As the rain bore down upon them, Hinata couldn't rid the smile from her face. She felt slightly immature—silly even—for running through the rain with no sandals and no jacket, but for one of the first times in her life she simply didn't care.

"Come on," Naruto laughed, pulling her after him. He held a hand out in front of them as they ran; a futile attempt at shielding them from the impromptu storm.

He'd surprised her earlier in the day with a picnic in the woods. The weather was perfect for it: sunny, warm, and with only a slight breeze. But out of nowhere a crack of thunder was heard and before they knew it the sky was pouring onto their heads.

Stumbling slightly as her bare feet slid across the slippery glass, her grip on Naruto's hand tightened as she let out a small squeak.

Naruto looked back at her for a quick moment, and as she caught sight of his wide smile and messy, wet hair she smiled back at him, dazed at the sight of him so close to her, and looking so happy.

"Are you oka—ahh!"

His question turned into a yelp as he tripped, his sandal catching on a stray rock as they ran. He lost balance and before he could steady himself, Naruto stepped on a particularly slippery patch of grass and sent himself careening to the ground.

Hinata let out a squeak as she felt herself get pulled down right along with him. Closing her eyes tightly, she threw out her free hand to break her fall. But instead of falling to the damp ground beneath her feet, she felt arms wrap around her and pull her close.

With a light gasp she opened her eyes to look up at Naruto's wide, goofy grin.

"I gotcha," he grinned wider, removing his arm from around her back, allowing her back to fully rest on the grass. She could only imagine that she was gaping at him, because when he studied her face for a second longer, she noticed his cheeks redden slightly before he let himself unceremoniously fall to the ground beside her.

Sprawled out on his back, just like she was on hers, he let out a loud, hearty laugh, spreading his arms wide. One of his hands found Hinata's and held it tightly; the warmth of his touch spread across her skin and up her arm.

Allowing his laughter to die down, he let out a low whistle. "Wow, I love you."

Hinata froze. For a long moment all she could hear was the sound of her heart beating in her ears. She could almost feel the organ pounding in her chest as she turned her head to the side and stared at him.

He was looking up at the sky above them, staring straight into the rain without once flinching. He was still smiling.

"Y-you love me?" She hadn't stuttered around him in months, but currently she couldn't help herself. Hinata wasn't even sure she had heard him correctly…

He turned his head towards her, simultaneously sitting himself upright. Hinata watched him move, still frozen in her spot on the wet ground. She could still feel the raindrops hitting her skin, but only barely.

Before she could prepare herself he was leaning over her, one of his arms on either side of her face. He was staring down at her, still smiling. Yet now his face was calmer, softer even.

Leaning down he caught her lips in a quick, chaste kiss. Lifting his head she watched as he studied her face for another minute.

"Yeah," he laughed again, "I guess I do!"

As he kissed her again—much harder and longer this time—Hinata was eternally thankful that the rain was still falling, soaking them to the bone.

She didn't want to have to explain to him that her tears weren't due to pain or sadness, but because of pure elation.

She'd never been happier.

A/N: This was the first NaruHina piece I'd ever written; I'd posted it on my Tumblr about six months ago. Just a little one-shot I wrote from a prompt I'd received from someone. Hope you liked it; I'm not very good at writing fluff, but it's fun to do.