(FINALLY) Here's the long awaited epilogue to this story that I'd been promising to write for awhile! I really enjoyed writing this and I feel like it wraps up the story pretty nicely. Thank you to everyone who's favorited and followed this story, and an even bigger thank you to the people who've left such nice reviews and took time to send me messages saying how much you're liked the story. You've all made this my most popular story on both here and Tumblr and I honestly couldn't be happier! :)

Naruto was convinced that he'd resigned himself to a life of cowardice.

Hinata Hyuga had an innate sort of ability to reduce him to a bumbling excuse of a man with only the briefest of looks, the smallest hint of a smile, or the lightest graze of her skin against his own. Somehow even saying her name still seemed foreign and exciting to him after so many months of referring to her with his lovingly bestowed nickname 'The Girl in the Elevator'. He didn't know at what point in their relationship he'd become such a stuttering, frightened mess. Maybe he'd developed a mild stutter that only seemed to arise every time she looked at him with those pearly eyes. More likely, it was because every time he looked at her he thought that she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

To be exact, however, it was because he was in love with her.

And it was precisely because he was in love with her that he'd found himself in the troublesome position he was in.

"Good morning, Naruto." Her tired greeting pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up to see her entering the living room with slow, drowsy steps. His brow, furrowed in concentration, immediately softened upon the sight of her and an amused smile tugged as his lips as she approached him wearily.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." He replied with a light chuckle as she all but fell against him with a sigh, balling his shirt into her hands as he wrapped his arms around her before placing a light kiss onto the top of her head.

She looked up at him, resting her chin against his chest and squeezing her eyes shut against the harshness of the overhead light, and he reminded himself for what must have been the millionth time of how lucky he was to be able to hold her in his arms.

"I heard you in here grumbling." She stepped away from him slowly, lifting a hand to rub one of her eyes as she slipped the other into his waiting one with a small squeeze. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" He replied far too quickly as evidenced by the way her eyes groggily focused on him with suspicion. "Just a little stressed out because of work and all, you know?"

"Mm." She stared at him for a moment before a yawn interrupted her thought process and any trickle of suspicion she felt dissipated. "Try not to stress out too much, okay? We'd better start getting ready for work; we don't want to be late."

She stood on the tips of her toes and planted a light kiss on his cheek, rubbing her hand up and down his arm with a sweet smile before exiting the living room and heading into the bathroom to take a shower. He sighed deeply, slumping back onto the couch as soon as he heard the bathroom door close, and running his hands over his face with a small groan.

Oh yes, he was truly a coward. Not even able to ask his girlfriend of 6 months if she wanted to move in together.

Naruto sighed once more, bringing his thumb to his mouth to lightly chew on his nail as he tried to calm some of the tension in his body that the mere thought of cohabitation instilled in him. He didn't know why, but he was downright terrified to ask Hinata to move in with him. Perhaps it was because he really was a coward like he believed himself to be, or maybe because he knew they hadn't been together for that long in the larger scheme of things and he wasn't really sure how she'd react, even though he'd felt that past few months with her were by far the best of his entire life.

After their whirlwind of a 'first' meeting all those months ago in his apartment they'd mutually decided to take things slow; get to know one another and catch up on all the lost time they'd spent ogling each other in the elevator without words. They'd gone on countless dates, spent as much time as they could with one another – hell, he'd even met her family! He spent as much time in her apartment as he did his own, if not more, so there was no logical reason he should be afraid to ask her to move in with him. Yet despite all the time that had passed, he still felt the same butterflies in his stomach as he did when he first saw her, still felt the same electricity run through his veins when he placed his lips against her own, and still felt the heat of his face when they finally pulled away from one another with hearts beating loudly in their chests.

He was in love with Hinata Hyuga.

Hinata Hyuga was in love with him.

And he was terrified that she wouldn't want to take the next step forward with him.

