Hey guys, Chelty-chan here! Yes, I am not dead actually. And I am not abandoning Fanfiction. I'm sorry I haven't been updating my stories, long story short. SCHOOL = EVIL = BUSY = ZOMBIE ME.

And on top of that, my laptop crashed and I lost ALL my documents, so I have to rewrite everything from scratch. IT. SUCKS.

I've been getting all these random NaruHina ideas all the time lately, so I thought, I'd just write one-shots whenever inspiration hits and get them out of my system and dump them here!... that way my ongoing stories aren't disturbed by new ones I can't keep up with!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Grr. Bummer.

Bold + italics = Hinata's thoughts.

This one-shot is dedicated to illi-chan (who I really, really, really hope will forgive me cause I'm really, really, really sorry for the lack of updates on my stories! GOMEN, GOMEN ILLI-CHAN!)

It's not much but well…it's something at least *sweat drop* sorrrryyyyy! I promise to update my other stories ASAP – Her Eyes Like Silver first!

X-X-X-X-X-X

"No." Hinata shook her head twice as she walked around her very frustrated friend, a very heavy boxful of kitchen utensils in her hands. "You know, while you're here, I'd really appreciate it if you actually helped me move into my apartment while you harass me."

"Oh come on! Please, Hinata?" Sakura begged, ignoring the plea completely as she trailed after her.

"Okay, didn't think so." Hinata grumbled as she set the box on the counter with a small grunt. "One more box." She continued to mumble as she made her way back outside, blatantly ignoring the pouting pinkette following her around.

Picking up the last, thankfully smaller and lighter box that carried all the appliance remotes, Hinata kicked the car door closed and made her last trip back indoors, a begging Sakura still at her heels.

"Do it as a favor for me? Pleeee-"

"I don't mean to be rude, Sakura," Hinata cut in with a sigh as she set the box down with all the others, "but how would me going on this arranged date be a favor to you?" she asked skeptically, a hand on her hip.

"Well, if all goes well -which I know it will," Sakura clapped gleefully, "then I won't feel as bad about always going on and on about my relationship's ups and downs to you, when you don't have a boyfriend. I'd like to at least return the favor sometimes," she added with a wry grin.

By that, Hinata could tell she was only joking, so she indulged her with a smile.

"I'm touched that you went through the trouble of setting me up on a date," the Hyuuga began. "Really, really I am!" She insisted, holding up a hand when the other opened her mouth to protest. "It's just…" Hinata sighed, deflating, "I am sorry, Sakura…but… I can't. You of all people should know and understand that."

And with that, Hinata plopped herself on the only piece of furniture in her empty living room - a two-seater sofa - by the window.

"Oh come on, Hina." Sakura frowned at her friend in disapproval. "It's been a whole three years!" she retorted, all playfulness gone from her voice. "You need to move on and start dating again." She added sternly. "This can't be healthy. You're like 21 now."

Hinata sighed when she noticed Sakura giving her the look. That look. That look of pity that she'd grown to despise so. It must have shown on her face because Sakura quickly flashed a reassuring smile instead.

"I know."

Hinata turned away from her completely to watch out the window. The sun had already set, and the young Hyuuga watched as the streetlights started to flicker on one at a time to illuminate the rapidly darkening night. She sighed, a feeling of melancholia washing over her at the realization that, just like that, yet another day had come to an end.

"Believe me… I know." She repeated in an almost-whisper.

She heard Sakura sigh behind her, but the pinkette didn't say anything else.

Hinata relished the silence for a few minutes, watching as a few of the last brown leaves fell from the tree outside her apartment window. Exhaling silently, she watched as her breath misted over the window, and mesmerized, she watched as it disappeared when she inhaled. The process repeated itself as she breathed in and out, and smiling faintly in amusement, she wondered why that was so fascinating to watch.

Fall was over and Winter had only just begun with the start of November, but before she blinked, Hinata knew it would be Christmas again. And then, she'd have to sit through another Family Christmas Dinner and smile. Smile at her brother, Neji, and his fiancée, Tenten, and her sister, Hanabi….and her Father.

And they're going to ask me that same old stupid question again. She thought darkly.

So, Hinata dear, when are we going to see you bring around a-

"Sooo," Sakura drawled, startling Hinata out of her dull thoughts, "you'll go…right?" the pinkette asked hopefully.

Hinata watched as the last leaf fell from the tree. "Yeah." She whispered, just as it landed on the grass. "I'll go."

