Disclaimer blah blah blah I do not own Naruto or characters it's all Kishimoto
You all know the drill
Stumbling through the dimly lit Suna streets, Naruto carried the weight of a highly intoxicated and barely conscious Hyuga heiress at his side. The blonde shinobi readjusted his grip around Hinata's waist as he came to a stop under a lone street-lamp. His mind, groggy with sleep and alcohol, could process only that her hair shone beautifully in the scarce illumination.
Hinata groaned softly and shoved her hands into Naruto, pushing him away. Her consciousness was slipping away with each step she took.
"H-Home…" She whined. Her voice was thick and irregular, a tone that sounded strange to him.
"I could definitely manage to get you home," Naruto pretended to weigh his options, "But with you hardly being able to walk, and with me hardly being able to see straight… You think maybe we should just stay here for the night?"
The kunoichi hiccupped, but didn't answer. Sighing, Naruto began walking with her once more. He squinted against the dark and searched the streets for the inn they were staying at, finding it just a few blocks down from the bar they had been almost forcibly escorted out of only ten minutes prior.
Shikamaru walked lazily behind his teammates in the bustling, after dark Suna streets. There were people talking and laughing, crowding the entrances to bars and casinos. He had one hand stuffed deep in his pocket, and one fiddling idly with his flak jacket zipper. He could hear Naruto speaking loudly to Hinata about something, sounding more and more excited as he went on. His interest was piqued, and he slowly began to tune back into the conversation between the blonde and his pale-eyed comrade.
"Naruto-kun, I-I really shouldn't. I don't drink… and I couldn't possibly accept your offer. You don't owe me anything." Hinata spoke softly, smiling kindly at her friend.
"Come on, Hinata-chan, you practically saved my life today. Just let me treat you to some sake or something." Naruto flashed a wide grin, "It's been a while since we've been on a mission together anyway. We can catch up. C'mon, please?"
Shikamaru's mind wandered back to the mission they had just completed for Suna. Gaara had called them to his village for a simple ambassador meeting. Shikamaru, who often escorted the Sand siblings around Konoha, was, naturally, the one they preferred to invite to keep their alliance strong. Naruto, who still planned on being Hokage someday, and had a certain indescribable bond with the Kazekage, was also put on the ambassador team. Finally, Hinata had been selected mainly out of precaution. The journey to Suna was long, and it was in any team's best interested to have a Hyuga close by.
It was when they got to Suna around dawn that they were told about the panic which had recently swept through the political branch of the village. Important documents, along with a substantial amount of money, had been stolen by a team of hired rogue ninja from a nearby enemy country just hours before the Konoha ninja arrived. Naruto, upon hearing this, immediately offered their team's services to the Kazekage.
"We will accept no reward other than the privilege of helping out our ally." Naruto had graciously said, very much surprising the Nara boy.
It took until dusk to track down the rogue ninjas, with the help of Hinata's byakugan, who had just made camp for the night. However, a delicate trap was set by their team's weapon specialist who must have expected Suna to send shinobi their way. It was only by pure luck that Shikamaru was able to unravel their plan and alert Hinata, who then promptly grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket and yanked him away from the camp with strength that could match that of the strongest shinobi.
The victory that followed was not much of a surprise. Other than the clever trap, the ninja were not trained to Konoha standards and fairly easy to defeat.
Shikamaru was pretty proud of his team, being that the three did not work together that often and were able to complete an unexpected mission so clean and with precision.
He smiled to himself as he looked from Naruto to Hinata, appreciating having this time spent with them.
"It was really nothing… But, I suppose one drink won't hurt…" Hinata blushed as she finally succumbed to Naruto's wishes.
"Hey, you hear that Shikamaru? Hinata-chan is going to have a drink with us!" Naruto looked back at Shikamaru excitedly. But he just shook his head and smiled. "No, she'll be having a drink with you. You guys can relax now, but I still have work to do."
Hinata and Naruto looked at each other and both began voicing their regret that he could not go with them.
"Aw, are you sure Shikamaru-kun?"
"Can it really not wait until morning?"
The genius rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head to the side, "Well, the thing is, I kind of promised to meet Temari…" He trailed off.
The Hyuuga simply shut her mouth and began smiling at him. When Naruto looked confused and opened his mouth again, Hinata simply bumped her elbow against his a couple of times and said, "Okay, have fun Shikamaru-kun, we'll see you tomorrow." Then turned and began walking away. Naruto shrugged, waved good-bye to him, and followed suit.