He knew the only person he had to blame for his insecurities was himself, yet he couldn't help but harbor animosity for the underlying cause of all of his problems: Sasuke Uchiha.

"I'm going to ask Sakura to move in with me." Sasuke said without looking up from the book in his hands, ignoring the way Naruto choked on his drink from his place beside the raven-haired man on the couch and looked at him with astonished eyes.

"Are you serious? That's great!" Naruto clapped his friend on the shoulder, noticing the hint of a satisfied smirk on his face. "It's about time you sacked up and took the next step with her."

"Tch, you sound pretty happy for someone who'll be homeless in a month." Sasuke scoffed, turning the page of his book as Naruto stared at him blankly, Sasuke's words resounding through his head as the cogs of his mind slowly turned.

"What the hell do you mean I'll be homeless? Wait – you're moving out!?" Naruto pulled the book from Sasuke's hands, causing him to tut in annoyance and focus his attention on the blonde with an annoyed glare.

"Did you think she'd be moving in here with me and you?"

"Well, maybe." Naruto retorted tentatively and his roommate rolled his eyes.

"We don't need a two bedroom apartment and her building is closer to our offices. Our lease expires next month anyway." Sasuke pulled his book back from Naruto's loose grasp as the blonde's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"But – what about me?! I can't live here on my own, the whole reason we moved in together was because it's cheaper that way!"

"Figure something out, it's not like I'm giving you a day's notice. I can't live here with you forever, idiot."

The memory alone brought a scowl to his face, Sasuke's smug expression making his fingers twitch with the urge to punch him and gave him the nagging suspicion that Sasuke enjoyed seeing him in pain. He'd sat in a slump the rest of the night, desperately trying to think of some way to stay in his apartment, or even convince Sasuke to let him stay and live there with him and Sakura. None of the alternatives he'd been able to think of were feasible or desirable in any way.

Except one.

It had come to him sometime after three in the morning as he sat on his bed with a bag of chips watching re-runs of old cartoons. He'd been shaking his head, discarding idea after idea until one bright light of hope shined through the cracks of his thoughts. He sat upright immediately, the crumbs that had accumulated onto his shirt spilling onto his bed without a second thought as he clapped his hands together enthusiastically. His idea was perfect, completely without flaw, entirely more desirable than third-wheeling with Sakura and Sasuke.

He'd move in with Hinata.

The idea had seemed simple enough in his mind; he'd casually bring up his expiring lease to Hinata over dinner one day and make the idea seem so enticing and desirable that there'd be no chance of her turning him down. And if that didn't work, he'd have to make himself sound just hopeless enough that'd she'd think moving in together was her idea instead of his own. He was utterly sure of its success.

Of course, as with all things, his plan didn't go so smoothly. And so days passed, a then a week, and another, and he was still no closer to asking Hinata to move in together.

"You ready to go?" She appeared from the other room as he sat at the kitchen counter, absent-mindedly chewing on his cereal.

"Mm, just a second." He smiled with a full mouth before standing and dropping the bowl in the sink. She approached him with a smile, hands lifted to her ear where she struggled to place an earring. Finally succeeding she huffed tiredly and placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them to relieve some of the tension he was sure she could sense in him even without knowing the cause. It amazed him how in such a short time she'd learned to read him like an open book.

"You look very handsome today." She said with a smile, her eyes glancing up and down his body and his heart skipped under her gaze.

"And you look beautiful, as always." She giggled as his lips pecked her nose quickly before he bent over and placed a deep kiss against her lips. She pulled away with a sigh, her hands on his shoulders moving up to move through his hair as she stared into his eyes.

"Let's get going so I can hurry and come back home to you." She ran her hand along his cheek before turning away and walking the short distance towards the door. He hesitated in the kitchen, staring after her as his heart thudded rapidly in his chest with the opportunity that had just presented itself before him.

'It's now or never.' He told himself as he watched her shrug the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "Hey, Hinata…"

"Hm?" She turned towards him with a slightly furrowed brow, eyes full of concern as her gaze settled upon his edgy, fidgeting stature.