Sakura's cheer was instantaneous. "Awesome!"

Hinata didn't need to turn around to know that she was grinning from ear to ear.

"So, I'll call him and let him know then!" the pinkette continued excitedly. "I'll let you know the details later, okay?"

Hinata sighed once more, Sakura's excited chatter dying out behind her as she fled out the apartment, no doubt to call him, leaving Hinata alone in silence among her unpacked boxes.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The days flew by with Hinata fully immersed in putting her apartment together, and with only Sakura and Ino coming and going on short visits she had little to no company, what with Kiba being out of town and Neji and Tenten being all too busy with their own lives.

In her more nostalgic moments, Hinata would often find herself wondering where the time had gone and how she and her friends had all grown up and found themselves too busy to spend time with each other. Everyone seemed too immersed in their own lives sometimes.

The week went by much too quickly for Hinata's liking before she knew it…it was Wednesday, and now here she sat in a cab, being driven to the designated meeting place.

This day she'd been both dreading and sort of looking forward to, feeling anxious and wary at the same time. Sakura had assured her that he was a nice person and that she trusted him…but all the same the Hyuuga felt uneasy. Because Sakura knew her inside out, she knew she wouldn't pick just anyone to set her up with, she could trust that, but…Still, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

To occupy herself, she absently started running her fingers through her hair as she mentally re-ran through the info of him Sakura had given her. She'd said she'd known him for years, having been at the same boarding school all through elementary and high school, except he lived at the other end of the country, which explained why Hinata had never met him before.

And that was it, Sakura had refused to tell her anymore, something about it being something she should ask him to make small talk on their date. Hinata chuckled lightly at the thought as she took out her PDA for the second time in five minutes.

Wednesday, November 3rd. Ichiraku café. 5PM.

She re-read the appointment, just to make sure she had the correct day, time and venue, each time fruitlessly wishing she'd gotten the date wrong.

If Hinata were to be honest with herself, she didn't even know why she'd agreed to go on this blind date in the first place.

… maybe it's because I've said no too many times already.

The thought didn't sound so far-fetched. It had sort of become routine whenever she spent time with any of the few friends she had, for someone to want to introduce her to their brother or their cousin or their friend's brother…etcetera etcetera.

Even Neji had tried once.

He'd turned 24 the previous year, and at his birthday dinner –(which had somehow transformed into an engagement dinner when he'd suddenly announced that he'd proposed to Tenten, not that anyone was surprised)– he'd tried to 'discreetly' and 'subtly' hint at the fact that Kiba was now single more than once throughout the night.

Tenten'd had the decency to look sheepish, since she was the only person, living or dead that was aware that there was once a time when Hinata'd had a crush on the Inuzuka. Kiba, being Kiba, had laughed it off…. thankfully. And while he was nice and all, that had been years ago, but now, he and Hinata, what they had was more of a brother-sister relationship type of thing.

Hinata didn't even want to think about the time Ino had tried, so she shifted her focus back to the PDA in her hand. She re-read the appointment for the bajillionth time, and then inhaled deeply after a peek out the window. The closer the cab got to its destination, the more difficult breathing was becoming it seemed.

She was starting to regret coming, convinced going was a bad idea.

"We're here. That will be 25.98."

The cab has arrived? Hinata blinked and looked outside, and sure enough, the vehicle had stopped moving.

"Uh…ma'am?" the driver called, hand outstretched.

"Oh…OH!" Hinata snapped to attention and yanked her purse open. "I'm so sorry! Here…and please keep the change."

"Why thank you, ma'am." He nodded and tipped his hat after accepting the proffered notes.

Well…he's awfully friendly and polite for a cab driver.

"Have a good evening, Miss Hyuuga." He said as she exited the cab. "It was an honor to serve you tonight."

Of course…now it makes sense. Hinata resisted the urge to roll her eyes, guessing that he must have recognized her because of her hair and eyes.

"Hai." she responded curtly. "You have a good evening too, Sir."

She slammed the door closed before he could hit her with anymore unnecessary compliments just because of who she was. Or more specifically, who her father was.

She was still standing on the pavement after he drove off, and when the street was quiet again, and the sound of screeching tires had receded, she turned around to face the café.

It was a quaint little establishment, with wide floor to ceiling windows for walls. Not very practical, but it gave it a more casual look, so Hinata supposed it was fine. It helped calm her some, as its appearance made the date seem more casual, and like less of the big deal Sakura had made of it.

