Work Text:
FIRST STEP FORWARD
The sunflowers were a bright yellow; the moment she stepped into the shop Hinata had been drawn right away to the color.
She had always been immeasurably fond of sunflowers. While it was her namesake, as she grew older the flowers reminded her of Naruto. They brought to mind his bright, sunny presence that inevitably sent a rush of pink warmth through her body, of his bright blonde hair that looked soft to the touch.
Hinata carefully strolled towards the display of sunflowers along the wall of the shop, partly obstructed by a shelf full of colorful orchids, delicate and soft. She smiled as she grazed a finger along a light purple orchid before she reached over and grabbed a bouquet of sunflowers. A movement from the front of the shop caught her eye and Hinata watched as Ino stepped out from behind the counter, a smile on her face and her hands stuffed into the pockets of her pale pink apron.
Ino had a knowing glint in her eyes as she walked towards Hinata. “Are you going to give it to him ?” Ino asked in a playful voice, going straight to the point without even a hello. Wisps of her pale hair fell from her ponytail, curling around her chin. Ino pushed back at the hair, smiling as she waited for Hinata to answer.
To be honest, she wasn’t completely sure if she was. If she did Hinata was sure it would go like it always would—she would buy the flowers with the intention of giving them to Naruto, but Hinata would very easily discourage herself and instead keep them by her bedside, a thought, a forever what if, a possibility she was much too cowardly to try again. Who was she to think Naruto would ever see her in the way she saw him?
But, well, Naruto was such a sweet boy, shy and kind towards Hinata, and at times, Hinata was sure there was a glint in his eyes that said I love you I’m interested in you I want to be with you I want to kiss you I love you I love you too I love you , but he never voiced a word close to a confession. It could only be her wishful thinking. If Naruto felt the same way, Hinata was sure he would say it . He was never one to shy away from expressing himself.
Hinata sighed and pressed the bouquet close to her chest. “I’m not sure.”
“You’re a brave woman, Hinata.” Ino responded, as though she knew all that had gone through Hinata’s head in that moment of silence between them. Perhaps she could, Ino was always very much in tune with matters of the heart. “Whether these are specifically for him or not, I’m sure you’ll find a way to convey your heart.” She reached over and placed a hand on top of Hinata’s head, gently moving it back and forth, causing her bangs to ruffle and lift up from her face.
Hinata paid for the sunflowers, unsure what she would do with them, but she held them close to her chest as she walked through the village and towards her apartment.
It was odd, living alone.
Hinata whispered to herself, “I’m home,” as she carefully placed her shoes away, mindful of the flowers in her grip. The quiet here was different then the quiet at the Hyuuga compound. There, a pin could drop for all to hear.
The apartment she had moved into, however, was quite different. At times Hinata could hear as a neighbor played music or when someone was having a loud discussion. One of her neighbors, a single former kunoichi who had welcomed Hinata to the building with kindness, had recently had a daughter and Hinata could hear when the baby was having a particularly bad night. She knew many people found the crying annoying, but Hinata couldn’t fault either of them—a child was going to be a child. She knew how hard it was for Kurenai to raise her daughter nearly all on her own, and she had to be about a decade older than the young woman living in this apartment complex.
Still, with all the noise that lived within the building, it was quiet. It was—lonely.
Hinata couldn’t help but wonder how Naruto had been able to live with only himself for so many years. Goodness—that was no way for anyone to live, especially not a child. As much as her childhood held its scars in her mind, she had had a family. Naruto had been so alone for so long, it was unfair. She breathed in, reminding herself not to think about, not right now, or else her cheeks would flush with anger and she would find herself cursing the memory of the Sandaime Hokage, which would not do a thing in the long run except fuel an anger that couldn’t be fixed.
The past was the past.
The now, today, tomorrow, was better.
Her hands turned the bouquet over in her hands and Hinata sighed to herself. She tugged her shoes back on and walked out of her apartment.
