Hello everyone, this is a slight plot bunny that just wouldn't leave my mind so I had to get it out. I apologize for any grammar errors I wrote this quickly, my reviewer/editor Roamer79 is at work and I don't feel like waiting till tomorrow afternoon to get this posted.

I hope you all like it, it's only my second fiction and this more of a short story than a fic on the same level as my first one Out of the Dark. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.

~ Oct. 17, 2012~ I felt the need to add a little note about this story. You may not believe it (or maybe you will) this was a songfic, inspired by the song "Stay a While" by Ryan Star. It's an awesome song and one night while listening to it images of the story just started flowing through my head and I had to write it all out. Personally, I think this is how songfics should be done, not with the lyrics interjected into a story. Instead I think it should be a story inspired by the lyrics but not using them to bulk up the word count. I'm grateful for everyone who gives this story a read and reviews, follows or favs it. Thank you.

They'd begun spending a large amount of time together after the battle with Pain, typically on missions. The reconstruction of the village had forced them to work together on various projects as well. At first she'd been nervous over being around him after confessing her feelings, terrified he'd reject her. Instead it appeared he chose to ignore her confession altogether, acting as though it hadn't happened and nothing had changed between them. It had broken her heart but she was willing to put on a smile to hide the ache in her chest as long as she could be his friend. A tough decision for her to make but she chose to be his friend rather than have no part in his life. She'd failed to notice that it was his choice to be around her more and more after missions or when they took breaks from assisting in the reconstruction.

Sitting near the waterfall where he'd conducted training with Kakashi and Yamato, he gazed over to the girl sitting next to him. It'd been a long day full of hard work and while the areas of the village that hadn't been reconstructed yet could be disheartening, there was always hope when one looked to the newly finished buildings. He hadn't forgotten her confession of love; he simply didn't know how to respond to it. Naruto was used to Sakura's reactions towards his declarations and attempts at affection. For a girl to stand up for him, defend him, claim she loved him and nearly die for him it was something he had no idea what to do with.

He'd never considered she could have feelings for him and now that he knew, it astounded him that someone as kind as her could feel so strongly for him. He'd always found her to be pretty but lately as he spent more time around her, he realized she was truly a beautiful person inside and out.

Hinata stood and began to dust off her clothes, "Na-Naruto-kun, I should be going it's getting late and there's still much to be done tomorrow."

Naruto smiled slightly her stutter was so cute to him now and it had begun to disappear as they spent more time together, though every so often he would catch her stuttering. He wasn't quite ready to say good night to her, he truly enjoyed being around her. There was something about Hinata that simultaneously calmed and intrigued him.

"Stay."

Hinata's eyes widened as her cheeks flushed a pretty pink to match the color of the sky as the sun began its decent. "Wh-what?"

He cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward and hoping he too wasn't blushing, he rubbed the back of his head. "A while. Stay a while, please."

"Um, okay," she smiled slightly before sitting back down.

He found himself confused, unsure why he'd asked her to stay. He had no idea what to do now that she had resumed sitting next to him with her back against the tree and her knees drawn up to her chest. He struggled within his mind to think of something to say, although he admitted the quiet comfort of just sitting next to her was nice.

Hinata asked him about his training trying to find a common ground they could discuss and his enthusiasm for the subject was evident. He told her of the trials of learning how to be a toad sage, which led to him discussing the loss of Jiraiya. She stayed mostly silent simply listening allowing him to express what was on his mind and in his heart. She was secretly thrilled that he felt comfortable enough to discuss such personal issues with her.

Neither of them seemed to notice the setting sun or the heat of the day turning to a slight chill as the sun vanished. The only sign given towards the change was Hinata scooting closer to Naruto subconsciously as she began to feel cold. Every time she mentioned returning to her clan's camp, he would ask her, "Stay a while more." Unable to deny him she would do just as he asked, despite becoming increasingly tired.

Naruto had been quiet for a while just looking at the stars unaware of how late it was, when Hinata's head fell onto his shoulder. His eyes bulged slightly in surprise as he felt his face heat as he gazed down at her. She was asleep, her breathing steady and her lips slightly parted. Gazing at her he felt an emotion stirring in his chest but couldn't find the words to describe exactly what it was. He didn't think she appeared comfortable so he reached out and gently pulled her closer as she curled into his side with her arms tucked close to her chest against him.

He was unsure of what else to do, but he knew he didn't want to disturb the sleeping angel that was Hinata. He heard shouts in the distance of her name and knew their time together was over for the night as he assumed her clan had begun to search for her. Pulling her into his arms he stood and carried her back towards the camp her clan had set up.