A sign at the top read Ichiraku Café, with a picture of a smiling waitress holding a cup of coffee next to it. And looking inside through the glass, Hinata could see there seemed to be quite a number of people inside; A few couples, probably on dates, a couple of families, presumably out to dinner, and the odd solo person eating by their lonesome.

The whole picture gave the café a warm, cozy and homey feel, a thought that made her notice just how chilly it was outside, so she hurriedly made her way to the door. Her boots clicked as she walked across the cement pavement and she shivered when a particularly chilly wind blew past, glad that she'd worn a beanie and her favorite thick-wool scarf over her pea-coat as she walked to the door.

"Should have worn gloves too," she muttered under her breath when her bare hand touched the ice-cold doorknob, making her hate her nervousness for making her forget to don mittens.

The bell above the door dinged when she pushed it open.

Hinata hated these kinds of doors, because they alerted everyone in the café to the arrival of a person. Some people didn't look up when she entered but she knew others were staring. She busied herself with slowly unwinding the scarf from her neck and removing the beanie, while discreetly scanning the room for him, as well as trying to avoid the few curious stares. She was glad it was warm and toasty inside the café, she'd hate to have to remove her scarf and beanie if it were cold.

I don't see him. Hinata sighed, giving up after two quick sweeps of the diner.

She couldn't say she was surprised. She was used to arriving first. He used to be late all the time, so…she was used to it. It didn't bother her anymore, and when she'd first walked in, she'd expected that she'd arrive first so she couldn't say she was dissapoi-

Oh wait…. There he is.

Hinata swallowed, a quick once-over, her eyes not lingering more than was appropriate for a first meeting, she confirmed that he was in fact the one. He fit Sakura's description to a tee.

He noticed her just as she started the trek across the room, and stood to wave as she walked over, and as she wove her way around the tables, Hinata discreetly glanced at the huge analog clock above the counter, and immediately did a double-take.

It read 4:53 PM.

Huh? He was here…early?

"Hey! You made it!" he said cheerfully, when a still-stunned Hinata finally reached the table.

The first thing she noticed about him was the orange. Too much orange. He was wearing way too much orange, which she, as anyone would, found strange. But even stranger than that, Hinata knew right away that no other color would look as good on him.

"H-Hi," she managed, caught off guard by his cheer and bright grin….and orange jacket.

She swallowed a couple times to ease her suddenly dry throat, oh how the nerves were killing her. He pulled her chair out and helped her sit, pushing it in as she sat.

"T-Thank you," Hinata stuttered, caught off guard by the gesture. "A-and here I thought chivalry was dead." She joked, surprising herself.

Where did that come from?

He laughed. A loud, almost child-like sound. At first, Hinata thought he was just laughing to be polite, but then something in the ring of his laughter sounded honest so she managed to offer him a small smile in response.

She thought it was very chivalrous of him to help her sit, an action so casual but so rarely seen anymore that she couldn't help but feel flattered. But when she mentioned it, he just shrugged, the grin still etched on his face telling her that he didn't realize just how nice the gesture was.

"It's nothing really," he said, waving a hand, "my dad just taught me never to let a lady sit by herself as long as my arms are working properly." He accentuated this with a wave of his arms.

"H-he sounds like a wise m-man."

"Oh, he is." He assured with a solemn nod that didn't at all match the grin he was wearing.

A silence started to settle around them when Hinata found herself without anything else to say, and she was soon staring down at her hands, which were folded primly in her lap.

Ever the proper lady. She thought drearily, convinced the man sitting across from her had just doomed himself to the most boring and excruciatingly awkward date of his life.

Up till then, she had no idea how she'd been managing to keep up with the conversation. She risked a peek up at him through her lashes and bangs, only to quickly look away when she found him watching her patiently.

He looked amused and…and…he was still smiling for some unknown reason.

He…why is he still smiling?

Hinata found that a little unsettling. She wasn't usually around people much, but she was used to being on the receiving end of fake smiles and laughs because of her family name. So this smile she was receiving from this total stranger was definitely…unsettling.

But then…

Hinata twiddled her fingers in her lap and unconsciously started gnawing on her bottom lip.

…there's nothing fake about his smile. He's…smiling for real. It's almost as if…it's like… like he actually wants to be here.

Now that, Hinata thought, was odd. Normally you'd have to pay someone to want to be around a strange person like herself. She would know that because her Father and brother had done it before.