The blonde and the raven-haired girl walked together for a while in silence, passing the crowded part of town. They entered cozier looking district of Suna where there were not so many people littering the street. On the right, Naruto spotted an Ichiraku-type bar.
"Alright, Hinata-chan, now for that drink I offered you." He stated as pushed over the hanging curtains and motioned for her to enter the bar. She blushed slightly as she ducked under his arm and sat down at a stool. Naruto walked in after her and took the seat on her left.
"Ah, leaf ninja. What can I get for you?" The owner said looking at their forehead protectors with a friendly smile as he was cleaning out a cup.
"A bottle of sake and two cups, please." Naruto said with a smile. The owner nodded, set a bottle on the counter in front of them, and laid two cups down. The blonde then gave the bar owner the appropriate amount of ryo.
Hinata watched as Naruto filled his cup up to the brim and drank it all down in one gulp. He sighed and closed his eyes as it went down with a slight burn. She looked at the fine line his mouth was set in. When his eyes opened, she made eye contact with him quickly; to be sure he didn't see her looking at his lips.
"Is that how I'm supposed to drink it?" Hinata asked quietly, furrowing her brow and not knowing quite what to do in this foreign situation.
Naruto looked at her for a moment, "What?"
"It's just that I've never had sake before. I'm not exactly sure how to go about this." She let out a nervous chuckle.
Naruto paused for a moment, and then laughed. "Here Hinata-chan," He took the bottle and filled her cup a little more than half way, "Try to get it down in one go. It's much better that way instead of sipping at it and having it burn each time."
"It burns?" She looked at him with wide eyes. Everyone she knew seemed to enjoy alcohol. How could that be if it hurt to drink it?
Naruto laughed even more, "Have you never had alcohol before?" He asked incredulously, already grabbing the bottle to refill his own cup.
Sure, she had been on plenty of missions where alcohol had been present. And, sure, she had accompanied her own friends to bars. But never had she drank. Frankly, she was a little scared of it. She had heard girls say things like, "Wow, what did I do last night". The idea of drinking something with the power to make you do stupid things and forget about them was a little frightening. But, because it had been Naruto to offer it to her, and because he was so excited about it, she couldn't say no. So when he asked her if she had never had alcohol with that look on his face, she definitely felt a little more than embarrassed.
Hinata, biting her lip, reached over for her cup of sake and quickly downed it like Naruto told her to. The burn was slow at first, then became a little more acute as she felt the heat reach her stomach.
"Now I have." She forced a smile which then became a grimace as she coughed.
Naruto really couldn't help himself then and began laughing so hard he gripped the counter to brace himself. The look on poor Hinata's face was too much.
She looked up at him with shy eyes, but her face quickly brightened into a smile and she began laughing at his laughter until they were both red in the face. The ice was officially broken and they talked for a while about typical things as the blonde kept refilling their drinks. An hour went by as they focused more on talking than drinking.
"Aw man, Hinata-chan, if this is your first time drinking, I'm going to get you so drunk." Naruto laughed after his sixth cup, and Hinata's third. Not only was Naruto's tolerance a lot higher than hers from years of drinking sake every now and then, but he also was a bit bigger than her and did not get drunk so easily. Hinata, on the other hand, was already a little more than buzzed. She wondered if she was drunk yet, but given than her next sentence wasn't very slurred, she didn't think so.
"Yeah, just as long as you don't take advantage of me." She said nonchalantly before her eyes widened as she realized how suggestive that sounded. She wished she hadn't said it, but Naruto didn't think anything of it.
"Nah, I just want to see how hung-over you are tomorrow morning." He shrugged and laughed, "I bet it'll be bad."
She giggled with him, "Naruto-kun, that's horrible, laughing at my future pain."
"It's okay though," He waved his hand in the air, "Because I'll probably be feeling just as bad as you."
Hinata smiled as she took another sip of sake, noticing how it did burn worse in small increments. She shrugged and downed her fourth cup. Her ears got hot and her stomach felt cozy and warm.
"Ah man, I have missed this." Naruto sighed as he turned toward her in his stool and leaned against the counter.
"What?" Hinata hiccupped, and then giggled.
"This. Just hanging out with a friend with nothing to do but relax. And drink, of course," He held up his cup, "As much as I love training and missions, I enjoy the chance to do something like this with someone like you."
