DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

WARNING: The only thingI have to warn you aboutin this fic is that it's sweet -- quite possibly the sweetest thing I've ever written. And cute. > What is this world coming to?

A/N: Hello again! Once more, I'm going in a different direction than usual with my Hammered fics. And this is super short -- the shortest thing I've posted so far. I hope you enjoy:)

THE OBJECT OF BEAUTY

It was just a kiss – a small brush of the lips. But it changed his whole perspective.

It wasn't just that she was shy. It wasn't just that she was the Hyuuga heiress. It wasn't even because she had liked him for so long. No, it was something much deeper, something that had developed without either of them knowing it.

Others, it seemed, had long since known. She stuttered in his presence – well, more so than usual. She always praised him, even when he was being an idiot. She could never look him in the eye, and blushed every time she saw him – or thought of him, really. It had been so obvious to outside observers, so why hadn't they themselves noticed it?

Maybe it was because they weren't looking for it, or they were looking too hard. Whatever it was, they ignored it, embraced it, pushed it away, but it never left. The only defense it seemed to have was to grow, so grow it did. It grew until it blossomed into something neither could control.

And after seeming to hit his head hard enough, he saw what everyone else did. Only it was different. She was no longer that shy, weak little girl. She was no longer lacking in anything anyone else had always had. But, for the first time since he had seen her, he saw that she had never been that girl everyone thought she was.

She had always been so bright, and the power that flowed throughout her was something by which to be mesmerized and transfixed. Her shyness and stutter had seemed a weakness, but it was a guard. Who would want to hurt an innocent child such as her, despite her name? And her blush – the way her face flamed, the way she bit her bottom lip or the inside of her cheek – was so captivating and enthralling he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

He wasn't expecting her to be so nervous and tense, so when he was behind her, and tapped her shoulder ever so lightly, he forgot how close he was to her, how small the space between them was.

She had whirled around, pale eyes wide, a light crimson hue dusting across the bridge of her nose at the unexpected contact of his lips on hers. He was shocked and surprised, too, however, face mirroring Hinata's.

Abruptly and swiftly, she pulled away, eyes averted and ready to apologize. But Naruto wasn't mad, or even partly angry with her.

In fact, that widening smile made her want to laugh herself, especially when he reached up to scratch behind his head, seeming embarrassed as she was.

It was that day he decided it. It was that day, when he saw Hinata for who she truly was, that he wanted to say it. And in silent words, and a mere mistake of proximity, he had.

Hinata was the object of beauty, and now she was his.

A/N: Again, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, and I'm sorry about the shortness. The good new is that I have no random thoughts to share with you today! Yay! ;)

Please review!

Thank you!