"H-have you been waiting long?" Hinata found herself asking when she couldn't stand the silence (and his staring) anymore. "I'm sorry if I made you wai-"

"Oh no, that's okay," he cut in, casually waving a hand, almost carelessly. "I was just here early, is all. This café is kind of like a second home to me, actually. I've been coming here since I was maybe eight or nine…hmm, maybe even before that, can't remember that far back, y'know?" He finished with a light chuckle.

The action made Hinata notice just how deep and rich his voice was. It sounded like it rumbled up from deep, way deep down inside his chest or something of that sort. And it had this hoarse quality to it she found way too nice to her ears than she was comfortable with.

Why she was even thinking of that, she had no idea.

She was about to respond when the waitress arrived with their menus. "It's true," she said off-handedly, startling Hinata when she realized that the brown-haired girl had been eavesdropping.

"He practically lives here and– wait a minute." She stopped abruptly and bent over, peering at Hinata's face closely.

Hinata started to think that maybe she'd recognized her and was about to start making a fuss –it had happened before– but she was surprised when she only pulled back with a frown.

"You're… pretty." She commented finally. "Actually, you're kinda..what's that word people don't use anymore?"

"Beautiful?" Her date tried.

"No, that's not it," the waitress shook her head, wagging a hand in his direction. She squinted for a few seconds as she thought, and then snapped her fingers as realization shone on her features. "Gorgeous!"

Hinata swallowed, practically feeling the blood creep up her neck to pool in her cheeks in a dark, crimson blush at the compliment.

"Yeah, that's the word…gorgeous," the waitress repeated in a lower tone.

Hinata squinted. The way she'd said it made it sound more like an accusation than a compliment. It's almost as if she's mad at me… for being pretty?

"Thanks…?" she tried uncertainly, unsure of the appropriate response, unconsciously leaning back in her chair when the waitress leaned over to peer at her face once more.

"Interesting eyes ya got there," she quipped. "Are you wearing some kind of special type of contacts or something?"

Hinata's date let out an exasperated sigh. "C'mon Ayame-chan, knock it off, you're scaring her." He scowled when a thought registered. "And that last question was rude. You should apologize."

"Oh shut up, Naruto!" the waitress snapped. "How dare you bring such a pretty girl here of all places?! I mean how cheap can you get?!"

Hinata's mouth fell open in silent surprise. Well, that was unexpected.

Aforementioned Naruto sweatdropped. "Um….your dad owns the place. You really shouldn't be saying that."

"That's not the point, retard!" she raged.

Hinata watched, awestruck as the waitress then launched into rant, something about Naruto being a cheapskate. Well, this date –that she'd only been on for a grand total of 11 minutes she might add– was very quickly spiraling out of control.

"Seriously, Naruto! You're supposed to be becoming wiser as you grow older!" Ayame snapped, and then reached out to pinch his ear.

"Itaiiiiii! Ayame-chaaaaan! Stoooop!" he wailed as his arms flailed about. "It hurrrrrts!"

Ayame ignored his complaints and continued to yell and pull on his ear. "When are you going to stop behaving like a dumb highschooler and grow up?!"

Hinata sweatdropped as she watched. It had been a while since she'd been in the dating circles, but she was pretty sure having the waitress maim your date wasn't something that was supposed to happen and was a definite cause for alarm. Even more alarming, no one else in the café found this even remotely disturbing, which led her to believe it was probably a regular occurrence.

The counter bell dinged.

"Ayame-chaaaan!" an elderly man called from behind the counter. "Orders 51 and 54 are ready! Please stop harassing Naruto and his date and serve them!" he requested in so pleasant a voice, Hinata found herself even more disturbed.

"Oh!" The waitress-named-Ayame abruptly let go of Naruto's ear. "Sorry dad! I'll be right there!" she dropped two menus on the table and then started to scurry off in the counter's direction, only to stop a few feet away to turn and glare at Naruto. "You…Behave." She warned dangerously.

Hinata was grateful for the distraction, but now the air around them had gotten awkward.

Naruto cleared his throat as he reached for a menu. "Sorry about that," he chuckled nervously. "Ayame-chan is always like that, hehe… scary isn't she?"

Hinata let out an uneasy chuckle as she nodded, unable to think f anything else to say.

"Oh!" Naruto dropped his menu. "How rude of me…Introductions! My name –as you may have heard already– is Naruto." He said as he extended a hand.

