Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Me no own. You no sue.
A/N: I can't believe I'm writing fluff. Disgraceful, I know. It's really short though; written in under an hour. I just wanted to get it out of my way and post it. So, here it is. I'm neutral on this one. Don't like it, don't hate it. But I hope you'll enjoy it.
Blush
Hinata was, according to him, the strangest person he had ever known. Not strange in a bad way, but more strange in the way that he could never seem to figure her out. It was…curious to say the least.
She stutters. Perhaps she was one of those people who were born with the habit. It was too bad, really, because he liked her voice better when she didn't stutter.
She twiddles her fingers. Maybe she was one of those fidgety people…?
She never makes eye contact. It's probably something to do with those Hyuuga eyes of hers, although…now that he thought about it, Neji makes eye contact…the glaring kind too. Huh. Strange.
But the thing that made Naruto wonder most was the fact that she blushes every time she sees him. He just didn't get it. He had pondered many a reason as to why his presence could induce such a reaction, and his top three reasons were:
One; he scares her. To be frank, Naruto didn't think himself as scary, hell, he couldn't be even if he wanted to. But then again, Hinata was a strange sort of person. Maybe it was the uncombed hair. Maybe it was the whisker marks. Or maybe it was the orange jumpsuit. Sakura had once told him that it "frighteningly clashed with his hair". …Whatever that meant.
Two; he embarrasses her. But how the hell would he do that? If waving and calling out "hello!" was embarrassing, then half the population of Konoha would be blushing. Maybe it was a particular way he greets her…? He didn't think he greets her any differently than he does the others though… (Sasuke's special greeting of "Oi! Teme!" doesn't really count.)
Three; she's embarrassed for him. It's plausible. He'd be the first one to admit that he isn't one to be vain about his appearance. More than once or twice Sakura or Kakashi had told him he had something in his teeth, or that there was toothpaste smeared on the side of his mouth. Now he was becoming paranoid. Was it his hair? It must be. He never combs the messy mop of blonde that he proudly calls hair, and compared to Hinata's… Well, he decided, it's definitely the hair.
And so, today, a bright, sunny, cheerful morning, Naruto combed his hair. And the result wasn't too bad either, if he may say so himself. Maybe he should do it more often. On the other hand… Nah, 5 minutes was a lot of effort.
As he walked to his team's usual rendezvous spot, he saw Hinata. Naturally, he called out to her.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan!"
He didn't expect the blush.
"Uh, g-good morning to you too, N-Naruto-kun."
He was confounded. But I brushed my hair!
The rest of his journey was spent in thoughtful pondering, and thus, when he arrived at his destination, Sakura looked at him strangely.
"Naruto, are you thinking?"
He blinked. "Huh?"
"As if the dobe could think."
"Hey!" He was about to start a whole fight with Sasuke, but then the thoughts of Hinata and the utter confusion that came with it invaded his mind. He turned to Sakura.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, you're a girl aren't you?"
She rolled his eyes at him. "Obviously."
"Then…" And he related his story to her.
As soon as he finished his narration, Sakura bonked him on the head.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he said, giving her his irresistibly cute I'm-a-puppy-and-you-just-kicked-me looks.
She sighed. "Naruto," she began, "have you ever considered the fact that she likes you?"
Blink once.
Blink twice.
"What?"
She proceeded to bonk him again before elaborating. This time, he blushed.
"Eh? You think so? Really?" He looked at Sasuke to confirm Sakura's words. Said teme just rolled his eyes. "Oh."
A pause.
"Sakura-chan?"
"What now?"
"What do I do?"
She bonked him a third time in the space of 7 minutes. "Do you like her?"
"Eh? I don't know! I like Sakura-chan, but I don't know Hinata-chan as well as I do you, so I can't really say!"
Sakura's eyes gleamed evilly. "Then get off my back and ask her out instead!"
"You think she'd say yes?"
Another bonking. He could feel a lump coming.
"But how can I tell? I mean, half the time I tried talking to her all she does is blush and mutter something I can't hear!"
Sakura actually smiled at him this time. "Oh, you'd know."
"Neh, Hinata-chan, what are you doing after training today?"
Casual conversation starter.
"A-Ah, n-nothing I guess."
Innocent answer.
"Then will you come and eat ramen with me?"
Actually nervous anticipation.
"A-Ah…!"
Inaudible stuttering.
…But the expression on her face told him the answer he wanted to hear; she was blushing.
A/N: Ah, Naruto is one happy guy. And I'd be a just-as-happy girl if you click that 'Go' button that is beckoning to you and review. Listen to its cries! You know you want to review. So, please review. Constructive criticism? All the better. Cheers.