Title: Sleepovers

Summary: Just because we can't be kids again doesn't mean we can't act like it.

Disclaimer: I am far too lame to own Naruto, which is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, and I have no affiliation nor do I profit from this fanwork.

He had proclaimed it out of the blue at 10:47 at night, in the middle of the movie they were only sort of watching amidst their pile of blankets on the floor.

"Let's have a sleepover!"

Hinata gave Naruto a strange look. "Wasn't I going to be staying the night already? It is late..."

"Nah, nah, Hina-chan!" Oh, dear. Naruto usually only pulled out "Hina-chan" when he had something up his sleeve and would not take no for an answer. "I know you were, but I mean, let's make it fun?"

"Isn't it usually fun when I stay?" she teased, then laughed at the red that suddenly speckled his face.

"Well, yeah, I mean, but- Just trust me! Let's do stupid kid stuff. Eat junk food, color, whatever. We've already got half of a blanket fort. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that both of us missed out on a lot of fun sleepovers in our childhood."

She couldn't really argue with that. Much of her life had been consumed by training and the strict Hyuuga lifestyle, and his life had never even thought to offer the opportunity. She nodded.

"Only if I get to sleep in one of your shirts."

"Weren't you going to be doing that already?" he countered, a bright grin lighting up his face.

"Maybe," she laughed, pink dusting her cheeks. "Alright, Naruto-kun, what do you have planned for this sleepover? We're already watching a movie."

He stood suddenly, fist pumped into the air. "First, we gotta make food! A lot of it! All good stuff. No sneaking any vegetables in there so I'll eat them, Hinata."

Hinata laughed again, holding her hands in front of her. "No vegetables. But, Naruto-kun, do you have anything in your kitchen that we can make?"

Naruto paused. He hadn't quite thought this through, he silently admitted. "Um, cup ramen and cinnamon buns?"

Instead of chiding him on his lack of preparation like he expected, Hinata smiled. "All the cup ramen and cinnamon buns we can eat, then."

He bounded over, sweeping her up (with a squeak on her end) to twirl her and plant kisses around soft cheeks.

"You're amazing."

One hour and one necessary change into pajamas later saw seven ramen cups and two batches of cinnamon buns politely (on Hinata's end) destroyed between the two who were now sprawled out on the couch.

"What's next, Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned as she casually played with his fingers, tilting her head to the side as she leaned on his chest.

Naruto tapped his chin, lips jutting out slightly in thought. "Well, girls and guys both kinda gossip, I hear, but neither of us really do that—"

"I saw Kiba-kun out on a date with the cat lady's daughter."

Naruto gasped. "No way! How are they even friends? They're like cats and dogs!"

"No clue! Kiba-kun might boast a lot, but he's got a soft spot for all animals deep down, so the cat thing doesn't really bother him as much as it bothers Akamaru. Kiba-kun got the cold shoulder for at least a few hours after he hung out with her for the first time."

The two shared a glance before bursting out laughing.

"So? Any stories you might have?" Hinata smiled, turning over so she could see him properly and bumping her nose with his.

"Hmm. Oh! It's not much, but Ino came by during one of Team Seven's training sessions and while she and Sakura-chan were talking, I swear that I saw Sai blush! Sai of all people! I didn't think his face could produce color, really."

"I think Ino-chan would be more than overjoyed if he likes her," Hinata responded. Naruto nodded sagely.

"I'll have to corner him and ask questions later. Oh, hey, speaking of Sai, I've got an idea for what to do next!"

After sitting them up and setting Hinata back down onto the couch, Naruto rifled through some drawers in his kitchen, letting out a cheer upon his success which made Hinata chuckle. He came back in the living room, face triumphant, with a pad of paper and nice leather case. Hinata raised her eyebrows as Naruto grinned.

"Sai got me this really nice set of markers and pencils and such for my last birthday since he knows I love to draw. So, you draw me and I'll draw you!" he exclaimed. Pulling her down to sit on the floor with him, he slid her a piece of paper and opened the art set between them. Hinata was impressed; the quality and spectrum of colors of the tools were quite extraordinary. It couldn't have been cheap, and the idea of how much thought and money Sai had put into the gift made her smile. Grabbing an orange marker, she got to work.

Twenty minutes later saw two completed drawings, one rather remarkable (with a not unsentimental gasp on Hinata's end) and one rather cartoonish. Naruto held up his sketch with a bit of red across his cheekbones, scratching his temple nervously. He had drawn her drawing him, and in spite of her wearing just his old shirt and having her hair mussed, his sketch of her was stunning.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "You had to have edited some of that, Naruto-kun."

He grinned. "Nope! I stayed one hundred percent true-to-life. You're just that gorgeous, princess. Can I see yours? How do I look?" She went red, clutching the paper to her chest and leaning away as he reached for it.

"I can't show you after seeing yours! It's silly."

"Well I'm silly, so yours will be just as accurate."

She sighed and held out the paper. Hinata had doodled a cute and cartoonish version of Naruto, grinning widely and giving a thumbs up. The colors had bled into each other some, but he found the small sketch endearing.

"Hah! It's perfect, Hinata. One hundred percent true-to-life, just like mine," he chirped, scooting toward her and throwing an arm around her shoulder. She glanced at the drawing and then glanced at him, a frown on her lips.

"Not quite, Naruto-kun."

Before he could react, she grabbed the same blue marker she had colored Doodle Naruto's shirt with and scribbled quickly on his elbow, in the exact spot the color had bled on the paper. She laughed as he let out an indignant but jovial "hey!"

"Now it's one hundred percent true-to-life."

He smirked, grabbing a fistful of markers. "Oh, now it's on."

She squealed, quickly jerking away as he tried to pin her down. She brandished her markers as swords, making marks and trying to defend her own skin from Naruto's inky jabs. Their laughter echoed through his apartment as they battled.

Forty minutes later saw one orange scribble successfully making its way onto his forehead. He fell dramatically, exclaiming something about being slain. Giggling and breathless, Hinata sat down in front of him.

"Kidding," he sang as he sat up, "I'm still alive!" He leaned forward and pecked her forehead, studying her face as he pulled back, and confusion danced in lavender irises.

"My turn to draw on you. Fair's fair. Hold still and close your eyes!"

One more giggle escaped her lips as Hinata obeyed. Fair's fair, after all. After a couple strokes of cold ink on her cheeks, Naruto tapped her eyelids.

"All done. We match now! Go look."

She stood and shuffled around their mess to go look in the bathroom mirror. She found three fine black strokes on each cheek; whisker marks identical to his. Naruto's smile grew as he heard her laughter down the hall.

"We do match!" she smiled, sitting back down next to him and kissing his cheek. "It looks wonderful."

"Well, now you look just like me, so of course," he bragged, grunting and grinning as she hit him playfully. When they began to settle down, he stood and turned off the lamp, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the living room. Kicking the supplies out of the way, he pulled her over with him into the mostly-intact pile of blankets and held her tight, burying his nose in her hair.

"We should act like kids more often," he mumbled before yawning. She inched closer and tugged a loose blanket over them, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"We should."

They had fallen asleep at 1:39 at night, cuddled in the middle of their nest of blankets, markers, and ramen cups.