x-x-x-x-x-x

Listen to You about Painting Houses and Clipping Nails

x-x-x-x-x-x

Pretty, is what he first thinks, and it's one of the rare moments where Naruto wishes he studied harder in school and had more words to describe her with.

She's watering a batch of sunflowers, wide-brim sunhat shielding her face, and she doesn't seem to notice as Naruto walks up the stairs and instead of shuffling towards his new apartment, curiously edges towards her.

Her ebony sundress flows past her knees, and the crisscross straps lying across her otherwise bare arms enrapture him. He has the sudden urge to touch her, and the notion is so ridiculous and inappropriate for someone he just met that he forces himself to speak.

"Hi," he says, wondering why he sounds slightly out of breath. Are the stairs higher than he thinks?

She jolts up, water from her pail specking onto Naruto's orange t-shirt as she looks at him with wide eyes. Pretty, he thinks again, and this time he's certain the word is sorely insufficient.

"H-Hello," she stutters out, (wow even her voice is pretty), and even though she tilts her head away he can see red creeping onto her cheeks.

"My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto," he speaks to fill the space between them. "I'm moving in today!" He announces brightly, extending his hand for her to shake.

She flickers her eyes towards him, then back to her flowers, and he thinks she's going to ignore him and he wouldn't be surprised because she wouldn't be the first one and then she–pauses in watering the sunflowers–and fully turns towards him.

"Welcome, Uzumaki-san," she says, and offers him a small smile. It's only two words, and not exactly the warmest smile, but somehow that's all he needs to realize she's more than just pretty on the outside.

"Call me Naruto," he responds automatically. She nods and slips her hand into his– milky soft and tiny compared to his large, calloused hand, and she shakes his hand surprisingly firmly before sliding her fingers out.

"I must go, Naruto-kun," she says, and ducks her head in a polite bow. Before he can formulate a response she's already by her door and twisting the doorknob. As the door opens and reveals that her apartment is shrouded in nothing but darkness, she suddenly turns around, "I will see you later?" She asks shyly, and he nods instead of speaking in case he gives away that he hopes her words are a promise.

Without letting her gaze linger, she returns into the apartment and the door closes with an audible click.

x-x-x-x-x-x

As he pries open the sealed cardboard box and Styrofoam peanuts explode all over his living room, he thinks that he either doesn't know his own strength, or he's just plain unlucky. The pellets erupt like a volcano and hail down like angry snow, and as he flops onto his back he's leaning towards the latter.

Naruto's not that big of a slob to leave his living room littered in packaging peanuts, and he groans as he tacks on another item onto his to-do list. His arms, sleeves grazing against the pellets, absently move up and down like he's making a snow–or Styrofoam angel. Right now, he's content to do nothing and stare at the white expanse of the ceiling. And as his mind drifts off he thinks about her again, about her large doe-like eyes and polite shyness and he laughs. Laughs because this whole thing is so ridiculous and she's just a new neighbor and there's no way he could be so smitten in a few minutes. Hell, he doesn't even know her name.

His laughter dies down. He knows that deep, deep down in his heart, he's really laughing about how a nobody like him has anything to offer rather than her ability to attract him.

Even so, as his muscles relax and eyes unfocus into a trance-like state, he can't help but wonder what she's doing on the other side of the wall. Can't help but remember how dark and–judging by the last few hours of complete silence– quiet her apartment is.

Can't help but imagine her beside him instead.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The days roll by, and as Naruto bounces up the stairs every day after work it's not like he tries to smooth down his hair or scan his clothes for broth stains. Nope. Not at all. The way his shoulders slump and smiles falter whenever he reaches the top step and sees nothing but sunflowers is just a weird coincidence too.

The sunflowers are always vibrant and healthy, he absently notes; so someone must be taking care of them.

A week passes, and Naruto still hasn't seen a glimpse or heard a peep from his neighbor. He briefly considers if he was inebriated when he moved in and imagined her existence.

It's a Monday morning when Naruto turns his key to lock his apartment and heads towards the stairs, whistling as he saunters down the wooden steps. As he's rounding the platform that leads to more stairs, he hears it—hears the distinct click of heels against asphalt. He adds a spring to his feet, and hops down the stairs two at a time until he almost crashes to the bottom. (Instead, he oh-so-gracefully stumbles). His hands are on his knees as he's puffing out pants, and his brain doesn't know what's going on as his mouth shouts,

"Hey! Wait!"

The heels come to a crisp halt, and when Naruto looks up a strange feeling unfurls in his stomach.

The black and gold, strappy-looking stilettos is what he sees first. As his eyes travel upwards he's met with a form-fitting pencil skirt, a tucked in blouse, and a high ponytail—not a single hair flying out of place. It dawns on him why she's never home. It's so obvious, like a scroll unraveling before him and writing the message in elegant cursive: She has places to be and things to do. He drops his head, bashful, and feeling like a speck of dust.

