Day 1: Gifts

Summary: There was only one thing Naruto could think to give Hinata for her birthday. Only one thing that would show how he truly felt for her.

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Naruto sat perched on his usual stool at Ichiraku's, gazing vacantly into his bowl of ramen. It was as though he hoped to find the solution to all problems hidden amongst the cloud of steam rising steadily from the broth.

There was a break in Teuchi and Ayame's workflow as they watched their most loyal customer picking lazily through his noodles with a single chopstick. They exchanged a look of concern, wondering where the usual enthusiasm and vigor with which he ate his favourite meal had gone.

Though, from the way he was slouched, his brow furrowed, it seemed there was something weighing heavily upon his mind.

Naruto sighed, tucking his free, gloved hand deep into his jacket pocket, sheltering it against the chill. Thin layers of snow coated the streets behind him, a sign of the Winter season having long since set in.

Hinata's birthday was just around the corner, and he still hadn't thought of anything to get her.

He had just finished scouring the marketplace, hoping that something would stand out to him. Yet he had trudged away, empty handed, hoping perhaps some miso ramen would lift his spirits.

"What's with him?" Sasuke asked Sakura as they approached the stand, nodding towards the blonde. Though, his impassive tone seemed to suggest he didn't particularly care. Sakura rose a finger to her lips, gesturing for him to lower his voice.

"He's upset that he can't think of anything to get Hinata for her birthday," Sakura whispered.

"He's worried about that?" Sasuke snorted in disbelief. "I'm pretty sure he could give her a lump of coal and she'd happily accept that."

"Be that as it may, I think he wants to get her something special. Something that shows her how much she means to him." Sakura said, her eyes holding Sasuke's.

He shrugged in response, his hands fisting into his pockets while Sakura released a low breath. She walked towards the ramen stand, Sasuke shadowing her silently.

"Naruto?" Sakura said, touching him on the shoulder. His eyes widened, the unexpected contact breaking him from his stupor. "Are you okay? You haven't touched your bowl."

"Oh, Sakura-chan." Naruto turned, setting his lips into a tight smile. "I'm fine. Just needed a moment to let it cool down, heh."

Naruto began scooping up generous helpings of noodles from his bowl, chewing them thoughtfully.

Though he was still disappointed by his unsuccessful search, he dish did bring Naruto some comfort, settling in his stomach and warming him. He savoured his treat, slowly and deliberately, allowing himself time to reflect.

He could feel Sakura's gaze lingering on him as he ate. Piercing, as if searching his expression for any tell-tale signs of how he truly felt. Naruto tried to feign nonchalance but couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable under her scrutiny. Eventually, her hand came to clasp his shoulder once more, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Don't worry yourself too much, Naruto. I'm sure you'll think of something eventually."

She turned away with a wave, readjusting her coat and stepping back out into the busy streets. Sasuke offered him a simple nod, before disappearing into the crowd after her.

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For as long as he had known her, Hinata had always been something of a mystery to Naruto.

For someone like him, who was open and almost unapologetic in how he expressed himself, someone like Hinata; who was cautious in how of herself she exposed; stood out to him.

No matter how close they got, she always seemed to retreat from him at a certain point. as though he threatened to breach some intimate boundary. He had seen it ever since they were young, in the way she would shrink behind other people or hide her face behind a veil of dark of hair. How rarely she would raise her voice, sometimes speaking so softly that he would have to strain just to hear her.

He thought, at first, that it was just her shy nature. Yet, he could help but notice, that it was only around him that her cheeks would flush, that she would glance anxiously at her feet.

Somehow, though, that resistance only served to draw him closer, to entice his interest in her.

The more he managed to see beyond the veil, the more he recognised.

The more qualities he found that reflected his own. It was slow, and at times, painstaking, but he could find the patience to find, to understand, each and every part of her.

With her birthday around the corner, Naruto wanted to get her something, something that could express exactly how he felt.

