NaruHina: Postscripts

Eighty-two

Hey there!Hope this ask finds you well. Can i ask for a naruhina drabble in which naruto and hinata are besties but they do have feelings for each other?

plus

can you write a drabble where hinata teases naruto, when naruto thanks her. she's like "it's not bc i'm in love with you or anything"

"Hinata!" Naruto called out and watched as she slowly turned around. There was a smile on her face. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wiping the sweat off her face.

"Hey, Naruto," she answered as he came close.

She was wearing a t-shirt because she wasn't allowed to wear her heavy chainmail. She was still recovering from her fight with Pain. Sakura and Tsunade were adamant that she stay away from doing anything strenuous, which meant that these days, she only wore casual clothes.

She'd told him that her forehead protector and her usual uniform were tucked in a drawer in the house.

These days, too, she'd been telling him a lot of things about herself.

During her recovery, those weeks she'd spent at the hospital, Naruto had come to visit her almost every day.

She still looked pale, but at least she was looking better than she had when she'd been unconscious that first week.

When she'd finally opened her eyes, his face was the first one she'd seen.

"—ruto," she'd croaked after offering him a small smile. The breathing tube taped to her mouth made it difficult for her to speak, but he'd seen the smile, hardly believing she'd try for his benefit.

Then Neji and the rest of her family came close and they all watched as Hinata fluttered her eyelashes tiredly. Nobody pressured her to talk. They only watched her and breathed a sigh of relief that she was slowly coming back. Hanabi held her sister's hand the entire time and gripped tightly.

Despite her family's protests, they'd allowed him to stay and watch over her when he broke down their resistance.

And during the moments they were in the hospital room together, when she'd slept and the silence stretched on, he thought about the words she'd told him.

"I love you."

He carried the words within him everywhere he went but she still remained silent about the issue. She never said anything about it to him again.

But she was smiling now, her eyes bright and welcoming as he finally reached her side and his hand was already taking the bag she held in her hand.

"Here. Let me get that."

"Thank you," she said softly and they both fell into step together as they walked towards the Ninja Academy.

Since she was out of commission for a while, she'd volunteered at the school and assisted Iruka-sensei with the younger ones. It became Naruto's habit to walk her there. He'd meet her at the gates to her home and carry whatever it is she was holding.

The few minutes they would walk together, Naruto told her of the missions he was off to, about how he'd been thrown together with her teammates most of the time. But he didn't tell her about the conversations he'd had with Kiba and Shino about her, though. And how those conversations made him realize that he felt the same about her, that he realized his wanting to see her all the time had been triggered by the words she'd told him before the fatal rod from Pain had pierced through her heart.

He looked down at her and he wanted to hold her hand but she was telling him about Neji promising to train with her when she was finally recovered.

"He still hasn't seen my Gentle Fist in action, during combat," she said with a laugh.

He felt a pang in his heart because he'd seen it up close, and he suddenly felt the need to grip her hand, so he reached for it, which startled her. He squeezed it, almost tightly, but he didn't want to let go.

They both stopped walking and looked at each other.

"Hinata..." he said, but then his words trailed off because he didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Naruto?" her startled voice whispered. Her eyes were concerned. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Yeah. Forget it."

She looked down at their joined hands and didn't say anything. They both started walking again. This time, they remained silent, but they still held hands.

When they got to the Academy, Naruto knew he should let go, but he still couldn't find it in his heart to let her warm hand leave his. He felt that something would burst, that something bad would happen if he let go of his grip on hers.

"Naruto?" she said with a smile. "We're here. I need to go."

"I'm sorry. Just a few minutes."

"Okay," she said softly.

They both waited in silence. She bowed her head and continued looking at their fingers twined together.

When enough time had passed, he sighed. He had to let go.

He pasted his usual grin on his face. "Thanks, Hinata," he said.

She finally looked up. There was an answering smile on hers. "You don't have to thank me, Naruto. It's not because I'm in love with you or anything."

"What?" he asked, shocked. "Hinata, what did you say?"

Her eyes glinted. "I was just checking if you could hear me. I was joking."

"It's a terrible joke." His face was serious, unsmiling.

She sobered and stopped her teasing, but her face remained bright, and open, still gently smiling. "I was testing you, I admit. I just want to make sure you can hear me this time."

This time.

His breath caught.

"Because I do, you know."

She looked deep into his eyes as she said it.

It felt so natural to simply respond with, "I love you, too, Hinata."

And he watched as those eyes filled with tears, overflowing with happiness.