Hinata had never actually been to Naruto’s apartment. She had walked past the building, letting herself glance towards it with want and curiosity before shaking her head and walking on and on, away. So, yes, she knew the building, but she had never so purposefully walked up the stairs with careful steps, one foot in front of the other as she ascended, nerves rattling inside of her chest and stomach as her hands gripped at the stem of the sunflowers, the tissue paper crackling, her breathing a bit unsteady. Hinata walked up and stood, unsure, in front of Naruto's door. His nameplate had a little narutomaki drawn on it.
He was so adorable Hinata could cry.
She raised her hand to knock, only to startle slightly as she felt a flash of chakra, familiar and bright. Hinata turned and smiled, her cheeks undoubtedly pink as she met Naruto’s questioning gaze. There was sweat lining along his forehead, his own cheeks a slight pink, his hands clutching back at his neck, a smile on his lips. He dropped his arms and stepped forward.
“Hinata,” Naruto grinned widely, his eyes dropping to the flowers in her hands as he moved to his door, beginning to unlock it. “Come in, come in!” He shoved off his shoes, bending down to keep them in order and stepped away as Hinata took off her own. The apartment was warm, a little stuffy, but Hinata didn’t mind very much—more often than not she found herself chilled. Circulation problems, Shino would say. Like a lizard , Kiba would say.
Naruto’s apartment was a little messy, with papers on the table and old packets of ramen waiting to be put in the trash. Naruto quickly shuffled around and cleaned up, talking as he did about how he’s been busy and out all day and would Hinata like some tea? Hinata smiled as she sat at the table, “Yes, I’d like that.” She watched as Naruto set a pot on the stove, his eyebrows scrunched together as he worked to prepare the tea.
Once the tea pot was placed on the stove, he turned back to Hinata, grinning as he sat down across from her. “I rarely have guests other than Sakura and Sasuke, sorry. How—uh—what brings you here?” Once again, his eyes dropped to the flowers in Hinata's grasp and, in a sudden bright moment of both clarity and resolution, she found herself holding them out towards him.
“I, um, I saw these and I thought of you.” Oh, how red her face must be! She bit her lip and watched as Naruto’s own cheeks turned pink and he reached out to take the bouquet into his hands. The sight shocked her, and she could only stare at him, her mouth open slightly until she remembered herself.
“Wow. Thank you Hinata, that’s so.” He laughed and held the flowers up over his head before bringing them closer to himself, staring at the bright yellow sunflowers. His face softened as he glanced at Hinata, causing her chest to swirl with warmth. Again and again, she had the thought she had now: I would do anything to see him happy. “Thank you.” Naruto pressed the flowers into his face before he stood up to find a vase to put the flowers in. “Ah, I don’t own any vases! So, a glass will have to do,” he shrugged his shoulders as he brought a large glass down from a cabinet and ran water into it.
After a moment of glancing around, he placed it onto the table.
When the tea was ready, Naruto poured them both a glass and they sat, their talk smooth and soft and easy . And as much as it flustered her to look at Naruto, with his large smiles that caused the whiskers on his cheeks to scrunch up and the way his blue eyes sparkled and how he wiggled his shoulders as though he had a hard time staying still , she found she couldn’t look away. He, in turn, gave her nothing but his full attention as well when she spoke. Gradually, it became easier to speak with Naruto, Hinata finding herself able to set aside the nerves that had plagued her all her life in the peace of his quiet home. They spoke and spoke and spoke, Hinata becoming at ease with Naruto’s beautiful, smiling eyes that seemed to embrace her heart.
When Hinata left, Naruto placed his hand on the small of her back. All she could feel on the walk back to her apartment was the warmth shaped like his large hand on her back and the pink glow of her face.
☀☀☀☀☀
It was as she was arriving home from a brief mission, walking down the path towards her building, that she saw Naruto. He stepped forward, then back, his eyes closed as he fiddled with something in his hands. Hinata stepped closer and Naruto turned towards her, eyes wide.
“Hinata!” He scratched at the back of his neck and hummed out. “Hi. I heard you’d be back today from Kurenai, so, um.” Naruto laughed quietly. “Ugh! This is so hard!” Hinata properly glanced at his hands, where little blue and purple and pink flowers rested around each other in a bouquet.
