Chapter 4: It's Late

Naruto was awakened by a moth that landed on his face. He flung it away and noticed a few moths flying around the light above him. He then looked down at Hinata and noticed she was still sleeping peacefully on his chest. Naruto then looked at the sky and noticed it was completely dark.

The stars caught his attention. He had never paid much attention to the night sky in the past, but he appreciated its beauty. Naruto continued to look around. He was surprised he hadn't seen anybody around this area disregarding the mysterious person they saw earlier; however, he was happy nobody came around to bother them. "It's quiet." Naruto thought. The only sounds present were the crickets chirping in the trees, and the buzzing that came from the light above the bench. Every now and then, a small cool breeze would come along. Naruto enjoyed the peace and quiet.

"Hinata." Naruto whispered. He placed his hand on her shoulder and felt it was warm. "Hinata wake up." He gave her a nudge.

She stirred. "Huh?"

"Let's get you home. It's starting to get chilly." He quietly said.

Hinata sat up and noticed the drop in temperature. She wiped her mouth and looked around. "Wow it's really dark." She said.

Naruto stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I think it's getting late, and I don't want your father to worry." He worriedly said as he picked up both of their jackets. He handed Hinata her jacket, and quickly put his on. She did the same as she stood up. Naruto took a deep breath and stretched again. He reached his hand out for Hinata's, and she took hold. They began walking.

"I wonder what time it is." Hinata said.

Naruto was wondering the same thing. "I don't know. It can't be too late." He hoped.

The two walked on into one of the main districts of the village and noticed the lack of people out on the street. Naruto looked around and saw most of the businesses were closed. Growing even more concerned, he ran and looked into a window to try to find the time. Surprised, he ran back, grabbed Hinata's hand, and walked at a fast pace.

"Come on Hinata we need to hurry." He said.

Hinata had a puzzled look. "Why Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

"It's 11:15 which is extremely late." He answered loudly.

"Huh?" She was indeed surprised, but she pulled Naruto to a stop. "Naruto-kun there's no need to hurry."

Naruto looked shocked. "Why not? Isn't your family going to be worried?"

She fidgeted with her fingers. "Well . . . um . . . they're probably all asleep." She said with a shy smile. She just wanted to spend as much time with Naruto as possible.

Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well if you say so." He said reassured as they began walking once more.

A moment of silence passed and Naruto tried to find a way to break it. After a few seconds, he smiled. "You know Hinata, growing up; I always thought you were kind of strange."

"Eh?" She yelped glancing up at Naruto. She then looked down with hurt feelings.

He glanced down at her. "I'm such an idiot. That probably wasn't the best thing to say." He thought while noticing the depressed look she had. He could feel his face getting hot. "Well what I mean by that is in the past, you would come near me and would always stutter when you tried talking to me, you would always blush, and I've even seen you faint a few times." He sighed. "But I was stupid then. It took me a very long time to really figure out why you would act like that around me." He reached around Hinata and pulled her against him. "I only wish I could have figured it out sooner. Because I believe you are really an amazing person."

Her face lightened up. "Thank you Naruto-kun. That means a lot to me."

Naruto felt relieved that he fixed the situation, but he meant every bit of what he said.

The couple walked in silence. Hinata began to think about how everything had gone today and started to wonder if Naruto really felt as strongly for her as she did for him. "He seems like he does." She thought. "But, if things seem too good to be true; then they usually are." She worriedly thought. "No, he feels equally as much for me as I do for him. I can tell by how he talked and acted toward me this evening." She reassured herself.

A few minutes pass, and the Hyuuga compound came into view.

"Well, we're almost there Hinata." Naruto said as they continued to walk closer.

"Naruto?" Hinata softly asked.

"Huh?" He said casually.

Hinata swallowed hard. "Um . . . do you really love me?"

"Of course I do Hinata."

She looked up at him. "Then I want to hear you say it."

"I don't have to." He said.

Hinata looked shocked. "Why not?" She asked.

"Because." Naruto said.

"I want to hear you say it in words."

"I can't." He softly said.

Hinata looked down and started to cry softly. "Then you don't love me."

The couple reached the gate to the Hyuuga compound.

"Why won't you tell me?" Hinata said while still crying.

Naruto looked down at her. "Do you really want to know?" He said.

Hinata looked up at him. "Y-yes." She hesitantly said.

Naruto hugged her gently, kissed the tip of her nose, and whispered in her ear. "Because three words are not enough. Words cannot explain the feelings I have for you."

To Be Continued . . .