"Naruto-kun?" His name floats through his ears, and he peers up through his eyelashes to see his neighbor watching him in concern. She backtracks and comes to a stop before him, crouching over and watching him curiously. His eyes unconsciously shift lower, and he wants to tell her that she should button her shirt higher; even though she's still modest and only a bit of creamy skin is exposed, lecherous people roam the world and she's really pretty and he thinks he's a good guy but even he's feeling the tell-tale pressure in his– Oh God is he one of them?

"Naruto-kun?" She prods again, and he snaps his eyes up to meet her face. It's strange how her eyes hold so much depth despite how light, almost white, they are.

He expects his breath to be knocked away or something, but it's actually better than that. Warmth bundles around him like a fluffy blanket, and he doesn't know how she does it. Doesn't know how he can look into her eyes and just know that she's trying to see him. The girl watering sunflowers comes back to his mind, and he realizes that fancy clothing doesn't make her different where it matters.

She's still staring expectantly at him, and he blurts out the first thing he can think of, "Uhh…your door. Did you remember to lock your door?"

"Lock my door?" She repeats, and she breaks eye contact to fish through her purse. "I have my keys with me so I thought I did lock it…" His heart is thumping and he doesn't know why, maybe it's because he's afraid that she's going to call out his weirdness. He hasn't exactly made the best 'new neighbor' impression, and he's not exactly used to girls that aren't Sakura or Ino.

But she never ceases to be a mystery, and gracefully sweeps past him to ascend the stairs. She pauses, hand resting on the guardrail and calls, "I'll go upstairs to check."

His feet move of their own accord, and he finds himself following her upstairs and trailing a few feet behind her. She doesn't seem to mind.

He's casually leaning against the wall as she jiggles her doorknob, her lips twisting into a confused frown. "Hmm…it's already locked," she confirms, turning towards Naruto.

Naruto chuckles awkwardly, "Oh, um, sorry about that. I hope I didn't make you late for anything." He does a quick once-over of her work attire and remembers how far away she really is.

She shakes her head and as if she's able to look right through him, steps towards him. "There's no need to apologize, you meant well," she opens her mouth to continue, but then hesitates, reeling back in her words. Naruto cocks his head to the side, and the gesture seems to instill boldness in her because she restarts and says, "I can see it in your eyes. I…I can see that you're a really kind person."

Naruto blinks, and he's certain that his cheeks turn as cherry-red as hers currently are.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I must get going now," she spills out quickly, whirling around on her heels and clicking away.

"W-Wait!" Naruto cries, inwardly cringing at how desperate his voice sounds.

Her head angles back towards him as she slows to a stop.

"What's your name?"

A sort of…discomfort?– falls over her, and he sees the flash of nervousness in her eyes before she schools her features into perfect composure. He briefly panics, wondering if he had somehow overstepped boundaries too far and too soon. An apology is budding on his lips when she finally speaks.

"Hinata," she answers quietly, but with each syllable holding clarity.

With that, Hinata disappears down the stairwell, leaving Naruto to dwell on how even her name rolls so prettily off his tongue.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The bowl slides across the counter like a rock on ice, the broth sloshing against its porcelain walls. Compared to the savory salt typically associated with ramen, Naruto's original, and specially created 'tomato ramen' wafts a sharp, acidic tang. A gleeful grin splits Naruto's face as panics flare in his best friend's eyes when the bowl teeters over the edge, right over his white shorts.

"You should trust me! I'm the one who's an expert chef," Naruto claims with a smirk.

Sasuke scoffs, pushing the ramen a safe, few inches away from him. "I believe that 'amateur line cook' is more fitting."

"Hey!" Naruto pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've been here for almost a year now!"

"Amateur line cook," Sasuke repeats, ignoring Naruto's grunt. "You know, just because I like tomatoes doesn't mean I like…tomato-flavored ramen."

Air whooshes through Naruto's teeth before he releases it in a low whistle. "Well excuse me princess! You've never liked any of my other dishes so I customized it especially for you! Ungrateful little…" He trails off in a jumble of swear words.

"Hn," Sasuke intones, but pries his chopsticks apart, twirls noodles onto them, and then pops the whole bite into his mouth. As Sasuke ladles soup onto his spoon, Naruto leans closer and bounces on the balls of his feet.

"Well?" Naruto asks eagerly.

Sasuke says nothing, opting to narrow his eyes.

"How is it?" The blond persists, shoving his face closer and invading Sasuke's personal space bubble. (Admittedly, said bubble has a huge breadth and just about everyone breaches it).

Sighing, Sasuke reluctantly supplies, "It's okay."

Naruto blinks once. Freezes in place for a few seconds, then blinks again. His face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Alright!" He cheers, pumping his fist high into the air. "You love it!" Naruto translates, his triumphant beam so gratingly bright that Sasuke snorts.

"I did not say that," Sasuke immediately shuts down.

"True, but I know that's what you meant. I'm smarter than you think ya know? Remember that time in high school when…when…"His train of thought dissipates,it's swallowed by a tunnel with no exit.

"When what?"

"Huh? Oh, um," Naruto stalls; he raises himself onto his tiptoes and scans the crowd. Maybe he mistook someone else for her. After all, what would she be doing here? He's never seen her in this part of town before and oh– she turns around and Naruto doesn't know if it's healthy for his heart to be beating so fast.

