Work Text:
Aside from studying, aside from people who abandoned their friends, the only other thing Naruto hated was dancing. With dancing, it wasn’t the crazy, freestyle type he hated; it was the slow, formal type. The romantic type. And if there was anything Hinata knew about him, it was that he couldn’t be romantic even if it were to save his life. But because she had faith in him, because she didn’t want to go to the Konoha Dance alone, she took the risk of asking him. Among the smell of ramen and Char Siu, she popped the question.
“Would you want to go to the dance, Naruto-kun?”
He hesitated. He wanted to be honest with her—he knew he should be honest with her. But his pride refused to let him tell her he couldn’t dance. “S-sure! Why not? I’ll even wear the cologne you got me.”
Her eyes widened; she seemed to be surprised he said yes. And she was, but it was an elated surprise that filled her face. She took his hands, smiling brightly. Naruto couldn’t rob that expression of anything it deserved. “I’m so happy,” she said, and he knew he had to come up with a plan. In four days.
Immediately after their lunch, he ran off to seek the help of someone who, from his point of view, knew everything there was to know about romance. Once he saw her in the flower shop, he wasted no time in bowing his head and exclaiming, “Teach me how to slow dance! Please, Ino!”
Ino turned to him, confused at first, then understanding. She laughed. “Hinata cornered you, huh?”
“It’s not funny!”
“But it is!” After her laughter calmed, she asked, “Did you not ask Sakura? Why me?”
“...I feel like if I get something wrong as she’s teaching me, she’ll hit me.”
“That’s...probably true. Okay. I’ll help you out.”
Naruto’s head shot up. “Really? Than—”
“On one condition.”
There it was. The condition. “What is it?”
“Ask Sai why he won’t...kiss me.”
“What? Ask him yourself! Better yet, kiss him yourself.”
In that instant, Naruto saw Sakura reflected in Ino’s glare. She cracked her knuckles, inching forward. “Naruto...”
Fearing that what would happen with Ino was going to be even a fraction of what happened with Sakura, Naruto quickly changed his attitude. “I take it back! I’ll ask!”
As if it were never there, Ino’s threatening aura reverted to normal. “Good. You’re lucky my shift is over. We can practice in the back room after we clear out the boxes.”
About an hour later, in the empty room, Naruto and Ino stood, facing each other. The two had taken off their shoes. Ino folded her arms and cocked her head down, letting her blonde hair fall over her eye. She was thinking. “Okay. Let’s start. Lesson one: Cramming the basics into your thick skull.”
“W-what?” Naruto would learn this in a few minutes: things that sounded easy were never, ever going to be so simple. And that the only easy thing in this world was preparing cup ramen.
Four days later, Naruto was semi-ready. He was ready in spirit, not technique. He made sure to bathe and to use the cologne Hinata had bought for him last month for his birthday. He was anticipating seeing her, talking with her, bringing her Ino’s flowers, holding her. Just as he was thinking about these things, however, he heard a knock on his door. He opened his door and made an unwelcoming expression obvious enough to bring a laugh out of Kakashi.
“Oh, Naruto. You’re up early. I see you’re happy to see me.”
“It’s mid-afternoon, Sensei.”
“Exactly my point.”
He sighed, “This better not be what I think it is.”
“If you’re referring to a mission, then yes.”
Naruto’s head shot up. “Don’t you know what today is?! Do you want me to leave Hinata alone?”
Kakashi looked at him with strong eyes. An unwavering decision. “Naruto. You should really listen to people all the way through. Since this mission requires a shinobi of your caliber, I can’t have you not go. But it’s simple enough that you’ll be back in time for the dance.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Since this is pretty last minute.” Kakashi then explained to Naruto that his mission involved searching for an extremely rare flower, gekka bijin (the queen of the night flower, though it translates to “beautiful woman under the moon”). He explained that he needed it as soon as possible, since it was to give to someone. “You’re the only one I can ask, Naruto. Shizune is setting up the dance and my men are on separate missions.”
Kakashi must have known that his student could never reject something from him, especially when he was trusting in him. It was crafty. Sly. It was almost evil. It always worked. “Alright, alright. The flower was seen somewhere around the outskirts of the village, right? Piece of cake...” He trailed off, remembering Ino’s dance lessons.