Stunned, Hinata gingerly took his proffered hand, only to have hers shaken with too much…er, vigor.

"H-Hinata," she introduced herself, bracing herself on the table's edge so she didn't fall out of her chair due to the vigorous handshake. "Hyuuga Hinata. N-nice to meet you."

Naruto paused his vigorous handshake to frown thoughtfully and Hinata wanted to smack herself.

Why did I just tell him my surname? He's going to freak out. Or worse.. run. Yeah. Run. Or maybe he'll just start looking at me funny, or maybe he-

"Huh… Hi-na-ta, ey?" Naruto pursed his lips after drawing her name out. "That's a nice name. Means what, sunlight, right?"

Still surprised, Hinata nodded meekly. "Uh, yeah…thank you."

After one last shake he released her hand and returned his attention to his menu, missing the stunned expression on the Hyuuga's face.

"So, what are you in the mood for tonight, Hinata-san?" he asked conversationally, still not noticing that said Hyuuga was now openly staring at him.

I can't believe he heard my surname… and made no comment on it.

"I tell you," Naruto continued, still scanning his menu, "you haven't lived if you've never had Teuchi-ojji-san's famous Miso Ramen." He lowered his menu to grin at her.

Hinata flinched when she realized he was expecting some sort of response. "O-oh…well I've never been here before actually, s-so I've never tried it befor-"

"WHAT?!"

Hinata nearly fell out of her chair at the vehemence of his reaction. Noticing, he immediately apologized for yelling, throwing a suspicious Ayame four tables away a sheepish grin to appease her, lest she come over and rip his ears off for his misconduct.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-san," he repeated, "it's just…I mean…seriously, you've never been here before?" he asked incredulously.

Hinata nodded once and Naruto looked horrified at her confirmation.

"So then…Th-that means…you've never had Miso Ramen from… h-here..?"

Hinata nodded again, uncertainly this time, not understanding why that information was so upsetting to the man sitting across from her, for he looked like she'd just said she'd never seen a rainbow before and lived in a world where every day was rainy and the sun never came out.

"We're changing that. Right. Now." he said seriously, determination setting in his features. "Ayame-chan!" he called, ignoring the irritated waves rolling off said waitress, "Please bring Hinata-san the best bowl of Miso Ramen Teauchi-ojji-san can cook up!"

Hinata couldn't help the amused giggle that escaped her lips.

"…what?" he asked curiously.

He was only perplexed further when the previously demure Hyuuga only proceeded to giggle some more.

"Hinata-san..?"

"Oh…well, it's nothing, really." She smiled.

At his still confused face, Hinata raised her menu, behind which she continued to silently giggle to herself.

X-X-X_X-X-X

After tasting said famous Miso Ramen, Hinata had to admit she'd never tasted any as delicious before. When she asked what the secret to it was, Naruto had said, with a straight face, that it was made with love, and she'd nearly choked on her noodles when she started chuckling again.

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

After their ramen bowls had been replaced by mugs of hot chocolate, Naruto had initiated the traditional first date small talk.

"So, how long have you been in Tokyo, Hinata-san?"

"Oh please, you don't have to add the honorific…it makes me feel old," Hinata said quietly, smiling into her cup.

"It does?" Naruto scratched his head, and then shrugged. "Okay then, if you say so. What about…hmm…Hinata-chan, then?"

Hinata's face was immediately on fire at the new suffix.

"Okay." Naruto nodded once. "I'll take that as a no."

"Uhm," Hinata chuckled. "Just Hinata is fine." She smiled when he seemed pleased. "I've been here only… about two years, I think." She added in answer to his question.

"That long and we've never met?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up. "I need to have a word with Sakura-chan." He added half-seriously.

Hinata shook her head lightly in mirth. "Oh no, it wasn't her fault, Sakura has invited me out to meet new people many times, it's just…" Hinata trailed off, eyes darting to the side, "…something else always came up." She finished lamely.

Yeah…wallowing in self-pity.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her pause but didn't comment on it, choosing instead to say, "Well, I'm glad we finally get to know each other, ne Hinata?"

Hinata nodded. "Definitely." She agreed, surprised at how much she meant it when she'd been so against this date in the first place.

"So…do you live here then…Naruto-san?" she asked quietly, as she wrapped her hands around her hot cup to steal some of its warmth for her cold hands.

"Ah, ah, ah." Naruto wagged a finger at her. "If I'm going to call you just 'Hinata', then you gotta call me 'Naruto'…just Naruto."