Naruto knew that he was just an orphaned kid, someone who had spent most of his life getting by on the bare-essentials. That there probably wasn't anything he could possibly offer her, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, of material value.

Yet, he also knew that Hinata deserved more than just empty, material possessions.

She had lived a fairly luxurious life in the Hyuuga compound. Yet, for a large part of her childhood, she had been starved of something more vital to her wellbeing. Something as simple as affection. Love.

The death of her mother early on, coupled with being raised by an, at times, cold, strict father had created a void inside of her that could not be filled with fancy jewellery or clothes. Even now, there were still scars the lingered. Some of which appeared all too painfully familiar to him.

He wanted to give her something that would show how much he appreciated all that she had gifted him with so selflessly.

Something that couldn't be so easily bought or sold.

It had to be perfect.

It had to be just right.

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A large gathering was held at the Hyuuga estate to commemorate Hinata's nineteenth birthday. Her father had spared no expense, arranging banquets of food and wait-staff.

While Hinata appreciated the gesture, she was not particularly fond of the extravagant celebration, nor being such a focal point of attention. She preferred spending time amongst the close company of her friends and immediate family. Instead, she found herself sharing polite, albeit forced, conversations with guests she wasn't entirely sure she'd even met before.

Still, it came with being the clan's heiress, Hinata supposed. Hopefully, she could grin and bear it for another hour or so, and carefully make her exit when non one was watching.

The evening would improve exponentially, however, as she was quietly whisked away by her friends, her father too engaged in conversation to notice.

They each took the time to greet her individually, offering her warm embraces of words of congratulation. Though her cheeks were bright and she ducked her head bashfully with each kind word, Hinata was giddy, happiness warming her too her core.

She truly could not be more grateful to have such wonderful friends.

Though, from the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but notice one person in particular, keeping their distance.

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"Here, Hinata." Kiba exclaimed, eagerly thrusting a package into her hands. "This one's from Akamaru and I."

"Oh Kiba-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, "You didn't have to... "

"Tsk. Are you kidding me? It's the least that I could do."

"That's so sweet of you, KIba." Hinata said, leaning forward and hugging her friend tightly. His hand reached up, gently cradling her head. "Thank you."

Before she could begin to unravel the paper, she was startled by a short, indignant bark as some wet and rough nuzzled against her leg.

"Oh? Did I forget to thank you as well, Akamaru-kun?" Hinata smiled, kneeling down and scratching the dogs head.

"Come on, come on!" Kiba pressed, with all the rambunctious enthusiasm of a puppy. "Open it already!"

"Alright, alright. Settle down you two." Hinata teased, returning to her feet.

"Oi, dobe." Sasuke muttered, flicking Naruto across the forehead. The blond flinched, holding his face with a whine. "Stop gawking and give your present to her already."

"Sasuke-kun's right, Naruto." Sakura said, as they watched Hinata speaking with Kiba and Shino from the other side of the room. "Everyone's given their gifts to Hinata. You're the only one left."

"I know, it's just… I don't know what to say."

"That's a first," Sasuke drawled, earning him a deft thump across the shoulder from Sakura. He rubbed at the numb sensation in his arm, muttering under his breath.

"Come on, Naruto." Sakura encouraged. "There's no reason to be nervous. It's just Hinata. You talk to her all the time! You're friends!"

"This is different, though." Naruto protested.

"But you spent so much time planning it. I can tell that you'll be dissapointed if you don't follow through."

With a sigh, Sasuke pushed himself from off the wall, stepping towards his friend. He realised that, given Naruto's stubbornness, their chances of convincing him to move on his own were minimal.

With this in mind, an idea came to Sasuke. Without a word, he roughly shoved Naruto, making him stumble into the middle of the room.

Barely managing to regain his balance, Naruto growled, turning toward Sasuke with a clenched first.

"What the fuck, Sasuke?! You asshole-" before the words could even finish forming on his lips, Naruto realised that he was standing just a few feet away from Hinata, who was watching him with wide eyes.

