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Hinata Hyuuga was a sensible girl, brash and maybe a bit too loud sometimes but that didn’t diminish her intelligence. At least, that’s what she thought as she stood in the middle of the uncroweded street.
However, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what the hell was happening right now.
A very large, and truthfully, excruciatingly heavy pot of flowers was thrust into her arms, rather abruptly, by her shy blonde haired comrade. She only managed to lift it due to her strength as a shinobi, no regular girl would be able to carry it, let alone with such ease.
Unfortunately, the three tall, dazzingly yellow sunflowers blocked her view. It was moments like these that she cursed her shorter stature.
She could only see Naruto’s bright red face through the small opening in the stems. He was talking, well more like stuttering something so quietly she could barely hear even with her advanced shinobi skills.
“U-um, Hi-Hinata, I heard you like sunflowers so…” he scratched his flaming red cheek nervously, “So, I-I brought this for you… They’re from my garden, I g-grew them myself.” he spoke softly, bashfully even.
“Ah, I see.” Hinata smiled brightly, though she wasn’t sure if Naruto could even see her face. “That’s real nice of you, Naruto-kun!” she told him happily, finally understanding what was happening.
“I guess you must of heard me talking about wanting to start my own garden! You’re such a good friend!” her lavender eyes studied the beautiful yellow petals of the flowers for a moment,
“Hey you know, they’re the same color as your hair!” she said brightly. Sunflowers suited Naruto, she thought, they were bright like his hair and tall like him.
Naruto flushed even more, red spreading all the way to the tips of his ears, “T-thanks…”
He got quiet for a moment, fingers twiddling together anxiously, “H-Hinata… Do you… do you- want to get some ramen with me?”
“Oh, sorry Naruto-kun but I’m meeting Kiba and Shino for a training session.”
His shoulders slumped pitifully, suddenly looking gloomy, before he straightened up, “Ah, I-I see… Maybe another time?...” the hopeful tone in his voice was lost to her.
“Sure! See ya later Naruto-kun!” Hinata told him happily before walking away with her heavy gift, completely oblivious to the true meaning of his gift.
....
Naruto slumped his head gloomily on the counter at Ichiraku.
Sakura patted his back reassuringly, “Hey don’t worry Naruto. Maybe next time it’ll work out.”
Ino sat on his other side, laughing at tale Naruto had told them. “I can’t believe you gave her a whole pot of flowers!”
Naruto groaned sadly, “You told me to give her flowers when I confessed…”
“I didn’t mean a potfull! You’re so hopeless Naruto.” Ino teased goodnaturedly, “Hey cheer up. I’m sure Hinata wouldn’t have understood even if you did give her flowers properly.”
Sakura made a sound of agreement, nodding her head, “It’s true. Hinata’s kind of dense when it comes to stuff like romance. And you’re so shy, which makes the situation harder.”
Her words only made Naruto feel gloomier, “What am i supposed to do then?”
“Hmm, you have to be bold Naruto! Tell her how you really feel and ask her on a proper date!” Sakura and Ino exclaimed at the same time. It was almost scary how in sync they were.
“That’s easy for you guys to say… Hinata is so cool and strong and pretty and brave… I can’t just tell her how I feel… I get so nervous around her. My heart feels like it would explode out of my chest, when I look at her. I- I can’t even talk properly around her…” Naruto bashfully spoke, pink littering his cheeks as an almost dreamy expression overcame his features, thinking about the girl he loved.
Both girls sighed dreamily, “That’s actually really cute, Naruto. The way you talk about her… I wish Sasuke would talk about me like that.” Sakura stated, thinking about the man she loved, who was currently on his journey for redemption.
Ino tapped her chin, an idea popping up in her head, “Alright! Let’s make it a mission… We’ll help you confess to Hinata!”
…
“Comense operation sunflower.” Ino spoke to Sakura using her family jutsu, as the pink haired girl led Hinata to the Yamanaka family’s secret gardens. Only members of the clan were allowed to see the expansive garden, a multitude of flowers spread as far as the eye can see. Which was saying alot because Hinata’s byakugan’s range was very far.