Hinata felt another small smile break out on her face, knowing the warmth she was feeling slowly spread, and the fluttering in her tummy had absolutely nothing to do with the warmth she was absorbing from her hot cup of chocolate.

"Of course…uhm…N-Naruto." She squeaked, cheeks coloring again.

She'd never addressed a male without adding an honorific at the end before. Not even Kiba. It's so strange, she mused, but… I like it.

"There ya go." Naruto grinned. "Relax, Hinata. You know, you really shouldn't be blushing at everything like that. I swear I've never met anyone as shy as you are."

He shook his head and started to shrug off his orange coat, oblivious to the fact that Hinata had gone deathly still. Because underneath the loud, orange jacket was a simple black Tee, and under that… well not so simple, extremely defined muscle from what she could discern. Feeling her cheeks color again, Hinata quickly averted her gaze.

Well, well, someone works out. A treacherous little voice in her head sang.

Horrified, Hinata picked up her cup in an effort to distract herself.

I mean would you look at those arms and that-

Left with no other option, Hinata shut her mind out and forced herself to focus on his face instead and nothing below his chin.

She, however, immediately regretted that decision when she met with the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life. EVER.

Oh sweet petunia! Them peepers could give Prince Eric a run for his money!

More than a little irritated by the annoying little voice –not only because it alarmed her that it would bring up her crush on Disney's Little Mermaid's prince but also because she found it disconcerting that she'd gone from dreading this date to ogling her date in the short time she'd spent in his company– Hinata swallowed thickly. She had to do something…she had to…

Oh great. He was still watching her patiently, almost as if he were privy to her internal war, amusement swimming clear in those blue eyes.

She felt a sudden fight-or-flight panic sensation overtake her. Warning bells were going off in her head, bells she knew she needed to heed, but then he spoke…

"It's kinda cute, actually, how shy you are." He said, almost as if it was an afterthought.

Hinata squeaked again at the blatant compliment, and attempted to hide behind her cup, only to drop it when she realized how silly she must have looked.

"See what I mean?" Naruto laughed. "I've never seen anything like it before and to be honest…" his chuckles died down and his eyes were nothing but plain honest when he looked back to her, "…it's pleasantly refreshing."

Hinata blinked once, and he grinned and shook his head with a chuckle, making her feel like she was missing something only he seemed to understand.

"I don't live here in Tokyo actually, I'm at school over in Kyoto at KU." Naruto said in answer to her question when he'd sobered. "I just come by often to visit my godfather."

"Your godfather?" Hinata queried.

"Yup, but I never call him that though," Naruto's grin turned mischievous.

"What do you call him then?" Hinata asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Pervy Sage."

"Really?" The questions continued to fly out of her mouth without her consent, and she wondered when she's suddenly become Curious George. "Why?"

"As the name implies, he's a perv," Naruto shrugged. "And he's really old, ancient, hence the Sage part."

Hinata chuckled lightly and shook her head. "Oh, he can't be that bad."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Naruto insisted seriously, so seriously Hinata's chuckles died instantly. "But, his name's actually Jiraiya though, and believe it or not, despite being an old perv, he's married. To this really awesome lady named-"

"Tsunade." Hinata cut in. "…right?"

"Uh…yeah." Naruto frowned. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, I didn't," Hinata shook her head after another sip of her drink. "It's just; we have a family friend by that name. She doesn't visit as often as she used to, but I remember she had a husband named Jiraiya, so when you mentioned him…I was just guessing." She finished with a shrug.

"Well, you guessed right." He snorted. "I can't believe you know Tsunade-baa-chan, small world, huh?"

"Yup, she's actually my godmother, if you can believe that."

"Huh." Naruto snorted. "A steadily shrinking small world."

"Mhm," Hinata chimed, nodding slowly. "Don't let her hear you calling her baa-chan, though," she warned. "She doesn't take kindly to people calling her 'granny' or anything old-related."

"Oh, I'm the only one that can get away with calling her that. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm kind of adorable." He cocked his head to the side, allowing a few blonde spikes to fall across his forehead as he threw her a lopsided grin.

Hinata felt her cheeks warm. Oh…I've noticed.

Hinata's cheeks darkened further at the traitorous thought, and she shook her head once, forcing herself to concentrate on what he was saying instead.

"- and then whenever I'd get in trouble, I'd just whip out one of these and she'd melt." He was explaining, finishing by demonstrating a very convincing lil' kitten pouty face.