Oh .
The realization had Hinata melting as her smile grew as she watched Naruto, lovely Naruto, his cheeks and ears tinged pink, his finger tapping as he clutched the stems of the flowers. Naruto’s eyes met hers and he somehow blushed even harder, his grin wider as they watched each other. Hinata held out her hands. Naruto chuckled as he placed the bouquet in her hands, his own lingering on them still.
Their fingers brushed slightly. Hinata couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t even sure if she was alive anymore.
“They reminded me of you.” Naruto said. His voice was quiet and rich and so close to a whisper that Hinata found herself leaning forward slightly to hear him better. It was a sight to behold, nothing rare, no, but beautiful nonetheless; here Naruto was, being so shy, blushing, something closer to how Hinata herself had felt when she was near him when they were children than the usual boisterous young man he was.
“How so?” Hinata grinned, feeling brave in the face of Naruto’s shyness, rising up slightly on her tiptoes, tone teasing.
“They’re beautiful like you.” And his voice was so clear, so matter of fact, that Hinata couldn’t help herself as she brought a hand up to cool her heated cheeks. It was a miracle she didn’t collapse from the blood rush.
They smiled at each other.
☀☀☀☀☀
And it was as though a dam had broken, a first step that they had taken together out of the stilted awkwardness that had been between them before. The quiet what if, the wondering, the back and forth, it seemed to have vanished as they grew comfortable together, exchanging flowers and soft looks and smiles and meeting at the gates of Konoha with a bouquet in their hands as they greeted the other home.
Never before had Hinata’s chest felt so— warm . So full and loved and with its own love to give away. She was dizzy with the feeling; she was steadier with the feeling.
She wondered if she should say something to Naruto about her feelings, like Ino and Sakura insisted she should, but it all seemed very forward in Hinata’s opinion. They simply needed to go along at their own pace, no matter how slow it may seem for others. Naruto and Hinata exchanged flowers and their fingers brushed and they smiled at each other and that was their first step forward. Hinata could take this, take them, together, finally, one step at a time.
What was that, compared to the stagnation of her childhood love?
Before the flowers she received would grow too old and wither, Hinata would place them into large books she rarely read, preserving them inside of their pages. They lay in between words of weapon maintenance and romantic poetry. Some days she would brush her fingers along the spines of the books and smile to herself, knowing just what was inside of them.
THE MOMENT BEFORE
Little hands patted at Hinata’s head as she walked through the market with Mirai at her hip, the little girl a little ball of energy as she spoke and tried her best to stroke Hinata's hair the way Kiba taught her how to pet Akamaru. Hinata didn’t mind as she bought various fruits for herself, her mind half preoccupied as she wondered if she should make herself a pie. Deciding she would make one, Hinata asked her goddaughter, “Would you like to bake a pie with me, Mirai-chan?”
The little girl grinned and nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yes! I love baking! It’s so super squishy, but Mama doesn’ let me squish food anymore!” She continued to ramble on, naming her favorite food that Kurenai allows her to help make and how she enjoys going out to eat with Shikamaru, her absolute favorite person in the whole world. Just mentioning his name had her eyes lighting up and her hand waving about.
Together, they made their way towards Hinata’s apartment. About a block away, Hinata spotted a familiar orange sweatshirt. She couldn’t help her grin as she adjusted Mirai on her hip and walked just a little faster to catch up with Naruto.
“Naruto!” Hinata called out softly.
Naruto turned around, a wide grin on his face, a bouquet of yellow and purple irises in his hands. “Hinata! Mirai-chan! What’re you two up to?” He jogged close to them and immediately grabbed the bag full of fruits from Hinata, letting Mirai grab the flowers, his fingers briefly grazing her own, his smile stretching all the way to his clear blue eyes in a way that made Hinata’s knees feel weak. He truly had the most handsome smile Hinata had ever seen.