If the smirk etched across Sasuke's lips meant anything, what he had done clearly hadn't been an accident.

That bastard.

"Oh- I, uh... Hinata." Naruto acknowledged, waving lazily. "It's good to see you! H- happy birthday."

"Ah- Thank you, Naruto-kun." She answered, flushing. "Although, I feel like I haven't seen you much tonight."

"Yeah, sorry." Naruto said, glancing to one side. "I could see you were talking. I just- I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh, it's no bother. Really."

Noticing the brief lapse in conversation, Sakura stepped forward, making sure that Naruto did not forget the very reason he had approached; or been pushed towards; Hinata in the first place.

"Naruto," she said, with ales than subtle nudge. "Don't you have something you'd like to give to Hinata?"

"Eh? Oh, right! I just- I just don't have it on me, right now… Hinata, could you uh- come with me, for a second?"

"Eh?" Hinata exclaimed, her entire face lighting up noticeably.

"It's not like that!" Naruto countered, waving his arms dramatically. "I just… I wanted to give your gift to you in private. I- is there somewhere we can go... to be alone?"

"A- alright then." Hinata said, a hesitance in her voice. She wasn't entirely sure what was going own, but she felt that she could trust Naruto. "Here, come this way."

She gestured towards a nearby door, leading Naruto outside.

"What was that about?" Kiba asked with a puzzled expression. Sasuke simply pointed towards Sakura who was holding her hands against her mouth, bounding up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.

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"I'm happy that everyone was able to come tonight." Hinata spoke, as they stepped out into the night, the breeze pulling lightly at her hair. "It's not often that we're able to all be together like this."

"Yeah." Naruto answered, his eyes remaining fixed on the girl beside him.

They only strayed when she turned to face him, his head pulling away with abrupt force, afraid that she may have caught him staring. He tried to concentrate instead on the plethora of stars blanketing the night sky, but found that the image did not compare.

"So..." Hinata's voice carried through the empty air. "You- you said that you had something for me?"

"Right." Naruto swallowed, finally looking towards her again. His breath caught the sight of those familiar, yet distant eyes, watching. Waiting for him.

"Hinata, I'm really sorry." He began. "But I- I couldn't think of anything to get you for your birthday. At least, not anything that could say what I wanted to."

Hinata frowned, not quite following.

"W- what do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

"I- I like you, Hinata..."

His words were soft, but pulled at her heart with unrelenting power. She looked at him, her eyes bulging in disbelief, yet recognising, from the firmness of his stance and the determined expression on his face, that what she had heard was the truth.

For once, her gaze did not falter, but held with his own, resolute, allowing him to take in with clarity and detail all that had alluded him before. Naruto found himself inching closer still.

"There was... something I was thinking of giving you. But I wasn't sure if you'd like it or not."

Swallowing, Hinata was surprised she was even able to find her voice.

"W- whatever it is, Naruto-kun, I'm sure I'll love it."

Naruto's released an anxious breath, his hand fidgeting at the back of his neck. He closed his fist, resolve building in his chest as he turned towards her.

"A- alright, then. Close your eyes." He requested.

Hinata's stomach churned in anticipation, suddenly overtly conscious of the even slightest movements, the sensation of Naruto standing so close to her. The heat radiating from his body, the strength and warmth of his hand as it rested against her arm.

The gentle caress of his lips brushing against her own.

Hinata's mouth broke open in a gasp, falling limp into Naruto's arms as they surrounded her, warmly, firmly. Perfectly.

Naruto, for all he had tried, had only been able to think of one thing he could give Hinata, one thing that could capture just how he felt about her.

A kiss.

Her very first one.

Little did Naruto know, however, that; standing there, with him, surrounded by her most precious people; Hinata could have asked for anything more.

As they parted, a thin whisp of breath slipped from their lips, rising into the cool air. Naruto rested his forehead against her own, heat radiating from his skin.

"Happy birthday, Hinata." He whispered into the night.