Her eyebrows knit together like she's unsure if it's him, and Naruto pulls on his warmest smile.

"H-Hey!" He calls from inside the store, waving at her. It feels like there's something sticky coating his throat, and he clears it by coughing into his fist. "What's up? How are you?" Questions that he doesn't expect answers to prattle out of his mouth.

To his relief, her eyes twinkle in recognition. Luckily, he's not having an awkward, one-sided conversation…just an awkward, display of him as a dork instead. In her prim and pressed business clothing, she smiles sweetly and nods in his direction.

He wants to call her name, but then recalls how cautiously she disclosed it, and feels a little special to be privy to such information. He keeps it to himself.

"That's not how you used to look at Sakura," an almost lofty voice snaps him back to attention.

"Huh? What are you talkin' about?" Naruto's face scrunches in confusion as he remembers the existence of his best friend.

Propping his elbows onto the counter and clasping his hands together, Sasuke rests his chin on top of his knuckles. "You know what I mean," he cryptically answers.

"No! I really don't," Naruto insists.

A stretch of silence, and then Sasuke grumbles, "Back when you had a crush on her."

"Oh," Naruto rubs the back of his neck. "Why are you bringing that up? You know that was forever ago anyways."

"I'm just saying," Sasuke states coolly. Ironically, the oh-so-casual calmness makes Naruto raise an eyebrow. Bandages can only cover old wounds so much, it seems. "Anyways, who is she?"

Swiveling around on the bar stool with a shrill squeak, Sasuke squints his eyes into the crowd.

"N-No one. I mean, she is someone but it's n-not what you're thinking. She's just a new neighbor! Um, she's wearing the blazer and skirt over there," he explains, and Sasuke smirks at the blond's uncharacteristically nervous behavior.

"I don't see her."

"Long dark hair, tied in a ponytail," Naruto mutters, "why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

"Don't need them."

"What? Yeah you do you're just too embarrassed to–"

"Is it her?"

"Uh…yeah…"

As Sasuke studies Hinata, Naruto watches as his face morphs from indifference to minute curiosity to a…hard frown.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asks, mirroring Sasuke's expression.

Sasuke says nothing, and even though the distinction is small, Naruto recognizes that Sasuke's solemn face is different from the usual apathy.

"What's her name?" Sasuke suddenly pipes up.

"Why?"

"Just tell me."

"It's Hinata," Naruto divulges, not sure what to think about the haze that clouds Sasuke's black eyes.

"I see," his friend replies, leaving it at that.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you gonna keep on going?" Naruto waves both hands in rolling arcs.

"Nope."

"Something's up! I can see it in your eyes," Naruto presses.

"It seems that you're the one that needs glasses," Sasuke responds.

"Teme!"

Sasuke clicks his tongue, but emits a resigned sigh. "I recognize her. That's it."

"Really?" A head of scruffy blond hair and blue eyes lean closer to Sasuke. "How? From where?"

Sasuke says nothing, leaving Naruto to fill in the blanks for himself. An old friend? A work acquaintance? …An ex-girlfriend? The last one doesn't settle well in his stomach, and something weird churns within him.

"Did you date Hinata before?" Naruto finds himself biting out. It makes sense, Hinata clearly is someone important and Sasuke is a son of the Uchiha Corporation.

Sasuke still says nothing, but regards him with hooded eyes.

The empty space allows Naruto to piece together his own story, and it doesn't take long for him to concoct an entire feature film. It's a still night. The moon is full and illuminating the stone pavement in cold beams of yellow. Hinata proclaims her undying love for Sasuke. But Sasuke is too emotionally closed and not too mention, has a giant stick up his ass, and expresses his feelings by leaving her on a dumb, freezing, bench. Later on, Sasuke realizes his affections for her but does not act on them because–

"Whatever you're thinking is probably stupid," Sasuke cuts in.

"I can't believe you dated Hinata and didn't want to tell me!"

"What?" Eyebrows rise towards his hairline. "What? What the hell?" Sasuke repeats.

"Why else didn't you answer me?" Naruto retorts.

Sasuke rolls his eyes deliberately slowly, making sure to exaggerate the movement. "You like her that much, huh?"

"N-No, that's not it," Naruto refutes, though his cheeks go warm.

"We did not date," Sasuke reveals, pulling on a haughty smirk as Naruto visibly relaxes. "I didn't answer immediately because I wanted to see you suffer."

"What?! Why would I suffer?"

"Do you know her last name?" Sasuke smoothly transitions.

Aggravation placed aside, (though not forgotten), Naruto taps his chin with his index finger. "Hm…no I don't, she didn't tell me."

"I see."

Silence lulls.

"Hey! You can't stop like that again," Naruto whines, shoving his face closer and causing Sasuke's personal space detector to run haywire.

"Alright, alright," Sasuke groans, leaning back. "It's Hyūga. Hyūga Hinata. Last name sound familiar? I remember her from business parties we both attended when we were younger."

"Hyūga…." The ramen chef turns the name over in his head. Blue eyes widen and he blinks rapidly. "Hyūga?! The technology giant that owns half of Japan's electronics?!"