"Well, it's just… I was just wondering…" He'd picked up her nervous habit at some point or another, because he felt an intense urge to poke his forefingers against one another.

"Yes?" She urged him to continue and took one step forward closer to him as her hand twitched, wanting nothing more than to reach out to him and entwine him within her fingers. He would never have another opportunity as perfect as this, her in front of him saying how she wished to come home to him. Home. To him. He could give her that opportunity – he wanted nothing more than to have her come home to him every single day for the rest of their lives.

If only he would open his damn mouth.

"…It's nothing." He sighed, quickly replacing the disappointed look on his face with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm just going to miss you today."

He'd known from the first time they spoke that he'd never be able to hide his true feelings from her (sometimes he entertained the idea of her mesmerizing, pearlescent eyes manifesting into some kind of psychic power). Even now she focused her eyes on him with an intensity that could burn him into nothing, searching the blues of his eyes for something he didn't know. Her eyes softened, seemingly satisfied with whatever she found within the depths of his mind, and she gave him a small, reassuring smile before taking his hand in her own and rubbing her thumb against back of his palm soothingly.

"Whatever it is, we can talk about when you're ready."

She was entirely too good for him.

He leaned down and enveloped her in a kiss that he hoped conveyed all the emotion she'd built in his chest, pulling away and laughing lightly as she wobbled in place with a dazed expression and rosy cheeks. Intertwining their fingers they settled into a comfortable silence, only interrupted by the clicking of her heels and the sound of his feet dragging against the carpet as they exited the apartment, made their way down the hallway, and pressed the button to call the elevator.

He peeked at her from the corner of his eye as she watched the needle slowly make it's way up to the eighth floor, her cheeks still flushed a light pink from his kiss and her hand tightly intertwined with his own. His arm tingled with the electricity her touch sent through him and he couldn't imagine months ago that he'd be in the position he was, with the same woman he'd been terrified of talking to right beside him. The longer he looked at her the more he tried to rationalize to himself why he wouldn't jump on the opportunity of asking her to move in with him, and as the seconds passed he failed to come up with any reason. He could open his mouth and ask her right now if he wanted to. No prior conversation leading up to it was needed, yet some deep set anxiety held his lips together.

The elevator rang and the two stepped inside, Naruto allowing her to step in before him with an exaggerated bow and received a giggle that satisfied him all too much. He wrapped her lips in a kiss the moment her fingers left the button for the ground floor, pecking her lips repeatedly as he tried to hold back his smile while she gripped his arms to stop herself from falling backwards. The elevator rang again too soon and the pair slowly began making their way outside where they'd part ways, Hinata smiling as she felt Naruto's hand tighten ever so slightly around her own. It made her heart skip knowing he dreaded parting from her as much as she did from him.

"I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner tonight?" He turned to her with a questioning brow, smiling as she nodded in response to his question.

"We haven't gone by Ichiraku's in awhile." She said after pausing to think for a few moments.

"Then it's a date." He grinned and she moved reluctantly to release his hand, only to stop as he tightened his around it suddenly. His brow furrowed and with focused eyes he looked at her assuredly. Her mouth opened to question him only to close again as she decided to let him talk on his own.

"I know you've noticed I've been acting really weird lately, and I can see that you're worried." He paused to give her an apologetic look and her eyes softened as she took a step closer towards him. "I promise what's been on my mind is nothing bad, I've just been too scared to talk to you about it."

"You know you can tell me anything." Her free hand moved up to cup his cheek reassuringly.

"I know I can, Hina. I promise you I'll talk to you about it tonight at dinner, okay?" He gave her an uncertain look, his chest sagging in relief as she responded to his question with a deep nod.

"Okay."