Kakashi handed him a picture of the flower. “Thanks, Naruto. You should head out right away. I’ll tell Hinata where you are.”
She would never say such a thing aloud, but somewhere inside her heart, Hinata was expecting something to go wrong. As she listened to Kakashi inform her of Naruto’s whereabouts, she realized that she was hardly surprised. After a dreadful minute of silence from both parties, she finally spoke. “So, is he even coming to the dance?”
Kakashi sensed her slight agitation, but also sensed that the dance meant more to her than he’d assumed. He almost regretted sending Naruto away. “He’ll be there. I promise.”
She lifted her head, showing a soft smile. “I’ll wait for him.”
Hours later, the dance began. She saw couples arriving together. Her friends, people she only knew by face. She’d decided to wait for Naruto at the party rather than at her house, but seeing everyone there with someone by their side was more disheartening than she thought it’d be. Even so, she waited.
Right before Naruto departed, he ran into Sai. He found the perfect opportunity to ask him about Ino. “Sai!” he exclaimed. The pale man with a colorful heart turned to face him. His hair was styled differently, clearly for the dance.
“Naruto? What’s up?”
“Really quickly, because I’m in a rush, I have a question to ask you about Ino.”
“Ino? Why?”
“Well, she wants to know why you won’t kiss her.” Naruto realized too late that he wasn’t supposed to say, “she wants to know.”
Sai, turning slightly pink, looked around them before answering. “I can’t believe she told you that!”
“Yeah, well, it’s a long story...”
“Listen, Naruto. Don’t repeat this to anyone. I...don’t know how to kiss.”
“What? Just do it! You go with the flow. I can’t believe this. You helped me on my first date with Hinata. Seriously, both you and her, telling me these things...”
Coming to some sort of resolve, Sai smiles. “Naruto. Thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah. I have to go. See ya later.”
Naruto ran. As he ran, he did some thinking. At first, he thought about how upset Hinata would be at his arriving late, but she’d hide these feelings behind a smile. To not make him feel guilty. She always thought of herself after him. In his eyes, everything he’s ever done for her paled in comparison.
Then, he thought about why in the world Kakashi needed the gekka bijin. He recalled that he needed to give it to someone. He recalled the meaning of its name. He smiled, realizing that there existed only one person that flower could be for. You really ought to do these things yourself, Sensei, he thought.
It took him the entire night. It was almost morning. He would have been ecstatic to have found two of the flowers if not for the fact that he knew he was keeping Hinata waiting. He ran back, under the moonlight, with the flowers in hand. His first stop was Kakashi’s office. He, void of words, carefully placed the flower in Kakashi’s hands. The latter was at first dumbfounded, but Naruto was pleased enough as he saw the shock turn into a smile.
“Thank you, Naruto. I’m giving you a bonus for sure,” said his teacher.
“No kidding. It’s your anniversary, right? That’s why you wanted the flower tonight. For him.”
“Ha. So you figured me out?”
“You two are so obvious about each other. But since I’m the only one who knows, I get why you made me do your dirty work.”
Naruto could tell that Kakashi was embarrassed. His cheeks were slightly red, and his eyes were focused on the flower. He covered his face with his hand. “Say what you will. Get going. Hinata is waiting for you.”
Again, Naruto ran. He ran with the second flower clutched in his palms. He stopped when he reached the dance hall. He opened the doors. The only ones there were Hinata and the cleanup crew. It was silent. She saw him and remained silent. He walked over to her, slowly. She was beautiful that night. He’d been noticing that she got prettier every day, but tonight, she was on an entirely different level. Her purple hair was curled at the ends, and she was in a long black dress that reached her ankles and outlined her curves. She stood, and her statuesque presence left him speechless.
She finally broke the silence. “Is that the flower?”
Remembering he was holding it still, he looked down. He saw himself. In complete contrast to her beauty, his clothes were a mess and he wasn’t the cleanest; he’d been flower searching, after all. “This? Yeah. I brought one back for you. I know it doesn’t change the fact that I’m late, but—”
“But you got here, right?” she said with a smile, accepting the flower. “Thank you.” She stuck the flower stem behind her ear. “How does it look?”
“Great.” The name of the flower fits her too well. Naruto—so sincerely it seemed almost shy—took her hands. They were soft in his rougher, larger hands, though he could tell that her hands had been through a great deal. She’d trained her palms till they were bloody. Every day. He knew.