"Yes, that one," Sasuke replies.

The day he moved in, lying on a bed of Styrofoam pellets and staring at the ceiling, resurfaces to mind. Even from a two-minute meeting, Naruto knew that his enigma of a neighbor was too good for him and now… "Wow…It's like I thought, she really is amazing."

Sasuke's eyes flicker to him while his mouth twitches, but Naruto doesn't notice.

"What was I thinking? How could I–" Laughter bubbles out, a deep, belly-aching sort of laughter with no end nor beginning.

"Naruto, what the hell?" Sasuke predictably says.

He suddenly remembers a small detail from Sasuke's explanation, and his laughter dies down. "Hey…you said you recognized her from company parties when you were younger. You still go to those all the time, she's not there anymore?"

There's a hint of apprehension in those clear pools of black. "No," he pauses before saying, "the two of you are actually more similar than you believe."

Confusion runs rampant all over Naruto's features. There's something that's gone bad in the tomato-ramen experiment, he's sure of it.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The rain falls in white sheets, rendering his orange umbrella utterly useless as water soaks his hoodie and squelches in between his sandals. Thunder rumbles in the distance, fading into background noise as the rain descends in dancing staccatos.

Muddy water coats his toes and cakes his feet in damp earth. His shorts are not faring much better, sticking to the side of his thighs like a second skin. Naruto sighs, and shudders as a brisk wind pelts rain onto his chest. Of course his shift had to end late today, and of course with his great luck, it ended right in time for a flash summer storm.

Before more negative thoughts crawl into his mind, Naruto shrugs and decides that he might as well turn his predicament…into a game. How many puddles can he splash in before he gets home? The ship to staying dry has already long sailed anyways.

By the time he reaches his stairs, he's already stepped into 24 puddles, ohh maybe he can reach 29, or any number that ends with a 9 by the time he's home. Hands grasping the slick railing, Naruto jumps into each puddle with fervor, smile growing wider as the numbers tick closer to 29.

27…28…He spots a particularly large puddle pooling above him, and he leaps the distance of three steps, sinking his feet ankle deep into water. (He's drenched anyways, so why not?)

A lopsided grin spreads across his face, "Alright, 29!"

He knows it's silly. And that he's silly. But he believes that every cloud has a silver lining, you just have to find that silver lining yourself.

As he trudges up the last of the stairs, completely sopping from head to toe, he notices something, or someone, that's a little different. Through the downpour of rain, he squints, and thinks that he can see a figure curled up against the wall and–

His smile drops immediately, he rushes to the door as if the rainwater on his feet is actually fire. His umbrella flips backward from the wind resistance and he fumbles to close it.

"Hin…Hinata?! What's wrong? Did someone hurt you? Why are you out here by yourself?" His questions shoot out like rapid-fire as his eyes frenetically rove over her.

Hinata lifts her head up from being buried in her knees and blinks at him in surprise. He thinks he sees something shimmering in her pretty, lavender-white eyes, but she shakes her head before he can take a closer look.

"N-No, it's not that," she clears her throat and says more smoothly, "I'm okay. I just left my keys in the office today and I'm waiting for Kakashi-san to come open the door for me."

"Oh," Naruto says, feeling his heart rate thud back to a normal pace. He sits down on the ground in front of her, his back peaking out from the awning's coverage. "How long were you out here for? Damn, I should have came back from work earlier."

Hinata shakes her head again. "Not long, don't worry," she reassures.

Naruto thinks her eyes still hold a weird sheen to them, and leans closer towards her. "Hey, are you sure you're alright?"

Instead of directly answering, she points behind him. "It's raining," she states.

Confusion flecks Naruto's eyes, because well….duh. Nevertheless, Naruto whips his head around and nods, "Err…yeah, it is."

But as he turns around, he manages to catch Hinata in the midst of wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. His face scrunches and alarm bells ring in his head. "H-Hey, are you really alright?"

When she returns him with nothing but silence, Naruto probes further, "Were you crying?"

"I'm fine," Hinata insists.

"Eh? I could have sworn I saw–"

"I'm fine," she interrupts, an almost frustrated (not quite, because he's never met anyone as polite as her) finality in her declaration. She straightens up and squares her shoulders, and Naruto briefly wonders why, or who she's appearing strong for.

His face softens and he leans backwards to offer her space. "Okay," he accepts, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

"You should go inside, Naruto-kun. You're going to catch a cold if you stay out here," Hinata says, and Naruto doesn't have to squint to see that her lips have darkened to blue.

"Okay," he accepts again, pushing himself up to his feet. Hinata doesn't look up.

That is, until a large hand extends itself in front of her. "But only if you come inside with me."

Hinata stares up at him; he can see his own reflection in her eyes and his words repeat in his head. "I-I mean, so you're not out here by yourself. I-I'm not going to do anything, I'm not that type of guy, I swear. I'm just…worried…about you…" That went well, he inwardly groans. A bright red blush flames across his face.

To his surprise, soft giggles chorus in his ears. "I know you're not, in your words, that 'type of guy,'" she admits with such confidence.