"Great. See you after work, princess." He grinned as her face flushed and she glanced around her quickly as though afraid someone had heard (which only made him want to tease her more). He was tempted to pull her into a deep kiss in front of all the pedestrians that morning, an open declaration of his love for her, but didn't want to push her too far so early in the day.

"See you after work." She repeated, her cheeks still flushed a pretty pink as she looked up at him with a smile before the two slowly parted ways. Naruto watched her walk away with a smile until she disappeared into the throng of sidewalk commuters before turning to begin his own walk to work.

He made it 3 blocks before he realized what he'd done.

"FUCK." Naruto exclaimed loudly, surprising the pedestrians around him who gave him strange and offended glances as he pulled at his hair. He look up and groaned at the sky, dragging his hands down his face as he quickened his pace towards his work building where he could lament his lack of forethought in the privacy of his own office.

He'd been planning on telling Hinata for over two weeks that he wanted to move in together, spent countless hours building up his courage only for it to fall flat when she looked at him with those curious, pearly eyes. He tried and tried and tried for days to just come out and ask her, failing each time, and now he'd gone and opened his big mouth and given himself mere hours to build up his courage and follow through on the plan he'd consistently failed with.

"Oh, good morning Narut- Okay, what the hell is wrong with you?" Ino greeted him with a smile as he entered her office, only to stop short as she watched him throw himself roughly into the seat in front of her and lay his head on her desk with a helpless groan.

"I'm such an idiot."

"Well I could have told you that, but what specifically have you done this time that's made you realize what we all have for years?" Ino paused in the middle of her typing to give him her attention, leaning against her desk and smiling innocently when he gave her an annoyed glare.

"It's about Hinata." He looked away with red cheeks as the blonde squealed, leaning forward even more on her desk.

"Tell me everything. Are you getting married? Holy shit, is she pregnant? Wait, wait, wait; you're not breaking up are you?"

"No, why would you even guess any of that!" Naruto interjected, cheeks flushing again at her train of thought and Ino pouted.

"Okay, then what's going on that's got you so upset so early in the morning?" She asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just, well…" He hesitated, trying to calm the fire he felt spreading across his face as she stared at him expectantly before sighing deeply. "I'm going to ask Hinata to move in with me."

He managed to cover his ears in time to spare his ear drums from the unexpectedly loud squeal of excitement Ino released as she spun around in her chair excitedly. She quickly placed her hands over her mouth to quiet herself, though her wide grin still spilled over the edges of her fingertips.

"I can't believe it! And to think that not too long ago you were silently crushing on each other in an elevator. I'm really happy for you, Naruto." Ino smiled, reaching across her desk and placing her hand over his own briefly as Naruto smiled bashfully.

"Thanks, but that's my whole problem. Now that Sasuke is moving in with Sakura I need to find a new place to stay, so obviously it makes sense to move in with Hinata right?"

"Of course, I'm sure Hinata would be completely thrilled for you to ask her." Ino shrugged as though it was the simplest thing in the world and Naruto pouted.

"How can you be so sure though? I mean, what if she thinks it's too soon, or that we're moving way too fast? What if I ask her, and it scares her off and she doesn't want to be with me anymore?" The more he talked, the further he slumped into his seat until he was staring up at the ceiling of Ino's office with a distraught expression.

"You seriously are an idiot." Ino's laughter burst through the air and Naruto couldn't help but feel offended that she was taking his problem so lightly.

"I'm completely serious!" He shouted back at her, and she waved him off dismissively as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ino apologized halfheartedly, lightly chuckling to herself as Naruto looked at her warily as though he expected another outburst.

"It's just - I've never dated a girl like Hinata, you know?" He continued once he was sure she wouldn't interrupt him. She quirked an eye at him with confusion and he looked away, occupying himself by picking at the pens on her desk. "She's perfect and definitely could find someone way better than me. Maybe it's too soon, but I know I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. I guess I'm just worried that if I try to push things too far and too fast that her feelings won't be the same as mine and she'll dump me."