"Ah, I see." Hinata nodded, chuckling. "She does like cats." She conceded.

He laughed again, and Hinata picked up her cup to smile into again, feeling that almost all the tension had all but ebbed away.

She had yet to notice that as the date progressed she'd been spending less and less time in her own head and more having an actual conversation with him outside of it.

And she wasn't stuttering as much… something else she had yet to notice.

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

"No way! No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "You like 'Myobouku Pals' too?!"

The huge analog clock above the counter now read 6:47 PM, indicating that Hinata and Naruto had been on their date close to two hours now, but neither seemed to notice the passage of time, chattering away like longtime friends, with Hinata being pleasantly surprised at how much fun she was having.

At his suggestion, the two were now snacking on some Dango sticks.

She now chuckled lightly and nodded once. "It was my favorite cartoon when I was a little girl. I'd watch it all the time with my brother and sister."

"Lucky!" Naruto pointed his sticky treat at himself. "I'm an only child."

Hinata smiled. "I'm guessing your parents must really spoil you then."

"Yup. That they do." He grinned. "Ne, ne…so who was your favourite character?"

Hinata swallowed the bite she'd been chewing and then tapped her now empty stick on her bottom lip in thought. "I think…Fukusaku."

"What?!" Naruto snorted. "The small old frog?"

"So w-what?" Hinata face flushed in unconscious embarrassment when he threw his head back in another child-like laugh.

"Hey, I thought he was cute!" she insisted, feeling the need to defend the small wise toad. "A-and wise!"

"Mhm." Naruto teased, still snickering.

Hinata's cheeks darkened at the smug smirk on the other's face and she pouted.

"Aw, come on Hinata," he continued to tease. "I wasn't trying to make to make fun of you or anything."

"Yeaaah. Right." She drawled, picking up another Dango stick. "Sure."

"Honest, I wasn't." he insisted, looking like he was trying to stifle his snickers.

Wow… I haven't felt this…normal…in years. Hinata hummed. That was true.

For years, she had felt like she had to stumble along behind and after everyone else in her life. Having been home-schooled until elementary school, she found herself growing into a socially awkward adolescent and establishing friendships or any sort of connection with others was something she'd found painfully hard when she'd finally been enrolled in a private school.

That was until she met the first person to befriend her, Kiba. With him came more acquaintances, amongst which she'd met Sakura, the closest person she had to a female best friend.

But now…

Hinata shook herself out of her thoughts when she realized that Naruto was still talking.

"…because Gamabunta was just so awesome you know?!" he was saying, excitement evident in his voice and on his face, "with his sour attitude and how huge he was, and the fact that he wore a kimono and had a pipe in his mouth only made him that much more awesome! I mean how many amphibians have you seen with a PIPE?!" He finished with a flourish of his arms.

"Not many." Hinata conceded, holding in her giggles at his childlikeness. "None actually." She added, making them both chuckle.

"Oh wait, that reminds me!" Naruto snapped his fingers and then reached into his pants' pocket. "Check it out!"

Hinata's startled gaze dropped to the small item that sat in his palm.

"Huh? Huh? What do you think?" he asked, eyes shining. "I call it Gama-chan." He added affectionately.

Hinata's gaze flicked up to his face and then fell to the small frog-shaped wallet in his hand, and then back to his face…and then back to the small wallet, and then back to his face…and then… her hand came up to stifle her giggles.

Naruto's cheeks coloured at her reaction, and as if realizing how silly it must have looked for a 23-year-old to whip out a frog-shaped child's wallet, he stuffed it back into his pocket. Sensing his mortification, Hinata waved a free hand as she giggled.

"I'm…sor-sorry, it's just..well, actually…I think it's..cute." she spluttered between giggles.

"Liar!"

Hinata erupted into another fit of giggles. "No…n-no really I-"

"Weeell…things seem to be going well, don't they?" a familiar voice teased from behind Hinata.

Startled, Hinata whirled around in her seat to find Sakura standing behind her with her boyfriend, a knowing smile adorning her face.

"S-Sakura…?" Mortified, Hinata wondered when and just how long she'd been standing there and just how much she'd heard.

"Mhmm," Sakura giggled, "you look like you're having fun, Hina." She teased.

"See? He didn't accidentally kill her by overfeeding her Ramen, let's go." Her boyfriend quipped.