"Oh…t-thanks," he stutters out, though gains the courage to lean closer. "So what do you say? Knowing old man Kakashi he's not gonna be here for a while, he's always 'getting lost on the path of life' or whatever. I'm pretty sure that's a secret code for him reading his gross porno books." She giggles again, and even when her laughter peters out her smile doesn't wane. He returns her grin, for lack of a better word, he feels good when he entertains people. Hell, it's a lot better than how he found her. He's a crumb more confident as he re-offers, "Let's go into my apartment and dry off?"

Hinata hesitates, her smile slipping. She's biting her lip, and Naruto remembers that he's a ramen line cook and didn't go to college and was the bottom of his class in high school and grew up as an orphan until the pervy sage took him in, and on top of all that great history, has no notable accomplishments whatsoever, and–

"I couldn't possibly impose," Hinata timidly confesses. She's twiddling her index fingers together and it's oddly endearing, if not familiar. "I don't wish to inconvenience you, I'll be alright waiting for Kakashi-san by myself."

Naruto's mouth parts open, and he's knocked speechless as he's absorbing how she could possibly be worried about that. Bursting into self-deprecating laughter, however, doesn't seem exactly appropriate. So instead, a moment later he chuckles and smiles, "Hinata, how could you even think that? You'd only inconvenience me if you stayed out here and kept me worried all night."

Pink tinges her cheeks, and he thinks for the umpteenth time how she's so pretty in each and every circumstance. "Because…that's what I always seem to do," she mumbles so quietly that the clattering of raindrops completely muffles her.

"What?" Naruto asks, inclining his head towards her.

"N-Nothing," she amends, and before Naruto can prepare more questions, she slips her hand into his and slides her fingers in between his own. "I'll go with you…if that's alright."

Her hands are tiny and soft, albeit a little cold and clammy, and he's so captivated by the simple skin-on-skin contact that he can't remember how to pull her to her feet.

"Naruto-kun? Is something the matter?" Hinata squeezes his hand and frowns.

"No no, everything's fine," he says quickly, "sorry about that." Naruto tugs her up, and even with her matted hair and sopping clothes, she rises with grace. Her head is level with his chest, and he's surprised that she's so short and this small. Naruto's fairly tall, towering well over six feet, and doesn't think much about people's smaller statures. (Because just about everyone is shorter than him). But here, standing half a step away from Hinata, his thoughts run away– he imagines her small body curling into his side (none of that other stuff, he's not a pervert he swears!) and he thinks about draping an arm over her and having her lay on his other arm and making it itchy with her hair but that doesn't matter because the smell of lilies and lavender and honey that good girls like her smell like will distract him and he'll be so, so happy and–

"Naruto-kun?" The very girl running through his fantasy jars him back to reality.

He drops her hand like it scalds him, lest his thoughts continue to explore unknown territory. At the abrupt withdrawal, apprehension re-enters Hinata's expression and no that's not what he meant so he scrambles to clarify, "Sorry! Ahh sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Please don't think anything silly."

Regardless, her lips purse and he just knows what she's thinking and it's so inaccurate that he gently grabs her wrist–careful to avoid her hand– and leads her to his apartment.

"It'll be just a second," he explains as he fumbles in his pocket for his keys. The rain patters behind them in a steady rhythm, giving him reprieve from filling the space with sound.

Once the key clicks into place and door swings open, Naruto ushers Hinata into his apartment.

"Come in, come in. Make yourself at home," he encourages, kicking off his shoes and weaving around Hinata to switch on all the lights. Big mistake, he soon realizes, as illuminating the apartment also illuminates the "chaotically-organized" mess of…everything. Empty food containers and papers (where did all this paper come from? He doesn't read) clutter tables and spill onto the floor. "Wow, errr…sorry it's such a mess," he apologizes, hands moving to find the back of his neck. "You can sit in the living room while I tidy up, it'll just be a second I promise."

Hinata removes her shoes and edges a few inches into the foyer. She raises her hand slightly, "Naruto-kun it's–"

"I know, I know. I just moved in and I've already messed up the place," he rambles, pinching the soft skin of his neck. Naruto collects a pile of paper into his hands and sweeps it into a drawer. His eyes rove over the kitchen and lock in on the dirty dishes in the sink and spices lining the counter. "Sorry," he can't stop apologizing, "you're probably not used to places like this," he says as he throws open cabinets and shoves in pepper shakers and jars of bonito flakes.

Hinata raises an eyebrow— the confusion in her eyes becomes understanding.

There's so much more to clean and he can't even be discreet about it; he hopes she hurries to the living room and he can save the morsel of dignity he has left but instead she's coming closer to him and laying her hand over his arm and what?

"Why do you keep apologizing?" She says, but it's not really a question. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing for such an abrupt intrusion." Her hand travels lower, and she reaches to clasp his hand. Somehow, he knows that's quite a bold move for her, and he shifts his gaze to look at their joined hands. "We're dripping water all over your kitchen…do you want to dry off first? I'll clean your house with you afterwards if that's what you want to do."

