I love, love, love, love the idea that one of the most beautiful expressions of Hinata’s love and warmth toward Naruto is shown through those little kisses on his cheeks.
Naruto walked into his apartment, shut the door behind him, and didn’t say a word when he saw Konohamaru on his couch watching some television show. He threw the boxed cake onto his counter and went straight to bed, willing himself to replay the moment over and over in his head.
“Baka,” he said as he imagined Hinata’s perfect pink tongue against his fingertip. He grimaced, physically feeling as if he had been sucker-punched.
“Nii-chan?” Konohamaru said as he approached Naruto’s bedside. “I know you said I’m not allowed to come over when you’re not home, but you know how it is with my parents. I just wanted—”
Konohamru was going to continue, that is until he realized that Naruto looked pained—extremely pained.
“Nii-chan...are you okay? I thought you were going to be out late with Hinata.”
At the mention of her name, Naruto sucked in a breath and turned on his side, away from his protegee.
Putting two and two together Konohamaru’s worried expression quickly turned into one of mischievous glee, “Something happened, didn’t it?”
Naruto grunted in response, which only served to encourage Konohamaru’s imagination.
“I knew it! I knew it!” He said excitedly, grabbing onto Naruto’s side. He attempted to turn him back over to face him, but Naruto refused.
“You have to tell me, come on, you have to tell me what happened!”
“I...She...” Naruto sounded as if the wind had been knocked out of him, he truly could not articulate what had happened. He didn’t know how to explain it. It was so very innocent, but at the same time so incredibly intimate. His imagination began running away with him the moment her eyes met his, in that split second of panic when he realized what he had done and she had given into a capricious whim. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to think of anything but her tonight.
“Nii-chan, that isn’t an answer” Konohamaru pouted.
Naruto turned to face him and patted the space next to him. Konohamaru obliged him and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Look, you’re just too young right now for me to explain...”
Konohamaru rolled his eyes, “I know about that. I’m thirteen, not three.”
Naruto narrowed his eyes, “That’s not what I was talking about.”
“Then what, were you going to say, love?” Konohamaru said, clasping his hands together raising them to the side of his face in an exaggerated motion.
“Okay, get out.”
“No, come on! I want to know what happened!”
“Nothing.”
“You’re going to tell me you’re acting this way because absolutely nothing happened?”
“Look, squirt,” Naruto said sitting up and crossing his legs upon the bed. He faced Konohamaru and clasped his shoulder firmly, “Before this morning, I didn’t realize that Hinata had...um...that she...”
“Loves you.”
“Woah! Come on now. We don’t know that.”
A deadpan look was etched upon Konahamru’s face, “Right.”
“We can’t assume that. I was going to say that...she had...feelings? For me?”
“Acceptance is the first step, nii-chan.”
“I’m trying to be serious here, kid. Cut me some slack.”
“Alright, alright.”
Naruto took a breath and ran a hand through his extremely short blonde hair, trying to compose his thoughts before opening his mouth once more.
“Look, before today I never really opened my eyes to this kind of thing. I used to be so focused on training that...”
“Girls didn’t even exist.”
“Yeah!”
“Except for Sakura onee-san”
“Hey now! I had a little crush on her, that was it. We’re more like brother and sister at this point.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Konohamaru said, waving him off.
“Anyways,” Naruto continued, “I don’t know. I just...something kind of just clicked today. But I feel like such a shitty guy because the reason it clicked was because-” He stopped abruptly, realizing who he was talking to.
“Oh come on, you can’t stop now! Why did it click!?”
“When you’re older-”
“Don’t give me that! When I’m older you’ll still be five years older than me and can use that excuse. I’m not buying it, tell me!”
Naruto sighed, but continued, “Okay, okay. I um...Well...Hinata brought me a piece of cake from Hanabi’s birthday. And, well, it had strawberries on it. I know she really likes them so I picked one off of the slice and offered it to her with my hand.”
“Alright.”
“Well, she took it.”
“And then you guys made out?”
“No!!! That’s it, that’s the story!”
“You’re telling me what did it for you was her eating out of your hand? You’re shitting me right?”
“Hey! Language!”
Konohamaru shook his head, “Don’t change the subject!”
“I’m not.”
“Well, then, continue!”
“Jeez, you’re something else, kid.”
“I don’t have all night...”
Naruto groaned in frustration, tempted to evict Konohamaru from his bed and his apartment. “Look, I don’t know how to explain to you Konohamaru because it’s just one of those things you have to feel. You think i’m insane for saying this is the exact moment I realized it, but I’m telling you, one day you’re going to go through the exact same thing and you’re not going to think I’m so crazy then.”