“Are these mine?” Mirai asked with a grin, leaning into the flowers to smell them. She made an exaggerated sighing noise, claiming they smelled beautiful.
Naruto laughed loudly as he began walking side by side with Hinata, his free hand brushing hers. Was it intentional? It had to be intentional. Oh, how easy it would be to move her hand, intertwine their fingers, and brush her fingers along his knuckles! Hinata was suddenly all too aware of her heart, beating much too fast in her chest. She breathed in, breathed out, and listened to Naruto speak to Mirai, his smile wide and soft as he spoke to the child. She tried not to think too had about that.
“I was going to give them to Hinata, but I’m sure she won’t mind if you get a few for yourself. Everyone deserves a flower or two for themselves, ya know?” He brought his hand up and ruffled Mirai’s hair, who giggled and pretended to purr. “Oh, I thought Hinata had Mirai-chan, not a kitty cat?”
“Me-ow.” Mirai replied while giggling before turning her head to laugh into Hinata’s neck. Hinata met Naruto’s eyes and they grinned at each other. Hinata opened the door to her apartment and she set Mirai down.
“I’m home,” Hinata said softly as she watched Naruto slip out of his shoes and move towards the small kitchen area where Mirai had already settled down, singing to herself as she waited for them, her arms clinging tightly to the irises. “Mirai-chan and I are going to make a pie. Would you like to join us, Naruto?” She knelt down and began to take out the fruits they had gotten—she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to make, but with Naruto here she was sure they would find something they would all like to bake.
The man laughed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sure thing! I don’t have to do anything later! Hmm, let’s see, what kind are we making?”
There had been plenty of times where Hinata had baked, but she never really did it with others. She remembered baking with her mother, before the woman had passed away, but she was much too young to truly remember much except for watching her mother's pale hands rolling out dough and how she had sat on her lap as they watched the pie slowly bake inside of the oven. Hanabi had never had an interest in such a thing, so whenever Hinata had found the time to bake or cook, it was all by herself.
Baking with Mirai and Naruto was fun in a way Hinata had never known she could have fun. The act had turned into play and there was laughter in nearly every moment together. Hinata found her shoulders slowly easing and relaxing. This was the sort of life she had always wanted. As much as she accepted being alone a lot of the time, she had been alone much too long in her life. She watched Naruto, smiling and joking with them both as he tasted the apple filing they had made together, and knew that he felt the same way she did. She smiled at him and as they settled near the oven, Mirai stretched across both of their laps, her eyes slowly drooping, she let her head fall to the crook of his arm.
“Do you ever want kids of your own?” Naruto asked quietly. He had taken off his orange sweatshirt and looked immeasurably handsome in his black undershirt. His blonde hair, longer than Hinata had ever seen it, was pushed back from his face with little butterfly clips Mirai had gotten from the bathroom drawer Hinata had filled up with hair clips and headbands that she never felt brave enough to wear outside of her apartment.
Hinata hummed in thought as she stared at the little glittery pink plastic butterfly clips along his hairline. As a child, she used to have daydreams about little black-haired, blue-eyed children. As she grew older, the idea appealed to her more and more. “Yes. How about you? Is that something you ever thought of Naruto?”
“Hmmm, not really.” Naruto threw his head back, eyes closed. “Though, recently, I think… it would be nice.”
They were silent, the orange glow of the oven illuminating them, watching the pie bake. Naruto’s words stayed on Hinata’s mind as she stared at his prosthetic hand absentmindedly carding through Mirai’s hair. She laid her head against his left arm, feeling as though all the pieces were sliding in place, slowly, slowly, but not painful in a way that made her chest pinch and tears to gather in her eyes. It was hopeful, a steady beat of her heart as she knew this was the moment before—a kiss, a confession, a moment, a dream shared.
As the pie sat on the stove cooling, they ventured out of the apartment for some ramen. Mirai sat on Naruto’s lap, the young man letting her eat from his bowl before him. After about ten minutes of her eating ramen, she sat on her own stool and Naruto grinned in delight as he finally dug into his bowl with vigor and quickly asked for a second at the same time Hinata did. Naruto grinned at her as he set down the empty bowl and Hinata’s chest bloomed, and her cheeks felt warm.