Hinata drops her grip and walks away, but once she's at the kitchen's archway she suddenly turns around, her hair twirling with her and sprinkling water droplets with a soft splatter. "I don't mind that your house is like this, it's very nice as it is." She smiles at him, in a way that's so genuinely earnest and matches the warm light in her eyes that he realizes she's not lying to him and never will as she says, "I love it, Naruto-kun. I feel at home."

Naruto has no words to say. Somehow, and he can't fathom why, the thought crosses his mind that maybe—just maybe— being himself is all she wants.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Does the jumpsuit fit? I can try looking for something smaller if it doesn't," Naruto calls from the hallway, balancing two bowls of soup in one hand and a teapot in the other.

"It's fine, Naruto-kun, I can fold back the sleeves," Hinata replies from the other room.

"You sure? I think I might have some in my–" The objects precariously in his arms nearly topple to the floor.

The orange and black jacket falls to her mid-thigh, the baggy sleeves engulfing her arms and pants hanging several sizes too loose. It's an orange jumpsuit. A freakin' orange jumpsuit. But it's his freakin' orange jumpsuit and something about her and him mixed together stirs warmth within him and damn she should be an orange-jumpsuit model.

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright?" Hinata asks, eyes wide in concern.

"Y-Yeah, no worries I got it," he chuckles nervously as he carefully sets down a bowl in front of her and a teapot in the middle. "I hope you like red bean soup, I personally love it especially on a cold rainy day like today," he rambles.

He's not looking up as she crinkles her eyes and says, "Thank you, I actually love red bean soup."

"Really?" Naruto snaps his head up and he's beaming like a pleased puppy. But being face-to-face with Hinata in his clothing isn't helping his fantasies, and he drops his gaze as he feels a blush warming his cheeks.

"Naruto-kun?" Comes Hinata's worried voice. "Do I look strange?"

"No not at all!" Naruto insists too quickly.

"…Oh."

"It's just that um, it looks like you're about to go running in that outfit," he suavely attempts to save.

"Does it?" She takes him seriously, looking down and playing with the hem of his jacket. "Hm…I suppose you do have a point," she agrees, reaching for her hair tie and pulling her hair out of its ponytail. Long, dark-blue tresses cascade past her shoulders; she runs her hand through them before sweeping her hair over one shoulder.

He openly stares at her, he knows he really shouldn't be but…he can't help it. She's not looking at him with disdain or exasperation like he's a bothersome kid. And it feels…weird, and completely foreign, to be able to catch someone's attention without fantastical stories or self-deprecating humor. Especially hers.

Luckily for him, Hinata takes over his role of dispelling silent voids, "So…um…would you like to tell me about yourself, Naruto-kun? I haven't seen you very much since you moved in."

"Oh, ah, there's not much to know about me," he rushes to say, aimlessly mixing his soup with the spoon. It's the truth: he's no one remarkable.

Hinata tilts her head to the side, "Of course there is," is all she replies, with the same confidence and faith as announcing the sky is blue.

"No, there really isn't…."

But Hinata merely nods, and the conviction in her eyes encourages him to go on.

"O-Oh alright then," Naruto concedes, and he wonders why he's so nervous to talk about himself when it's usually his favorite thing to do. Hinata is patient, however, and with her attentive listening it doesn't take long for his shoulders to loosen as he prattles on.

Naruto chatters on about his work as a ramen chef, his ongoing rivalry with a certain dark-haired-pretty-boy best friend, and even sneaks in a few embarrassing stories that never fail to make her giggle. Rather adorably, he notes. He decides that he really likes hearing her laugh, and he's growing comfortable around her and really wants to know…more. Everything.

So he doesn't think much about it when he suggests, "Hey, I've been talking way too much. So…tell me about you! Family, work, anything!"

Hinata hesitates, and it's like Naruto knocked on a door that she doesn't want to open. "I'd rather not," she finally answers.

"Oh," Naruto drops his arms to the side, awkward tension replacing the nice, easy-going mood. "Well uh, do you want to talk about it? I would love to listen to you. You could tell me stories about painting houses and clipping your nails and I'd still want to listen. Honest."

Hinata cracks a smile and stares at him with an oddly suiting softness. "Thank you," she says earnestly, but ends it at that.

"Of course," Naruto responds with as much sincerity, directing his full attention at her. "It's still your call though, you don't have to say anything."

When people are given freedom and space, an opposing and paradoxical effect strangely occurs. It's not manipulative per se, but Naruto's a little cleverer than he appears and does have some experience cajoling people to untwist their bottles. (And maybe it also has something to do with Naruto's honesty and genuine concern, who knows? Sasuke never answers him).

But it doesn't seem like Hinata's going to budge, and after patiently waiting in silence for a full five minutes, Naruto begins to think about rainy-day activities that would interest Hinata. Would she go for The Gutsy Ninja? Or maybe one of those romantic-comedies he's got tucked away somewhere? Hm…. nah the Gutsy Ninja sounds about right—wait no, that's childish isn't it? To be this old and still believe in ninjas and dangerous missions, Hinata would think he's so uncool if she doesn't already and that's definitely not what he needs—

"I got fired today."

Naruto's thoughts crash into a wall. He blinks once. "What?"

Hinata sighs, "Well I was officially suspended, but it's the same as getting fired."