"Alright Naruto, listen up because I'm not going to be saying this again." Ino sighed deeply before looking him full in the eyes with determination. "You're a great guy. You're funny, outgoing, good looking. I mean don't get me wrong, you're a complete idiot-"

"Thank you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Ino continued without pause.

"-But any girl would be lucky to be with you. If you can trust anyone's relationship advice you can trust mine, and I'm telling you that Hinata definitely feels the same way about you. So stop being a wimp and just ask her to move in with you already!"

"You're right!" Naruto nodded his head vigorously, slapping his hands onto her desk and pushing himself up. "I need to stop thinking about it so much and just ask her!"

"Yeah! Now get out of my office, you're distracting me from work." Ino shooed him away with a sly grin and Naruto rolled his eyes with a smile chuckle before turning away from her.

"Thanks Ino, I really owe you one." He grinned at her over his shoulder as he walked across her office towards the door feeling lighter than he had earlier.

Somehow hearing it from the mouth of someone else put the mess of insecurities in his mind into a clear and sudden perspective. This was Hinata he was talking about; amazing, wonderful Hinata. Even if she did think it was too soon, he knew that she loved him and wouldn't leave him for something so silly as asking her if she wanted to move in together. But if he really thought about it, things had been going so perfectly between them that he couldn't even find a reason that she would say no. Sure they'd been dating less than a year, but they were both adults capable of making their own decisions.

She knew that he loved her (he made it abundantly clear every chance he could), and he without a doubt knew that she loved him just as much.

All of his doubts and anxieties suddenly seemed so unfounded, and he found himself chuckling at his own irrationality as he reached for the handle to Ino's office, only to have the door come flying forward suddenly and hit him square in the face.

"Oh my goodness! Naruto, I'm so sorry!" An apologetic exclamation resonated in his ears as Naruto's hands flew to his nose.

"Hinata?!" Naruto exclaimed as his dazed eyes focused on the panicked woman standing in front of him, arms reached out hesitantly towards his face before she brought them back quickly to cover her mouth in surprise at her actions.

"Did I hurt you? I-I'm really sorry, I didn't expect you to be there." She placed a hand carefully on his shoulder and he tried his best not to grimace.

"I'm totally fine!" He managed a painful smile, not wanting to make her feel worse as his eyes squinted tightly and his nose rang out in pain. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Oh! Um..." She flushed deeply, seemingly having forgotten where she was as she looked behind him at Ino who was openly and unashamedly giving her full attention to their conversation. "I, um, wanted to talk to you about something."

"I actually have something I wanted to talk about with you too," he replied as he placed a hand gingerly on his nose, only to recoil as a stinging pain shot across his face.

"Naruto, your nose is bleeding!" Hinata's brow furrowed with concern as the blonde placed a hand on her shoulder, his grip tightening as he felt a warmth dripping lightly from his nose.

"Yeah, I think it might be broken." He grinned, less out of amusement from the situation than the fact that Hinata looked completely on the verge of fainting, her hand hovering over her mouth in horror as her eyes widened with concern for his well being.

"We need to get you to a doctor!" She lifted his hand from his nose, examining his injury briefly before taking his un-bloodied hand resolutely and attempting to pull him out the door.

"I really need to talk to you." He planted his feet firmly, amused at her vain attempts to move him.

"It can wait, you're bleeding so much!"

"Hinata, please."

"Naruto, that looks like it really hurts!"

"Hinata, move in with me."

He felt her hand immediately stiffen around his own, pausing in her efforts to pull him out of Ino's office as she whipped her head towards him suddenly. He met her gaze evenly with a smile, blue eyes staring unwavering into her surprised ones as her face fixed into a flurry of emotions.

"What did you...just say?" Her voice came out in almost a whisper, hesitant and apprehensive as she eyed his face for any hint of a joke he might have been playing on her.

"Hinata...I want you to move in with me." His fingers intertwined with her own as he repeated his statement unabashedly.