SUMMONING THE COURAGE
Naruto shifted from foot to foot as he watched Hinata, humming under her breath as she packed a good quarter of the pie for Naruto to take back to his apartment. The day had been—great. More than great, really. Every moment he spent with Hinata felt like something that had to be treasured, boxed up and revered, like sparkling jewels. She was just so beautiful and sweet and funny and he couldn’t get enough of the way she would absentmindedly twist a lock of her hair around her finger when she was concentrating on something important, and neither could he ever forget how strong she was.
The irises he had gotten her were set up on the table, right in the middle, bright and eye catching, purple and yellow petals that had made him think, stupidly, of the two of them. Together. Like this. Like more than this. Hinata stepped up close to Naruto, a small smile on her face as she handed him the glass container of pie.
“Thank you.” Naruto laughed as he took the container. “It was so good. Uh, the pie and the dinner. Hanging out with you, too. It was all good, ya know?” He could feel his cheeks heating up, and Hinata’s face was steadily turning pink as her smile grew wider and it was the most beautiful sight Naruto had ever seen, and Naruto knew. He knew. Every ounce of him summoned the courage to step forward and ask what had been on his mind for hours. He breathed in.
“Can I kiss you Hinata?”
A BRUSH OF LIPS
Her hands, warm and hard with callouses, enveloped his face, her thumbs underneath his jaw, pulling him down to meet her. There was a brush of their lips, an urge of anticipation tingling up his spine, amazement that this was even happening because how could someone love him like this? But Hinata had always cared for him, had done her best to cheer him on despite her shy nature, had saved his life and urged him forward when he had given up.
She had always been there and this had felt like it was always meant to be.
They kissed, soft and long, and kissed again and again, and when Naruto left, he pressed another to her forehead and whispered a promise to see her the next day, watching as her opalescent eyes lit up and she whispered back, “Good night.”
His chest was warm, and he couldn’t fight his smile as he walked home in the chilly night, his sweater unzipped and his hands clutching at the container that he had held between him and Hinata when they had kissed.
SWEET FEELINGS RUSHING UP
Kissing Naruto felt like a recurring dream. Whenever it happened, again and again and again, Hinata thought she would wake up. They kissed nearly every day that they were able to meet up in the village. It was hypnotizing. Being able to hold his face in her hands and kiss him deeply, kiss at his neck, at his knuckles, surprising him with one on his nose when she was feeling playful, it was surreal and addictive. She could kiss him the rest of her life and still feel giddy, she knew that as a fact. They would still exchange flowers, but now when their fingers brushed, they would move to intertwine them.
Excitement bubbled inside her each and every time they did so. It was quickly becoming natural, holding his hand. Him pressing kisses to the side of her hair, his fingers playing with her hair, his nose tracing along her skin.
Some nights they would lay together on one of their couches, lazily kissing and giggling into each other's mouths, and Naruto would whisper words she had always wished to hear from him:
You’re so lovely, you’re so beautiful, you’re so strong, so strong, so wonderful, I love you I love you I love you I love you.
The first time he had said so, they had been out on a ramen date. Naruto had reached over the table, brushed a speck of food from the corner of the mouth, and smiled so brightly Hinata wanted nothing more than to press into him so that his smile could be a part of her, imprinted onto her body. “I love you,” he had said, soft and full of so much emotion that Hinata had nearly immediately burst into tears.
He hadn’t known what to do, waving his hands around and fumbling with his words as he glanced around Ichiraku, and Hinata would later feel bad for putting him in that position. She had just been so overwhelmed with joy and love it had been impossible for her not to cry. Hinata had grabbed his hands in her own and had replied through her tears, “I’ve loved you since I could remember, Naruto. I love you.”
This—them—was the sweetest experience Hinata had ever had the pleasure of having.
And she was sure, every time she met his eyes, that they would take every step they could in life together from now on.