, taught me valuable life lessons. He put all of his faith in me to fix this world, and when he died, I knew I couldn't give up on accomplishing that."
"It sounds like you two were very close. I'm glad you had someone to take you under their wing. I imagine he must've been the best teacher you could've asked for."
"He really was. Sure, there were moments where we'd butt heads, but still. If I hadn't left the village to train with him, I don't know that I'd be half as strong as I am right now."
"If he could see how far you've come, I'm sure he'd be very proud of you. Ya know, I was miserable when you left. I knew it was for the sake of you getting stronger, but I couldn't bare the thought of not seeing you for so long. And when you finally returned... I was a nervous wreck."
"I remember that. I was so confused. I mean, I couldn't get a word out of you!"
The two erupted with laughter. Times had certainly changed since then.
"Thanks for talking with me about this, Hinata. I know it's not exactly a 'happy' subject."
"You don't have to thank me. I love getting to know you better."
"I want to learn more about you, too."
"Well, if you ever want to know something about me, just ask. I'll tell you anything you want."
"I'll definitely keep that in mind." He said with a smile.
Just then, a gust of cold wind blew, causing Hinata to shiver for a moment.
"Are you cold?" Naruto asked.
"A little bit..."
"Here, come over here."
Naruto removed his sage cloak and held it over his torso, inviting her to wrap herself up in his warmth. Hinata blushed as she got up and laid on top of him. He then wrapped his cloak around her and held her tightly.
"Thank you, Naruto."
Hinata looked up and locked her gaze with his. They stayed in this exact position for what felt like decades, looking into each other's eyes and feeling their bond strengthen.
"I love you." She finally whispered.
Naruto tilted her chin up to him and softly placed a kiss on her lips.
"I love you too, Hinata, and I am so thankful for you." He whispered back as he ran his fingers through her soft, dark hair. "You mean everything to me."
Any time she began to think that she couldn't possibly fall harder for him, he would steal her heart all over again. Now, she realized that it would always be this way, no matter how close they would ever become. Every day, for the rest of her life, she would find herself loving him even more than she did the day before.
This realization... a feeling so beautiful, so captivating... so indescribable.
Tears slowly began to escape her eyes, for the intensity of their love was simply too much for the human mind to comprehend without eventually crashing under its bliss once more.
"Hinata? Why are you crying, love?" He asked, his voice still ever so quiet.
She looked at him with tears in her eyes and yet a smile on her beautiful face, entranced by his caring gaze.
"Naruto... you've always been so good to me. Y-You don't know how happy you've made me, just being in my life. You make me feel so... s-so..."
Her tears fell harder, softly shaking her head in disbelief as she struggled to find the right words to describe her adoration for him. She began to sniffle between small sobs as he held her tighter against his body, the power of his unconditional love overwhelming her. She then laid her head down on his chest and nuzzled into him as he spoke comfortingly to her.
"Shhh, it's okay. I've got you." He leaned forward and gave her a sweet kiss on the top of her head. "I'm here, Hinata. It's you and me, always." His voice was soothing, slowly and gently easing both her body and her mind into a deeply relaxed state.
"Thank you, Naruto. Thank you, thank you..."
She spoke shakily, her voice becoming quieter with each word.
Feeling her arms around him and her heart beating against his, Naruto softly let loose a few tears of his own. He felt so loved, so wanted, and most of all, so lucky. He knew that what they had was something special, something unique that very few people in this world would ever get to experience. Knowing this only made him fall harder in love with her.
After a moment, he looked down and realized that, despite her crying only moments ago, she had somehow fallen asleep in his embrace. He closed his eyes and quietly whispered words straight from his heart to her.
"I'll always be good to you, Hinata, just as you have always been to me. I'll do anything to see you smile, anything to make you happy. I promise."
"Because, I love you, Naruto. I always will."
Naruto's eyes opened, although not in a frantic way like he usually did when voices spoke to him in his sleep. He looked down at a smiling Hinata, still tightly wrapped in his arms.
"Hey, sleepy head." She said.
"Sleepy head? Me? You were asleep first." Naruto said with a laugh. "Maybe I should start calling you that."
"Hmm... I believe you've already given me a nickname."
"That's true. I guess I'll stick with 'Hina' then, if that works for you."
"I like when you call me that. It's kinda sexy."
"Oh, really? How is that?"
"Well, you call me that a lot when we... you know. Any time you call me that, it reminds me of everything we've done to each other."
"I guess I did call you that a lot yesterday, didn't I?" Naruto said with a chuckle. "Oh, hey, that reminds me. I never told you what that phone call was about." He said with a blush, remembering what she did to him while he was talking with Shikamaru.
"It was from Shikamaru, right?"
"Yeah. He said that the current plan to celebrate my promotion is to go to a nightclub on Saturday, which is tomorrow."
"A nightclub? I've never been to anything like that before."
"I haven't either. It sounds like it could be fun, though. He said to dress nice, so I was wondering if you'd like to help me pick out an outfit? I don't really have any 'party' clothes, and I wouldn't even know what to look for if I went to the store alone."
"I'd love to!" She said excitedly. "Ya know, I'll have to buy a nice outfit too. Maybe we could both help each other with that..."
Naruto suddenly remembered his dressing room fantasy that he came up with yesterday. Not exactly the same setting, but still... that could be fun.