Somehow the flurry of butterflies he'd expected to feel in his stomach were replaced by a deep sense of ease, and the words rolled off his tongue smoothly. Whether it was the blood rushing through his nose making him dazed and lightheaded or because he'd truly abandoned his cowardice, he didn't know and it didn't matter.

All that mattered was the brightest smile he'd ever seen spread itself across her face, and the melodic laugh that burst from her mouth.

"Please tell me that's a yes." Naruto asked with a hesitant smile, and she could only nod as she placed her hands over her mouth in an attempt to quiet the stream of laughter erupting from her lips.

"It's definitely a yes, I'd love to move in with you!" She threw her arms around his neck, ignoring the blood trickling from his nose and the careful way he hugged her so as not to soil her dress. A clapping from behind them interrupted their embrace and the two turned to see Ino standing up, clapping carefully as she pointed her phone camera directly at them.

"That was fantastic, this is totally going on YouTube." She pointed a finger at her camera, looking between the two with a cheeky grin. With a chuckle she began frantically typing in her phone. "I've got to send this to Sakura, girl's gonna freak."

"Oh, speaking of Sakura that's why I'm here!" Hinata turned her attention back on Naruto suddenly, looking at up at him with realization.

"Oh yeah, what exactly are you doing here anyway?"

"Um, it's kind of a funny story." She laughed nervously, looking away from his questioning gaze. "I actually came to ask you to move in with me."

"You what?" He repeated with shock, trying to catch her gaze as her cheeks flushed and she stared fixedly away from him.

"Well Sakura told me today that she and Sasuke were moving in together in a couple weeks." She looked at him hesitantly, looking away quickly once again as she saw his eyes deeply focused on her face. "She'd thought she'd already mentioned it to me, but as soon as I realized that you'd be losing your roommate I came straight here to ask if you, you know...would want to move in together."

Naruto stared at her blankly before bursting into laughter, catching her shoulder for balance as he began to wobble. It had taken him over two weeks to build the courage to ask her to move in, while she needed only seconds.

To think his sweet, small Hinata was the brave one in their relationship.

"Naruto, are you okay?" She put his arm over her shoulder as he stumbled forward, his and Ino's laughter ringing through the air.

"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty lightheaded." He said between laughs, allowing her to lead him out of Ino's office.

"I'm taking you to the hospital right now. Just hold on to me, okay?" She said as he leaned his weight onto her, one hand holding his nose as the other rested comfortably across her shoulder.

She led him to the elevator, face heated as she tried to ignore the strange looks his coworkers were giving the pair of them, and Naruto decided that he was okay with being a coward if it meant her taking care of him like this every so often.

"Naruto, please let me help you."

"No, no, no. I've got it, you just sit down and relax."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at him playfully from her position on the couch, carefully eyeing the way the boxes in his arms wobbled dangerously. His eyes peeked over the top box as he carefully maneuvered his way through the cardboard mess that was her- no, their living room. After setting the boxes down with a huff he dusted his hands off, rubbing the beads of sweat from his forehead as he slowly walked towards her from across the room.

"I've only got a small cold, I'm not dying." Hinata laughed, taking her handkerchief and dabbing at her runny nose lightly.

"Either way I want you to take it easy, I've only a few more to go anyway. I didn't realize I had so much crap." He shrugged with a chuckle, taking the place beside her on the couch and enveloping her in his arms.

She sunk further into his chest with a comfortable sigh, enjoying the warmth of his arms around her and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"I could get used to this." She mumbled quietly.

"Good, because this is our life now." She looked up at him as he smiled down at her, and she shifted over to rest her chin on her hands as she stared at him fully.

"This is our life now." She repeated with a smile as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You know your things are still out in the hallway."

"Mmh, they can wait." He grumbled and she giggled as he leaned forward and kissed her, his arms tightening around her and pulling her closer.

And as she laid there with his heartbeat ringing in her ears, she felt at home.