He said, “Hinata, I’m sorry. I know this meant a lot to you.”
“...It’s not over yet, though.” She nodded to one of the cleanup crew members and they pressed a switch. The music was back on. The decorations were a hurricane and there was no leftover food or drinks, but for the two of them, this scene was plenty.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. “Uh, so, do you wanna dance?”
Hinata snickered. “Why are you being awkward, Naruto-kun? It’s just us. Well... almost.”
“Let me be!”
She took back his hand and placed it over her waist. He placed his other hand on her shoulder. She threw her arms around his neck. “Show me what Ino-san taught you,” she said.
“AH! She told you?!”
“Girls tell each other everything, Naruto-kun. I think it’s cute, though to be honest, I actually don’t know how to dance.”
Just then, Naruto concluded that he would never understand women. “What? But you were so excited for this party!”
“Because I’d be spending it...with you. At least, that was the idea. You learned because you didn’t want to embarrass me, right? And...yourself.”
“Well...” Naruto, maxed out in embarrassment, showed her what he learned. They stepped forward and back, synchronizing with the music. Hinata could tell he was struggling, so she held onto him tightly, drawing herself closer. She felt his pulse and his breath on her nose. She wondered if he could feel her pulse. She wished it could stay steady, but it couldn’t.
Naruto sped the tempo of his steps slightly, to Hinata’s surprise. “I’m going to spin you,” he said. “Put your weight on your toes.” Before Hinata could reply or prepare herself, it happened. He took her hand and spun her more than once. She found herself flowing with him. Maybe it was because she trusted him unconditionally.
Bearing witness to Naruto leading her and knowing what he was doing was more attractive to her than seeing him without his jumpsuit for once. She loved it. She also loved the smell that emanated from him. He used the cologne like he said he would.
Naruto returned to slower movements because there was something he wanted to say. Something he needed to say, while they were still (partially) alone. He didn’t believe in perfection and he only somewhat believed in fate. But he knew this moment had to be it. The moment for him to ask. He heard the music above them and the clanging around them, but he blocked those sounds out. He tried to silence his beating heart.
“I almost left you alone tonight,” he began, “and in the future, I want to be wherever you are. So that, no matter how late I am, I’ll still come back to your side.”
Her mind silenced, her heart beat like a drum. Her fingertips numbed. “Naruto-kun...what are you saying?”
“Hinata.” He faced her straight. He stared into her opaque lavender eyes. Ironically, whenever her eyes locked with his, he felt that she could see through him. It was as if she saw everything with a simple glance. Though it wasn’t something he disliked. It was something he adored because, as evident in times like these, he failed in romantic speeches. “Marry me,” he said. It would’ve come across as a strong demand if not for his face melting in red flames. “Let me make it up to you every time I mess up. Let me come home to you.”
“Naru—”
With this last one, the red in his face was gone. They stopped dancing. Hinata’s arms fell in shock, but he caught her hands. He said, “Let me love you until I die.”
By that time Hinata had lost herself in the saltwater that flooded her eyes. Naruto reached his arm out and wiped away her ever-flowing tears. She said, between hiccups, “Who said you didn’t know how to be romantic? Then again, you rehearsed those lines, didn’t you?”
Stupefied but also amused, Naruto replied, “No! They all came from the heart, just now! How could you think I’d rehearse...” He heard laughter from her mouth, though he couldn’t see her completely because the lights around them were starting to turn off.
“Oi, we’re still here!” shouted Naruto to the cleanup crew.
“Then get out!” they shouted back.
Clicking his teeth, Naruto found Hinata’s eyes one more time. He made sure she saw him before leaning in. He held her face and felt her hair. As his lips touched hers, she ran her fingers through his hair, then down his shoulder blades to his back. She kissed him back wholly and deeply.
Between breaths, he said, “You didn’t tell me your answer.”
Hinata thought that her crying and them kissing was enough of an answer, but she knew that he wanted to her hear say it for confirmation. The one word that would change their relationship once more, without changing much of what they’d been doing already. She would continue to walk alongside him, continue to both laugh at him and with him.
As for new things, she would see him become Hokage. She would maybe even see their children. As for now, dancing with him and holding him in the dark was just enough.
With absolute clarity and certainty, she said to him, “My answer is yes.”