"I don't know much about fashion, especially for girls, but I'd love to see you try on a bunch of different stuff." He said winking at her.
"Mm, it's a date then. We can go tomorrow before we get to the nightclub."
Naruto could picture them now. They'd both end up in outfits that they could barely resist ripping off of each other, and they would tease each other all day and night until...
"I was also thinking... after we celebrate, maybe we could sneak away from everyone and take a trip up to Hokage Rock? Maybe even spend the night up there together?"
"Do you... do you mean...?"
"Yes, I do, Hinata. I know I want to, and if you're sure you do too, then I think we're ready."
"I want to, Naruto."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"Did you have any doubt that I would?"
"Well... not really." He said with a laugh. "So, what are you going to tell your dad?"
"I'll come up with something. He's been pretty laid back about where I am lately, so it shouldn't be too hard."
And then suddenly, it clicked for Naruto. Tomorrow was the day they would finally take the last step of intimacy together. Hardly even a full day from now, they would be at the very top of the whole village, their bodies intertwining completely for the first time. No pressure there...
"I'm really excited to take this step with you, Hinata, but I won't lie... I'm also a bit nervous about this."
"I'm glad that you're just as excited about it as I am. I am nervous, but only because I don't know what to expect."
"I don't either. I just know that I want our first time to be perfect. I want us to be comfortable, and I want to make you feel good."
"Our first time will be perfect, because it's you and me. Even if it's a big learning curve for both of us, there's nobody else in this world I'd rather it be with."
Naruto brought his hand up to her face and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.
"You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that, because I feel the exact same way. No matter what, it will always be you and me, Hinata."
The two stayed under the tree and enjoyed each other's company for as long as they could until eventually, the cold weather got worse as the sun got lower in the sky. After cleaning up their picnic supplies, they began the walk back into town. Although Hinata tried assuring Naruto that she had no problem walking, he insisted that he give her another piggyback ride. Only this time, a blindfold wasn't necessary.
"Today was really fun. Thank you for planning this, Naruto." She said as they exited the woods and found themselves in the streets of the village.
"It won't be the last! I had a really good time with you. I'm glad it turned out to be a good date, even if the food I made was horrendous." Naruto said with a laugh.
"It was a fantastic date. And don't worry, the food wasn't that bad."
"You can be honest with me, Hinata. Come on, say it!"
Well, he did ask for it...
"Okay... it was pretty bad. But that's alright, because I'm going to show you how to do it better, and next time, it'll be delicious!"
"Well, I'm glad you're so confident in me. Even if my cooking was disappointing, today was a perfect example of what I want for us. I could've laid under that tree with you forever if you let me."
Hinata leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Next time, I just might."
Naruto continued walking until they reached the Hyuuga compound, counting down the minutes with every step he took. At this point, he couldn't have cared less about celebrating his promotion. His mind was completely fixated on Hinata and the step they would soon take together.
"Think you could meet me at my place around noon again tomorrow? We don't have to meet everyone else until 8:00 PM so we'll have plenty of time to shop for clothes." Naruto said after putting her down.
"Sure thing. I'm really looking forward to-"
She was interrupted as Naruto pulled her into a passionate and loving kiss. She melted into him, just as she always did when receiving his affection. Immediately accepting his kiss and returning an equal level of passion, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her closer to him.
Naruto pulled away after a moment, remembering that they were right outside her home.
"Sorry, I just hate knowing you're about to leave me for the night."
"Kiss me again, Naruto."
Not hesitating for even a second, he crashed his lips back into hers and attempted to pull her closer, even though her body was already firmly pressed against his. With their hands quickly developing minds of their own, their kisses became more and more aggressive until they finally forced themselves to pull away for the sake of needing air.
"I love you." Naruto said with their foreheads pressed together. "And I don't want you to go. I hate being away from you. I want you to stay with me."
He knew his wish was in vain. Until they moved in together, or in the unlikely event that Hiashi would grant them an occasional sleepover, their days would almost always end like this.
Tomorrow was one of those few exceptions. But even then, tomorrow seemed like an eternity away.
"I love you too, Naruto, and if it were up to me, I'd never leave your side. And some day, I won't have to. But until then..."
"I know... I know. Listen, Hinata." He tilted her chin toward him and looked into her pearly orbs. "To everyone else, tomorrow might just be about me and my promotion. But I want tomorrow to be about us. I want you by my side the entire time, and when we slip away from everyone, when it's finally just you and me, I want everything else to fall away."
She knew exactly what he was trying to say, and she couldn't have explained it any better. Tomorrow was to be a special day for them, a day they'd remember sharing for the rest of their lives together.
"Absolutely. I promise, I'm going to be by your side the entire day and night. But, I just want you to know, I'm going to be thinking about you a lot tomorrow, in all possible ways."
"Believe me, I'll be thinking the exact same things."
"And... I can't guarantee that I'll make it easy for you to ignore those thoughts."
Naruto chuckled as a wide grin grew upon his face.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
After several goodbye kisses, hugs, and "I love you"s, the two managed to achieve the impossible and split up for the night. Walking home, Naruto felt a mix of excitement and mild anxiety. Tomorrow was so far away, and yet so close at the same time.
He thought about the first time they stayed up there together and the impact that night had on their lives. Lying in his bed hopelessly restless, he couldn't help but wonder just how much closer tomorrow would bring them.