"Oh come on, Sasuke-" Sakura started in reprimand, only to be interrupted by Naruto's affronted yell.

"BITE YOUR TONGUE, TEME! Ramen could never KILL!"

An awkward silence settled in the café as everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the blonde. The seconds ticked by but eventually, though, they returned to their own conversations and dinners.

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Tell that to the dog buried in your backyard, and the goldfish you flushed…this morning."

"W-what…?" Hinata squeaked, horrified.

"He killed them by overfeeding them ramen," Sasuke explained and then shrugged.

"N-No! Lies! They're all lies!" Naruto yelled, waving his arms around. "You gotta believe me Hinata!"

"Sasuke!" Sakura snapped and punched his arm. "That seriously wasn't funny!"

"What?" he intoned monotonously. "Hyuuga doesn't believe me…do you?" he asked her. "See, she doesn't." he told Sakura before Hinata had a chance to reply. "No harm, no foul." He shrugged.

"Uchiha-san, that really wasn't very nice of you." Hinata complained.

"No, it most definitely wasn't, Uchiha-san." Sakura added.

"What's with those tones of voice? What am I five?" Sasuke snarked. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry, happy?" he added when Sakura glared and Hinata shook her head at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phone!" Naruto talked over them all.

"What is it now, idiot?" Sasuke asked, not sounding particularly interested in what Naruto had to say.

"Teme knows Hinata?!" the blonde balked.

An awkward silence followed, only to be broken by Sasuke's flat "So?"

"Am I the only one that doesn't know her?" Naruto shot at Sakura.

Put on the spotlight, Sakura blanched. "Uhm…actually now that you mention it, of our circle of friends, you two are the only ones that haven't met each other before…weird huh?"

"Yeah. Shocking." Sasuke intoned, only to receive another painful looking whack to the shoulder.

"But seriously, whenever one of you was around for any get-together of any sort, then the other wouldn't be around for some strange reason." Sakura continued. "It's kinda romantic actually, like in those dumb soapies that make you want to scream and pull your hair out from frustration. The two star-crossed lovers are kept apart for years by circumstances beyond their control until one night fate was kind…and they finally met. Except, usually in those soapies, the girl is in a comma and the guy supposedly died in a plane crash and then later on the girl falls in love with his twin brother, and then in the season finale, the first guy comes back cause he had been alive all along, and the girl is now stuck in dilemma, forced to choose and decide who she loves more between the two brothers!"

When Sakura finished her short monologue, she was met with three blank looks.

"Never mind that, we should be going, Sasuke," she said hurriedly, grabbing the other's arm.

"Oh no, please tell us more about the soapies instead," Sasuke snorted. "We find it so fascinating."

"Yeah, we find it just riveting, y'know?" Naruto chimed. "Don't we, Hinata?"

"Enthralling." Hinata beamed at her irritated friend.

"Jerks." Sakura shot back half-heartedly.

She couldn't bring herself to be truly mad, too relieved to see her friend actually having a good time. Grabbing an armful of Sasuke, she turned to Hinata and Naruto with a smile. "Glad you two are having fun but we gotta run if we wanna catch our movie, we'll see you later okay! Bye!"

A second later they were gone, leaving Naruto and Hinata to stare at the door the couple had just disappeared through whilst blinking in sync.

"So…" Hinata started.

"…that just happened." Naruto finished for her. "Yes."

They glanced at each other and then started laughing.

Laughing.

Something Hinata hadn't done much of in the preceding years, but couldn't seem to stop doing in just the few hours that she'd known him. And as the evening stretched on, and she got to know him a little more, learnt about his hopes and his dreams, and his family and his hometown, learnt of the adventures he'd had while she'd led a sheltered life, Hinata found herself laughing more than she could remember ever doing in her life.

And so the pattern continued, with them meeting there at the cafe the following Wednesday, and the one after that, and the next...

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

I'd spent the last three years…thinking that all love ever does…is break…burn…and end.

But on that Wednesday…in that café….I think I watched it Begin Again.

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

So…how was it? I've been fiddling with it for months now. Too long, boring, too detailed, unbelievable, too cliché, too sappy? Pathetic compared to the previous one? Let me know, please! It was not supposed to end there but it was getting too long so I cut it short.

I know the ending sucks (cos it kinda doesn't make sense) I'll give you part II if you ask for it! or another oneshot, IDK...leave a prompt please. anything, a word, a phrase, whatever floats your boat! ;)

-Peace, Chelty-chan.