The Hyuga heiress lifted her cup up to his with a clink, took a sip, and asked, "Someone like me?"
"Of course. One of my closest friends, someone who's always been there for me," He looked at her now curiously, "You know, even back when everyone hated me, you were always so nice." He nodded and took a drink. "Why is that?"
"Well," She slurred a little and giggled, "When we were really little, you defended me from bullies, who then beat you up for it."
He looked up and squinted, struggling to remember.
"Then, I always really admired the fact that even though everyone was so mean to you, and you had trouble at the academy, you kept trying no matter what." She shrugged, "I had that problem at home, you know? So it really gave me the courage I needed to keep going."
Naruto smiled at her appreciatively, then nodded for her to keep going. She spun back and forth on her stool a little, swaying at each motion, trying to think of more but having trouble with her hazy memory. The heat really hit her then, and she got slightly light-headed. She shook her head to clear it away.
"Oh, and then there was that time you cheered me on when I had to fight Neji. I would have given up if it weren't for that. I mean, I've always had the biggest crush on you so if you believed in me, I believed in me." She laid her head in her hands and pressed her cool fingers against her hot cheeks, hoping to relieve some of the redness she felt in her face.
The blonde shinobi's head snapped up in a second. He wondered if he had heard her correctly.
"Wait, what?" Naruto spat out in a panic. His heart was racing from this sudden confession of hers, "Hinata-chan, what did you just say?"
"Hm?" She asked, with her eyes closed. Her head seemed to be drooping and she idly wondered why she felt so tired. "I said that because you believed in me, I believed in myself."
Naruto opened his mouth to respond. Just then, three hulking men came in laughing with each other. The biggest of the three spotted Hinata immediately and sat down next to her. They were all dressed in civilian clothing. The man next to Hinata had a greasy, but not completely unattractive face. His biceps were big for someone who was not a trained shinobi. However, his friends had no notable features other than the fact they both looked creepy.
"Why, hello there, gorgeous girl. Can I buy you a drink?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. Hinata's eyes snapped open at the sudden danger she felt being in such close proximity to this man. Granted, he had not done anything to indicate danger, yet. But as a kunoichi, she was trained to be wary.
"No, thank you. I think I've had enough." She replied as kindly as she could. Her tongue felt too thick with alcohol. Besides, the only reason she was drinking tonight was because Naruto had been the one to offer her a drink.
She looked to blonde as she slid off her barstool. The sudden rush of drunkenness hit her as soon as her feet touched the ground. She grabbed onto Naruto's shoulder to stop herself from falling. As she did this, she felt a hand smack her bottom a little too hard. She turned around to muster a scowl, something she hardly ever did, at Biceps behind her.
"Alright, sweetie, but when you decide to dump your little boyfriend, come back here and I'll show you and your sweet ass what it's like to be with a real man." He smirked at her and his friends laughed behind him.
She laughed with them for a moment, placing a hand over her heart. Biceps turned around to wink at his friends. Before he turned back around to face her, Hinata placed her hand back on Naruto's shoulder to steady herself. Naruto just looked at her quizzically. As soon as the man reset his sights on her, his mouth opened to say something rude, she was sure. But before he could get any words out, her chakra enhanced foot was against his chest and pushing so hard he flew back against the wall of the building, taking his two friends with him. Hinata would later recall that she learned that move from Sakura.
"You bitch! You should have taken that as a compliment. But now I guess I'm going to have you teach you a lesson." The man started to get up, but Hinata grabbed the almost empty sake bottle in front of her and smashed the end against the edge of the counter, holding it by the narrow end.
"I am a kunoichi of the Leaf village. I dare you." She hissed. Biceps just looked at her with widened eyes and held up his hands. The owner, who had only come around in time to witness Hinata fling three men against a wall and break a bottle, scowled at Naruto and pointed towards the exit.
"Oh, Kami," Naruto took hold of Hinata's arm and gently tugged, "C'mon Hinata-chan, we need to leave." As he tried to lead her out the door, she twisted toward the counter and took one last swig of sake from her cup.
Once out in the cool night air, and away from the excitement, Hinata leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder and groaned tiredly. She stumbled over her own feet and swayed. Naruto smiled down at her and put an arm around her waist to keep her upright until they got to the inn. She sagged in his arm, so he put her arm around his shoulder. He was just beginning to notice that his vision was blurring.
