"Let's get married, Hinata."

It took a few seconds for that to register, then Hinata flew out of Naruto's lap and backed up against the balcony.

"Married? Naruto, are you crazy? We can't get married! My- my wedding is next week, you know that! How-how can we get married?" Hinata stared down at the ground, blushing furiously. She was engaged, for God's sake! And she should do well to remember that, too. Frowning, she realized she had been cuddling with someone she barely knew in the dead of the night. No, this had to stop. This wasn't right.

"Hinata, please. Listen."

It was wrong, wasn't it? Then why did it feel so right when she was pressed against his solid chest? He felt warm. And safe. He felt like…home.

"This doesn't have to be big. We can run away together. It'll just be us two, no one else. No one else needs to know about this. We'll leave this country, and start over again, somewhere where no one knows us."

It sounded appealing. Hinata bit her lip. Would it really be so bad? She was sick and tired of always being the one to obey, the one to answer "Yes", the one everyone 'respected' because she was so good, so innocent, so pure. Is running away with him really wrong? She wanted to, desperately. Her heart screamed at her, go for it. Do what you feel is right, which is to be by Naruto's side forever. Her head told her no, it's wrong. You're engaged. So what if you have feelings for another man? They'll never turn into anything worth your time.

She started at the feel of Naruto's arms closing around her and sighed into his chest.

"Look, I understand. I can't expect an answer from you now. I'm…sorry…for springing this on you." Naruto whispered into her hair. They stood like that for what seemed an eternity, internal conflicts warring deep inside both of them.

Suddenly, a light flicked on in the room beside them. Neji's room.

Hinata gasped, her eyes going wide. She pulled back and gripped his hands. "You have to leave. Now." She started pulling him to the direction of the stairs.

Naruto spun her around and gripped her shoulders tightly. "I'm serious about this, Hinata. I really am."

Neji knocked on Hinata's door.

Hinata paused for a moment, locking eyes with the man who had proposed to her so outrageously just moments ago. She could feel his intense gaze boring into her, and she knew he was serious about this, serious about her. Just the thought of that made her feel that much warmer.

"Yes, I know, Naruto. I'm serious about this too. But…I can't say anything right now. Hurry, you have to leave, now!" She slipped around behind him and pushed him towards the stairs. "Go!"

"Hinata! Are you awake?" Neji's voice filtered faintly through the heavy oaken doors.

Naruto turned agilely to crush her in his embrace. "Tomorrow…the willow tree near the beach. I'll be there until you come." He crushed his lips to hers, letting his frustration and passion running rampant through his body flow into her mouth. This was a hard, fierce brand of possession, and Hinata knew it. Before she could come to her senses, Naruto had turned and left.

She stood on the balcony, fingers pressed to her lips. The insistent knocking on Hinata's door startled her and she whirled around, pulling her robe tighter around her. She hurried to the door and opened it to reveal Neji with a concerned look upon his face.

"Hinata, is something wrong? I was knocking for a considerably long time before you answered…" He trailed off, a soft frown marring his dark slender brows. Something was off; she was flushed and panting hard. Surely sleeping would not invoke such a reaction.

"Oh, no, Neji, I-I'm alright, thank you for your concern. I w-was just having a-" she faltered. "A nightmare! That's why I-I didn't hear you the first t-time you knocked." She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped Neji would believe her lie.

"A nightmare?" Neji's face, as usual, was devoid of any emotion. However, he sensed something was off. Hinata was prone to nightmares, that much was true, but she was a very light sleeper; to have Neji knock on the door for almost a minute and not wake up was a feat Hinata undoubtedly could not accomplish. Something had startled Hinata, but she was unwilling to say what. Neji didn't pry; he had no need to. "I see. Then, I am sorry for interrupting your sleep. I will excuse myself now. Have a good night, Hinata."

"Thank you, Neji, and good night to you to." Hinata closed the door behind him and leaned against it, heart pounding in her chest. Thank heavens he didn't suspect anything; if Neji had continued his line of questioning, Hinata would have cracked. As she listened to Neji's soft footfalls disappear down the stairs, she wondered how she would get out of the house tomorrow.

QQQQQQQQQQQ

Neji's hand slid against the smooth polished wood of the banister as he made his way back to his own bedroom, pondering what could have happened to throw his cousin off balance. He didn't worry about it too much; a few days of observation and he would probably know the answer. They had grown up together; there was virtually nothing Neji didn't know about Hinata, and he was confident after a few days she would come to him on her own and tell him what had happened.

QQQQQQQQQQQ

Naruto made his way easily through the branches and landed lightly on the ground outside of the wall. Looking back, he found Hinata's bedroom and watched as the light inside went out. Silently, he turned and started walking to where he parked his car several blocks away. As he walked, he became aware of someone tailing him. Quickening his steps, Naruto made a sharp turn and hid in the shadows as he waited for whoever it was to show up.

As the dark figure rounded the corner, Naruto slipped behind him and put a hand over his mouth. A familiar scent invaded his nose as he hissed into the figure's ear, "who are you?"

The figure did not, as expected, struggle, but in fact sighed. The scent clicked in Naruto's mind and he released Sasuke, taking a step back to look at his friend. "What the hell are you doing here? Were you following me?"

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, cringing a bit at his interrogation, although it went unnoticed, obscured by the shadows. "No, I just happened to be where you were in the dead of the night, 30 minutes away from home without the car," he answered sarcastically.

"What the hell? Is something wrong? Why the stalking?" Naruto frowned, senses going on high alert. He may act stupid and ignorant sometimes; that wasn't to say that's the case. Naruto was, in fact, one of the sharpest people in Konoha; it wouldn't do to be the head of one of the biggest crime rings around and not be able to evade cops efficiently. He relied on his instincts a lot, and right now his instincts were screaming for him to get out of there.

Sasuke's red eyes stared into Naruto's clear blue ones; he knew Naruto had no idea how he felt, and he was content to keep it that way. All the girls Naruto claimed he loved before lasted a month at the longest before Naruto would have his eye on someone new. They were nameless, faceless bodies that came and went in Naruto's life; Sasuke had no reason to be jealous because he knew that every girl who shared Naruto's bed would be like a toy to him, interesting until it lost its lustre. Sasuke, however, was different. He was Naruto's second in command, a fact that wouldn't change over a course of months or even years. They had been sworn enemies growing up, and best friends once they dropped out of school. His status had been above each and every one of the girls Naruto had ever fucked. Which lead back to the reason why Sasuke had been concerned.

Naruto had never left the apartment in the middle of the night, alone, to go see a girl, and he didn't even end up fucking her. She wasn't a slut, nor was she available. One of Naruto's policies had always been not to date anyone currently seeing someone else. 'It's wrong,' he had declared. 'Stealing someone's girl is like taking someone's possessions, except it doesn't get given back.'

So why, then, does Naruto seem to be paying extra special attention to someone he barely knows?

In three steps Sasuke strode to where Naruto stood with his arms crossed. Grabbing his collar, Sasuke pressed a rough kiss to Naruto's lips. He released the shocked blond and disappeared into the alley.

"There's your answer, Naruto." Sasuke's voice floated back, carried by the wind.

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AN: YES I finally got this chapter up. Sigh…my computer got a virus, so now it's kind of dead. (my taskbar is gone). Anyways, I'll be working on the next chapter, and I estimate this story will be about 15 chapters or so. As always, thanks for reading and please review!