Hinata jerked awake to see sunlight streaming into her tent. How did I get back? Was I so tired last night I don't even remember saying goodnight to Naruto or making the trek back to camp? She found that she hadn't changed into her bedclothes though she no longer wore her jacket or sandals. Shrugging she stood to wash up before getting dressed again. As she was zipping up her jacket her little sister Hanabi entered the tent.

"It's about time you woke up sleepy head. You were out so late last night I thought you'd sleep till the sun went down again," Hanabi chuckled as she picked on her sister.

Gazing down Hinata felt embarrassed for oversleeping, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep."

"It's alright, you didn't sleep too long. You must've been really tired Naruto had to carry you back to camp last night, he said you fell asleep after working late on a reconstruction project."

Hinata's face turned bright pink, "H-he carried me back?"

Hanabi simply nodded in answer, before turning to leave the tent unaware of the turmoil she'd caused within her older sister.

Hinata's heart was racing and her face was heating in her embarrassment over falling asleep while talking to Naruto. I'm such an idiot, oh he'll never want to just sit and talk to me now. He'll think I found him boring and that's why I fell asleep. Hinata worried over this as she went about her chores within the camp, eventually allowing the daily routine to distract her from her worries.

As she left the camp to see what projects may need her assistance she halted as she saw a smiling Naruto running towards her.

"Hey Hinata, hope you're well rested we've been given a mission to Sunagakure for some more supplies. You should get your stuff so we can head out."

She was taken aback but quickly grasped onto the important detail that they had a mission. "Okay, give me just a minute."

Two years later

The reconstruction of Konohagakure was nearly complete and Naruto sat in his new apartment thinking over the last two years. Today was the anniversary of Pain's attack upon the village and he sat thinking over everything that had occurred that day two years ago including the confession of love from his best friend. He smiled thinking of her and how close they'd grown in the last two years. They were nearly inseparable as all of their free time was spent in the company of one another. He told her everything and though he felt she held some things back from him, he knew more about her than anyone else in the village.

He enjoyed being around her so much that he always asked her to stay a while when she knew it was nearing the time for her to leave. She would laugh at his request and acquiesce a little longer; sometimes she would fall asleep as she'd done that first night. It was these times that he absolutely loved, for he could hold her without guarding his emotions from her too observant nature.

He knew even without her admitting it that his refusal to acknowledge her confession two years ago had hurt her greatly. So now he hid his own strong emotions for her, determined to maintain their friendship for he truly felt that was all they could ever have after his neglect of her emotions before.

He sat upon his bed pondering all of this when he heard a tap on his window and smiled, Hinata had arrived. Rising he pushed open the window to allow her entry, he was surprised to see her carrying a travel pack. She'd only just returned from a mission the day before.

"Naruto, Tsunade-sama wishes to see us in her office in twenty minutes we have a mission."

Nothing about this mission had gone right. They'd been misinformed that they would be dealing with a group of bandits. Instead they were facing off against a group of missing-nin from various nations who had managed to separate Naruto, Hinata and Shino in an attempt to divide and conquer.

Naruto was easily plowing through the ones attacking him and was about to turn to assist his team when he heard a pain filled scream from Hinata. He quickly finished the last of his attackers to turn and find Hinata on the ground laying curled on her side. Rushing to her he rolled her to her back horrified at the sight of a large, gaping wound in her stomach. He was oblivious to their surroundings as he looked into Hinata's terror and pain filled eyes. Her face had gone pale and her breath came in short pants. He ripped off his jacket to cover her wound and attempted to reassure her with a half-hearted smile as tears filled his eyes.

"It's not that bad Hinata, we're going to get you patched up in no time. Hey, what do you want to eat when we get back to the village ramen or barbecue?" He was willing to babble on about anything at that moment just to keep her attention on him and not on the pain he knew she was feeling. He hoped that Shino was able to handle the rest of the missing-nin because he would not be leaving her side.

Blood began to come out of her mouth with each pant and she tried to say his name as she reached for his arm. "Hinata its okay," he continued to babble but as he saw the light in her eyes begin to dim he felt his heart stop. "No, No Hinata!"

His hands stopped applying pressure to her abdomen to grip both sides of her face and give a slight shake. "Hey, hey look at me."

When her eyes met his he smiled, "Stay a while, okay? Just stay a while longer."

But her eyes closed.

Okay I'm going to go run and hide from those who are going to threaten my life now, *ducking and covering* please no flames.