Naruto sighed at the night's events. He was still surprised that Hinata had broken a bottle in preparation of a fight. He'd have to remember to tell someone about that. But mostly he was just concerned about what she said.
I've always had the biggest crush on you, she had said. He could have let it go easier if she'd have talked in the past tense. But her choice of present tense was worrisome. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he had never thought of her like that. He had always referred to her as weird. But on the other hand, if it was the truth, she was the one person who was nice to him before anyone else, even Iruka-sensei. If it was the truth, he appreciated it more than she would ever know. But that was the problem; if it was the truth. He didn't know.
No doubt about it, Hinata was drunk. There was no telling if she even knew what she was saying. Maybe she didn't mean it the way Naruto had taken it. But, he thought, that was unlikely.
Finally, he decided, if she remembered it tomorrow morning, he would ask about it then. He was too tired and too drunk to worry about it any longer. The hour was ungodly and there was no one out and about anymore.
Stumbling through the dimly lit Suna streets, he carried the weight of a highly intoxicated and barely conscious Hinata at his side. The blonde shinobi readjusted his grip around her waist as he came to a stop under a lone street-lamp. His mind, now groggy with sleep and alcohol, could process only that her hair shone beautifully in the scarce illumination.
Hinata groaned softly and shoved her hands into Naruto, pushing him away. Her consciousness was slipping away with each step she took.
"H-Home…" She whined. Her voice was thick and irregular, a tone that sounded strange to him.
"I could definitely manage to get you home," Naruto pretended to weigh his options, "But with you hardly being able to walk, and with me hardly being able to see straight… You think maybe we should just stay here for the night?"
The kunoichi hiccupped, but didn't answer. Sighing, Naruto began walking with her once more. He squinted against the dark and searched the streets for the inn they were staying at.
Finally, after a few minutes more of walking, he located the inn. Naruto struggled for a moment with opening the door without dropping Hinata, but managed eventually. By the time Naruto got to the hallway, he realized that he didn't know where Hinata's room key was, let alone her room. He refused to wake the girl, so he innocently pat his hand against her pockets to feel for a room key. She let out a sleepy giggle.
Naruto chuckled at this, but stopped when he didn't find anything. His arms began to cramp from holding the Hyuuga girl for so long. He had to make a decision. Either take her to his room, or stand there in the hallway with cramping arms.
He hobbled into his room and turned on the light with his free shoulder. He slowly walked Hinata to the bed and softly laid her down. He made a mental note that her resting face was cute and her cheeks looked so soft with the slight blush still on her face from the alcohol. When he tried to pull away, she kept her arm glued around his neck. He smiled and reached behind his head to pry her arm off, but she groaned and kept it there.
"Hinata-chan, I'd like my arm back please so we can both go to bed." He chuckled softly.
She opened her eyes then and smiled, "Thank you Naruto-kun." She said sleepily. Then she lifted her head off the bed and kissed him gently. Her lips missed their target just slightly, but the message was conveyed. Her arm dropped from his neck and she promptly fell back asleep. But Naruto did not move for what seemed like hours. He felt heat flood his face as he turned a darker shade of red than he'd ever seen Hinata turn. He licked his lips out of sheer nervousness, but his heart clenched when he tasted a mix of sake and something sweet. Lip balm, maybe? He wasn't sure.
He grasped at his chest with is hand as he slowly made his way to the couch. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way. Maybe because it was so unlike Hinata to act that way. Naruto wasn't sure if getting Hinata drunk had been a good idea in hindsight.
He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off before turning out the light and promptly plopping onto the couch. He felt so tired, but he couldn't bring himself to shut his eyes. He thought more about the kiss and for a moment he wished she would have kissed him completely on the lips, not just half way. He groaned at that thought. It was too confusing. Flinging an arm over his face, he turned in toward the couch, hoping the darkness would help him fall asleep.
Just moments before finally dozing off, he heard Hinata sigh gently in her sleep. Naruto groaned audibly at the rush of feelings it gave him, and the new blush that crept across his face.
"Too confusing." He mumbled to himself. He was too drunk and too tired to address anything at the moment. He would think about it in the morning, he told himself, before finally falling into a dreamless sleep.
Wow I started writing this one day like a year ago and then I finished it in one night a year later. wow. So.. if I get a couple of reviews and follows then I'll write more to it.. but if not, then I really don't see the point. But thank you to anyone who does end up reading it. Oh, and if I continue writing this, hopefully it'll have future lemon if people still call it that. So that's why it's rated M