“Wow is Ino trying to butter us up or something? She never lets anyone here.” Hinata said in excitement, lavender eyes opened in awe at all the beautiful flowers.
“Hehe, something like that.” Sakura said, as she led her friend to the middle of the field, to a white gazebo which stood brilliantly in the center.
Hinata’s eyes widened when she saw the person standing in the middle of the gazebo. His blonde hair a different shade from the person she was expecting.
“Hey Naruto-kun! Ino let you in too?!” Hinata said energetically practically bouncing as she , approached the tall, shy man. She didn’t notice that Sakura slipped away.
His face was a red as the roses behind him. Hair as blonde as the sunflower in his hand, a single flower this time.
“Hinata…” he breathed out softly, nerves firing ceaselessly in his gut. He clutched the stem tighter in his hands as she approached him with her easy going smile.
When she stopped in front of him, he bowed his head, wordlessly thrusting the flower out towards her.
“Is this for me?” she asked with a brillant smile that made him feel unbearably weak in the knees.
Naruto nodded, taking a deep breath as he make a bold move, grabbing her hand very lightly as he placed the stem of the flower in her other hand.
“Hinata… I-I…” He stammered ungracefully, slightly dying inside at the way she grasped his hand firmly, encouraging him to speak. She was surprisingly patient with him whenever they spoke, in direct contrast to her brash nature.
Her head tilted curiously as she stared up at him with her gorgeous, moonlit eyes. He felt like she could see into his soul as his shy baby blues held her gaze.
“I-I…” He choked on his words. This was not the plan! The was supposed to tell her, tell her how he felt. That he liked her since the day he met her.
The day the loud girl that beat up the bullies who were bothering him because he quietly stated that he wanted to be Hokage someday when Iruka-Sensei asked the class what their goals were. They teased him, telling him that shy weaklings like him couldn’t become Hokage.
But, Hinata… she didn’t think that way. She didn’t look at him with pity, she didn’t demean him like he expected. Instead with her bright smile, she told him “You’re strong! It’s people who pick on others who are weak! You’ll make those losers eat their words when you become Hokage!”
And now, she was looking up at him with that same bright smile, that same self asssured look in her eyes. That same unrelenting faith in him, that encouraged him to become the strong shinobi he was today.
Naruto took another deep breath, strengthening his resolve, “Hinata… I, I looked up to you for a long time… You made me a better man, a better shinobi… and… I…” He swallowed thickly, feeling his chest constrain as he leaned down, watching her eyes widen in surprise.
“I-I really like you Hinata… “ he breathed out softly, watching the tops of her cheeks redden.
“Y-you do?” she asked quietly in disbelief, eyes still wide as saucers as she looked up at him.
He nodded, swallowing again. At least she didn’t hit him or run away yet. “I- I always have… I liked you since we were kids.”
Naruto was surprised when Hinata beamed brighter, her cheeks red as roses, as a huge smile broke out on her lips.
Her uncharacteristically quiet whisper almost eluded his ears, but he heard it, he heard it and his heart lurched out of his chest.
“Naruto-kun… I really like you too.” she almost looked bashful at her confession, but quickly regained her enthusiasm as she cheekily smiled at him, rising to the tips of her toes. “Aren’t you supposed to kiss me now?”
Hinata laughed when his face flushed fully red, but the sound was stolen from her lips when he cupped her heated cheeks tentatively brushing his lips against hers in a soft, barely there kiss.
Surprise marred his face when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down more firmly and whispering “Like this…” before firmly pressing her lips against his.
Her soft lips moved achingly slow, savoring the taste of his lips, before lightly prodding against them with her tongue. Naruto almost died when her tongue brushed against his.
They stood there making our for god knows how long, all the while Ino and Sakura peered at them through the bushes.
“Um, should we leave?” Sakura asked, her face red at seeing her friends heavily making out just a few feet away.
“Probably…” Ino said not moving from her spot.