Frowning, Naruto tries to refute, "That's not true, if you're just suspended you can still come back. Try talking to your boss again."

"My boss is my father," Hinata reveals, sighing again.

"Oh," a pause, "what a dick."

Hinata shoots him a reprimanding look, but it's weak and she doesn't counter his statement.

"Why would your own father fire you?" Naruto can't suppress his curiosity, sitting up straighter and clasping his hands on his knees.

"Simply put," Hinata can't match his gaze, "I'm a failure. The disgrace of the Hyūga clan. That's my last name, by the way," she adds quietly.

"That can't be true," Naruto shakes his head fervently. "There's no way you're a failure. How can you be?"

"There are very many ways," Hinata answers. She peers up, and jolts slightly at the seriousness blazing in Naruto's eyes. Her door cracks open. Without his prompting, she elaborates, "I'm…actually the Hyūga clan's…heiress. I am–um, was, next in line to take over the family company."

Blue eyes widen, Naruto's jaw going slack. Hinata blushes, crossing her arms below her chest and hugging her biceps.

"I-I know…it's hard to believe, especially when I'm so…."

"You're so amazing!" Naruto blurts out as she simultaneously finishes her sentence with 'unremarkable.' A broad grin splits his face and he eagerly nods.

"Yup, definitely amazing. You're famous and super pretty, yet you're still so nice."

"Super pretty?" Hinata echoes inquisitively.

"Ermm…I mean…" Naruto doesn't know which route to take so he opts for going backwards. "Anyways, what do you mean by failure?"

She fiddles with the edge of her sleeve before withdrawing her hand within it. "I was…I was given everything. I was supposed to be everything, at the very least, I was supposed to become someone."

Creases furrow in Naruto's brow. "What do you mean?"

"Starting as a young child, I was groomed and prepared to be the Hyūga heiress. But I could never reach any of the goals set out for me. I always fell short of every expectation."

"What kinda goals?" Naruto questions.

It turns out, once Hinata opened her door she couldn't shut it again. "I was supposed to graduate in the top percentile of my class, instead, I struggled to stay above-average. I was supposed to lead my own team and organize a sales pitch...instead, they took me off the project and replaced me with my cousin. I was supposed to increase our profits by 10% this quarter, instead, I–"

"Whoa, whoa, hey," Naruto holds up a hand and motions for her to breathe. "What kind of goals are those? None of that stuff is important. Not meeting those expectations is not the end of the world, and definitely don't define whether you're remarkable or not."

"But they do," she insists miserably. "They do when you're given all the tools on a silver platter and expected to produce results. Expected to use your upbringing and privilege and do amazing things and simply be amazing. I have the best private tutors and network of connections and I'm only a fraction of what I could be, what I'm supposed to be." Her eyes are taking on that glossy sheen again, and Naruto instinctively moves closer.

"They've given up on me. I've already had to move out of the compound so I could quietly disappear. In my clan's eyes, I am no one. And the worst part is…" Her eyelids flutter shut. Tears aren't slipping out of her eyes; she refuses to cry in front of Naruto over what she already knows. "They're right. They're absolutely right," she says.

Naruto can't stop looking at her; he's staring unabashedly in fact. His back molars are grinding together, and he can feel the click of his teeth as they slide over the ridges. It starts as the tight curl of his toes, but rises up the tense flex of his calves until he's flooded with raw anger.

"Don't say that about yourself!" Naruto's fists hit the table; he grinds his knuckles into the wood. "How can you just accept what they say as truth?! They're wrong!"

Hinata's hands are balled into fists, trembling as they lay on the table. He's not sure what comes over him as he unwinds her fingers and laces her hand with his own. Strangely enough, it feels right somehow.

"Are they?" She asks, voice small.

"Of course they are!" Naruto declares hotly. "You can set your own goals and choose your own path to get there. Your family's way doesn't have to be the right way! Is what you started with really everything?"

Hinata turns towards him, curiosity in the puckering of her lips.

"Those tutors, the money, your family name… is that really everything?" Naruto makes vague hand gestures. "Yeah they're helpful and all, but how did they help you as a human? Aren't you your family's precious daughter?"

Finally, Hinata looks up, she hesitates before saying, "If those things aren't everything, then…what am I missing?"

Love immediately surfaces to mind, as well as the follow-up comment that he wouldn't mind helping with that. (What? Where did that come from?) It's probably a correct answer, but he knows that that's not the answer she needs.

"Faith," he says instead. "Believe in yourself and remember that you are really strong yourself."

He doesn't know how, but the advice comes naturally. From deep within his heart, he knows his words are true.

"I…. admire you."

There's no way those three words could form a sentence in that order, clearly he misheard her. He turns towards her, bewildered, and without meeting his eyes she continues, "You have nothing," Blunt, but she's not far off, he thinks with a shrug, "Yet you're so confident, so sure of yourself."

Naruto chuckles awkwardly, "Nah, it's not really like that. Believe me, I'm no stranger to failure either."

She's shaking her head as she says, "You're so strong. That couldn't possibly be true."

