secret lovers

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto's huge crush on Hinata gradually surfaces and the whole village of Konoha knows it…Well, aside from him. Chronological One-Shots / Post-War / Pre-Last / Contains references from Hiden novels.

Disclaimer: Characters and several scenarios in this work belong to Masashi Kishimoto et al.

entry one

prompt

Naruto headed straight to Hinata after the war

/relief/

a feeling of happiness that something unpleasant has not happened or has ended

It was as if a huge dark cloud has parted—they triumphed the war and it feels like a thick slump of bad air has been sighed out of their lungs. Those who were trapped in their beautiful nightmares were set free and an old bond is finally mended after several chases and years away.

There, struggling to stand, while each losing a limb, the two best friends and eternal rivals—Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Kakashi, their former sensei, assisted the blonde shinobi and, of course, eherm, their pink-haired teammate offered support for the latter.

"Well, I could barely stand. I bet Sakura-chan healed that teme a lot better," Naruto complained as Sakura contemplated on Shannaro-ing up her way to his face,

"Shut up you!" She was about to, but upon seeing that grin on his face that's playfully matchmaking her with the raven-haired shinobi latched on her for leverage, Sakura turned her gaze to look at him and blushed. Sasuke-kun…They were so close.

The three shared their usual mini banters and laughs as they headed to rejoin with others. Oh kami, they missed this. The laughing soon stopped as Naruto halted from walking. Kakashi noticed this and wondered about the boy's sudden action, well it is only cut short as Naruto slipped away from his grip and thoughtlessly trailed off towards the direction of a certain kunoichi.

Hinata Hyuuga.

She is looking far beyond the sky. A smile is evident on her gentle features, but in her eyes lie some worries, which soon vanished as soon as she heard him call her name,

"Hinata!"

"Naruto-kun!" She hurried and met him halfway, but the worry resurfaced her face.

Bruises. Injuries and his…

"Naruto-kun, your arm," she said as tears grazed her face, "are you-are you-"

She could not help but touch him in the place where he lost that very hand that was once used to hold hers.

"Hinata," he called her in the middle of chuckles, "Why are you crying? Look! I'm alright –ttebayo!" Naruto assured her, while playfully caressing the top of her head. Their eyes met—his ocean blue orbs searched and found comfort in her moons-and that's when they felt that longing, tenderness and happiness.

Relief.

Thank god, he's alive.

Thank god, she's safe.

Hinata's eyes closed and her head tilted slightly downwards, while Naruto, let out a deep sigh and subconsciously meet his forehead with hers.

And damn, the scene could not be more surprising. Well, for some, it was.

That some included Kakashi. While Hinata Hyuuga's admiration for the blonde shinobi is quite evident, he never thought that Naruto would gain the energy to walk on his own just to approach her. Interesting..Well, he's growing up. That's what he thought.

Well Sasuke, what would he know right? He was gone for like years, but Naruto would have a girlfriend? That dobe, what does he know about girls anyway. Hell, he even doubted if Naruto knows and realizes what he's doing right now. Deep inside he's happy—he's happy for him that he finally found someone who cares about him just as deeply. Not that he does not care, but it is just different.

But for someone like Sakura, she could not be any happier for the two. To say that she was shipping them was not enough, she must be the president of the fandom. Although Naruto had been teasing her into romance with him, she knew that it was just a dynamic they built towards the years they shared with each other, a dynamic that while entertaining became platonic. In speaking of, her cheeks flushed red as she laid a side glance toward the object of her affection.

Meanwhile…

"Oi Naruto! You've been holding on to Hinata for too long!" Kiba announced for the whole shinobi world to hear.

Although Sakura would like to mention the fact that awhile ago Naruto complained not being able to stand, but he managed to trail his way towards Hinata without any help, she just let it slip away for future's discussion. She's having too much enjoyment with her proximity with Sasuke and she doubted Kiba could not pull-off a better teasing.

Hinata blushed and pulled slightly away from Naruto. "K-K-Kiba-kun…" she said, while Naruto gave an embarrassed grin, "Kiba, it's great to see you're okay."

"Well, it's great to see you alive and holding on to my teammate as if your whole life depends on it."

"Do you wanna know why? It is because he is exhausted and can hardly hold himself upright. Just by the way he's still clutching on Hinata's, he could even barely stand on his own." Shino shared to the group.

Hinata looked at the way Naruto held him and blushed even more, but worry soon clouded her features, "I'm totally fine –ttebayo! See, see, see!" He released his grip on her as she pierced straight into his eyes. And damn, was he tired.

"Naruto-kun!" Well, he collapsed on her as expected.

"Woof!"

"For the first time he fainted first," Kiba sighed in between of laughs.

Hello everyone! I'm afraid I'm a bit too late in the fandom, but my fingers are itching to type my musings about these very adorkable couple and I'm really into that vast space of what really transpired between the both of them before The Last happened as the Hiden novels mentioned and sort of showed that they hung out a lot.

So guys, should you have prompts that may or may not fit this plot, please feel free to comment them and I'll try to deliver a story/chapter to satisfy your imagination.

Your Quirky Novelist,

Fern~