Konohamaru huffed as he rested his chin on the top of his knuckle, “So what did it for you? Her licking your fingers or something?”
Naruto turned as red as the crest upon his back and Konohamaru cracked up immediately, “Oh, nii-chan! You can’t be serious! Hinata...she..” One glance at Naruto’s face and he had his answer. “Shit, nii-chan, that’s pretty kinky.”
“Alright, that’s it. Out!” Naruto said, pushing Konohamaru off of his bed. The boy landed with a thud on the wooden floor.
“Hey, I’m not judging what you’re into. I just think it’s funny that she almost gave up her life for you, but it was this that made you realize you both definitely have a thing for each other.”
“Get out,” Naruto said firmly.
“I think it’s nice it’s finally all out in the open.”
Naruto got up and started throwing Konohamaru’s things into his knapsack.
“But really, hey, who would’ve thought that Hinata...you know.”
Naruto turned around sharply, “What?”
“She just...didn’t seem like the type.”
“Type?”
Konohamaru laughed, “Nii-chan, she’s been in love with you forever but never really made a move. I didn’t think that straight out the gate she’d come out and suck your fingers.”
Naruto’s face turned a deep shade of red, “She—she didn’t—she didn’t do that! It was an accident!”
“Now it was an accident, sure, boss.”
“I’m not asking you to leave again.”
Konohamaru sighed and grabbed his backpack off the floor before turning towards the door. He was about to start moving towards it, but instead turned to look at Naruto once more, “Don’t mess this up, nii-chan. She gave you the green light officially. What you do from here is probably your last chance to bag her.”
“You are such a little weasel, you really talk about girls that way?”
“What way!? I didn’t say sleep with her! I meant—” But Konohamaru didn’t get to finish his thought because Naruto opened the door, pushed him through it, and shut it abruptly behind him.
“Goodnight,” Naruto said through the door.
“Don’t mess it up, Nii-chan!”
---
Hinata paced the length of her bedroom countless times, trying to convince herself that what had happened was an accident. But at this point, she just wasn’t sure anymore.
“Hinata!” She heard Hanabi call from the hallway, “Phone call for you!”
She ran, barefooted, out into the corridor and almost slammed straight into her younger sister, “Woah! Where’s the fire? It’s just Sakura. Were you expecting someone else? Hanabi asked a smirk etched upon her face.
Hinata wordlessly grabbed the phone from Hanabi’s grasp with a furrowed brow and ran back into the safety of her room.
“Sakura?”
“Hinata-chan! I meant to call earlier, but I just got home.”
“Oh, that’s alright. I wasn’t expecting a call from you, was I?”
“No, no! I just had something to tell you about Naruto.”
Hinata’s pulse became unsteady once more and she nervously blurted out, “It was an accident! You have to tell him I didn’t mean it!”
“What!? What was an accident?”
“He...he didn’t tell you what happened today?”
“Something happened!?”
“I-I...what were you going to say?”
Hinata could hear Sakura slamming something down on her end and involuntarily flinched as her friend yelled, “Hinata what happened!?”
Hot tears of shame began welling up in the back of her eyes, she didn’t want to tell Sakura, but she knew that at this point it would be better to get some advice from someone who wasn’t directly involved.
She shakily replayed the events from earlier in detail to her friend, and stuttered as she admitted, “I want to think it was an accident, but...it just...it felt...right?”
Sakura giggled, “I can only imagine the idiot’s reaction.”
Hinata smiled, “Yes, it was...it was something.”
“Hinata?”
“Yes?”
“I know that you’re over-analyzing everything, as you always do, but can I say something.”
“Mhmm.”
“You probably gave Naruto the 5 most exciting seconds of his life so far.”
The two kunoichis burst out laughing, Hinata was thankful that Sakura had called and managed to quell her fears in one breath.
“So...so you don’t think I scared him off?”
“There’s no way!” Sakura exclaimed, “If anything, I think you solidified what he ran over to tell Sasuke this afternoon.”
Hinata flushed, “What—what did he tell Sasuke-Kun?”
“I really think you two should talk.”
“Sakura-chan, please?” Hinata pleaded.
“Hinata, trust me on this one, go talk to Naruto. For real this time.”
“O—okay.”
“Alright, have a good night then! We’ll chat tomorrow. I’ll stop by with some tea.”
Hinata sighed, “Alright Sakura. Have a good night.”
She laid back upon her bed, the phone still in hand, as she pondered calling Naruto. But she talked herself out of it, knowing she had had her fill of embarrassment for one day. She would just stop by tomorrow morning before he started training for the day.
Until then, with flushed cheeks and star-filled eyes, a conflicted Hinata would replay the feel of him upon her tongue.