Naruto's lips twitch into a wry smile. "I got so frustrated from always failing that I act tough to get anyone's attention." he admits readily. He blinks; he doesn't think that he's shared that with even Sasuke or Sakura.

Hinata furrows her brow. "But you could capture everyone's attention by being yourself," she insists. "Even if you fail you have the strength to get up and try again. Isn't that what true strength is?" Hinata says.

A rebuttal jumps to his lips, but when he turns and sees the sincerity in her eyes, he's too overwhelmed by her faith to speak words. He feels her touch his hand; she's absently tracing circles into his skin and sending goosebumps up his arm. Naruto suddenly has an urge to look at her, and he always walks on the impulsive side of life, so he gently tips her chin towards him even as his ears burn red.

"Thank you, Hinata," he says, and he means it, because it's the first time in a long while that he feels enough. White eyes widen and he's feeling more and more embarrassed the longer he looks at her pretty face; he drops her chin and leans until his back hits the couch.

He sees Hinata smile from his peripheral vision— small and demure like the rest of her, and she's so utterly beautiful.

It turns out, Hinata is no stranger to The Gutsy Ninja, and readily agrees to watch it as their rainy day activity. They sit next to each other—on the floor, backs against the couch instead of actually sitting on the couch— and the innocent proximity is already enough to melt Naruto's brain to putty. As the main character, coincidentally named Naruto as well, finishes his speech against the evil ninjas, Hinata's head plops onto his shoulder. Naruto jolts, craning his neck to see Hinata asleep, evenly breathing and relaxed on his shoulder. Her arms are wrapped around her biceps, and he can see raised bumps even in the dim lighting. Ah! How could he not have realized she was cold? There's no convenient blanket nearby…and he blushes as his mind wanders to those cliché stories about sharing body heat.

Naruto has had his share of girlfriends…(all short-lived, but nonetheless they count!), and "shy" is a word that no one associates with him. But, he doesn't know how else to label the acceleration of his heartbeat and uncharacteristic surge of embarrassment. His hand trails behind her back and his fingers roam the skin of her arm and she relaxes into his hold. He encircles her arm, shifting her closer to him until her cheek rests snugly on his chest.

Her warm breath fans onto his skin, and never in a million years did he think he'd ever be next to the Hyūga heiress, have her dress in his garishly orange high school outfit, and fall asleep to his favorite nerdy movie.

His arm is beginning to lose blood circulation, and his legs are tingling from numbness, but he hardly cares. He doesn't want to do anything to disrupt this moment. His head rests on top of hers, eyelids drooping shut and drifting off to sleep as the gutsy ninja proclaims to never gives up on his dreams.

x-x-x-x-x-x

He stirs to a knock at his door— polite, yet firm enough to rouse him awake— and takes a few moments to collect his bearings. He's on his couch, pillow nestled under his head and blanket tucked over him. It dawns on him that that's not how he fell asleep. He bolts upright, the blanket flopping off of him as he observes the blank TV screen and immaculately clean living room.

The knock resounds again, Naruto shuffles to his feet and with heavy footsteps, fumbles towards the door. He doesn't bother to check the peephole and drags open the door…only to have a bouquet of sunflowers thrust into his nose.

His eyebrows raise, and he peers over the yellow petals to see Hinata on the other side. His thoughts have never organized themselves so quickly.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaims.

"These are for you," she says, red blush lighting up her pale features.

"Oh, thank you!" Naruto grins, accepting the flowers by their stems and cradling them against his chest. "I love sunflowers." The sunflowers smell crisply fresh and clean, and he inhales a strong whiff for good measure.

She beams, and there's pride in her smile before it fades to nervousness. "I…I'm sorry for avoiding you all this time. It's not anything you did, I just didn't know what to say to you since I'm such a boring person."

Naruto laughs. "Like I said, you can talk about painting houses and cutting your nails and I'd be interested in everything you say."

Her cheeks flush darker; she shakes her head from side to side. "There's nothing interesting to say about my nails, and I've never been allowed to paint anything in fear of decreasing house value."

"Decreasing house value…?"

Hinata shrugs, "My father has his policies."

"Oh okay, well you don't live with your father anymore do you? I know what we're going to do today!" He sweeps her into his house, smiling as she squeaks in surprise. After depositing his flowers in a glass vase, he rummages through a storage closet and pulls out a bucket of paint. The aluminum can scrapes against the floor as he drags it over the floor— he stands up and reaches for a paintbrush from the top shelf.

"I've only got orange, what do you think?" Naruto asks.

Hinata steps forward and takes the paintbrush from his hands—their skin brush against each other and he may be imagining it, but he thinks she lingers a little longer than necessary.

"It's perfect," is all she says.

Naruto's grin splits wider, and she wants to say the same to her.

x-x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x

Author's Note: There isn't exactly much action...but I wanted to create different types of moods and delve into Naruto's insecurities. This basically encapsulates why I love NaruHina in the first place— because they enhance each other in ways no one else can. Even I'm not quite sure what's next, I'm still playing around with High School AU or Pacific Rim AU but sometimes I just get a random, spontaneous idea. Thank you to everyone for your support and for being so patient with my slowness!