Day 31 - Confession

It wasn't uncommon for the head of the Hyuga clan to be found in the office with the Hokage in the evenings. In fact, many had said that the head of the Hyuga clan had almost become a permanent fixture in the office from constantly sighting upon the tell tale signs of a meeting occurring the night before sprawled on the table; tea for the Hyuga, a bottle of sake for the Hokage, who had decided that the taste was strangely pleasant, and stacks of paper belonging to the topic of proposals, disputes, negotiations and agreements, all relating to Konoha's clans, which came as steadily as it was resolved. On this particular night the knock that echoed on the door was one of stress and exasperation.

"Come in."

Hinata opened the door and instantly her lips softened into a smile, the weight on her shoulders decreasing as her eyes fell upon the bristled and scruffy Hokage furiously slashing his brush across the page. He in turn smiled back at her when he looked up from his paper.

"Hey Hinata, won't be a moment," he said as his eyes switched back unto the paper. "Oh did I leave my jacket when I came at your place? I didn't realise."

It was then she remembered that she had his spare robe in her hands. Hooking the spare jacket on the coat stand near the door, she admired her own handiwork. He had let holes tear into his precious orange and black Hokage robes in the weirdest places (for instance, in the pocket that lied on the inside of his jacket.) Although he had spares, it pained Hinata to see all the teared ones in a hopeless pile in his office. That was when she had offered to mend them for him which set off a whole heap more of interactions to come. Her heart jumped in pride remembering how Naruto had asked for her help back then when dealing with clan politics. The thought of him needing her help was enough to make her sigh with joy but working with him in close proximities made her absolutely ecstatic. What started as formal meetings and discussion grew into a comfortable and casual routine. She found pleasure in talking to Naruto to wind down after a busy day and she was sure Naruto found pleasure in listening to his woes and ridiculous jokes.

The thought of his woes reminded her of her own which pulsed at her head at the absence of tea. Her hands brushed the plain teapot and she remembered wistfully her favourite floral patterned teapot which she accidentally broke the first time she brought it here to show Naruto. Still, she could remember how beautiful it was with the different shades of softly painted flowers that curled around the handle. Naruto would probably like some sake right about now so she poured it into a small glass and handed it to him. He gave her a thankful glance.

"Ahh, my sweet sake," he gratefully cooed, "You have no idea how much I needed you today."

Hinata let out a small giggle. "Careful Naruto-kun. You're starting to sound like Tsunade-sama."

"Don't worry. Ramen is the sake to the Tsunade in me." He gulped it all down in one go. "Although I can see why Tsunade is crazy about it. How was your training with Kiba and Shino?"

She went to sit on the couch beside the table, taking her shoes off and folding her legs comfortably under her. A sigh escaped her lips at the comfort that enveloped her. "Good. I managed to help Kiba-kun try to calm down the newest Inuzuka litter and that took a lot of energy. Kiba has already sworn to kill Hana for leaving the clan title to him knowing that Kiba hated the inspection process with the newest litters. I don't really blame him though, one of them chewed on my shoes."

"Pups normally chew shoes don't they?" Naruto asked offhandedly.

"Oh apologies, by litter I meant children." Hinata took a long, needed sip at her tea. "They are quite lovely children but very energetic and loud."

"Loud and energetic. Reminds me of my younger days."

Hinata smiled slightly. "You make it sounds as if we are very old. But on a different note, Shino has adapted very well to being his clan leader. I only needed to tell him a few, small tips and he controlled his meeting quite well. Shino will make an outstanding leader."

"Well he better because he has had training leading bugs for a very long time." Appearing to be finished with his paperwork, Naruto moved to sit beside her and stretch his legs in front of him. He practically radiated with heat and she was tempted to move closer and bask herself in it.

"Leading people will be quiet more complicated than bugs I hope so," she pointed out.

He grunted, "maybe." He paused to rub the back of his neck with one of his hands. "But then again some people are as annoying as the mosquitoes that fly around thinking they own the place."

There was a small comfortable pause between them before Naruto looked at her and said, "we should go up to the rooftop tonight. I heard that there was going to be Valentines fireworks."

Oh yes, today is Valentine's day, she thought. Honestly she forgot because she practically got her wish everyday for quite a while. But yes, going up to watch the fireworks sounded lovely to her.

Her train of thoughts took off again and she remembered what made her slightly even more stressed today. It had something to do with her secret admirer and what she felt about him or her. Her secret admirer managed to leave flowers every day for the past few months, usually with a lavender ribbon tied around it. How they managed to get past Hyuga security, she might never know and the fact that they did should make Hinata more weary about the presents she was getting but for a reason unknown to her, Hinata felt no threat when she looked at the them. Instead, the flowers were collected and pressed into a book she placed in her room.

She had thought that the flowers were random until she started noticing that it changed every week. One week she was getting daisies but then suddenly she got daffodils and then geraniums and a couple more different variations but they held no pattern. When she told Naruto this one day he had shruggingly said that maybe it meant something. Like a code, he said and that statement burrowed itself in her mind. For the past week she had been regularly visiting the library and asking Ino if they meant anything but the answers she got were unsatisfyingly short and succinct.

"Hey, what's with that face?"

Hinata snapped out of her thinking at the poetic show of concern. "Oh, nothing really. I was just thinking about something."

One look at her furrowed eyebrows and he knew what was plaguing her mind. "Does it have something to do with that admirer of yours?"

Somewhere deep down, she knew that Naruto had decided that she would talk about her theories. So she complied. She angled her body towards him. "I have been thinking about what you said to me last time and I went to Ino about it. Still what they meant, the flowers meant, makes no sense to me."

"Like what?" he encouraged her, "What makes no sense to you?"

"Well the same type of flower was sent to me for a whole week before it changes usually, tied in the same lavender ribbon. That is not particularly new but I think that this was because they wanted me to remember the type specifically but when I did researched it with Ino, their meanings had no common link. It is as if..." a look of deep thought took over her features, "...as if it was trying to tell me a story."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "And if.. And if they were trying to tell you a story, what would you think it was?"

Hinata frowned and shook her head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" he inquired. "Not even an inkling?"

She shook her head again in confirmation.

His features looked thoughtful, as if he was carefully picking out the correct words for what he wanted to say. "How about we try to string this story together? We have a couple of minutes before the fireworks start."

She looked unsure whether to dwell to deeply upon this but this has been plaguing her mind for a long time and two minds was always better than one isn't it?

"My first set of flowers were camellias," she stated, "which meant perfection, good luck or admiration. Considering that this person is my admirer, all three would be fitting but the third one would be the best I guess."

"Okay." He nodded. "So we've got admiration and it's probably between two people. What's next?"

"Next were daisies which stood for innocence, purity and loyal love."

"Innocence and purity..." he muttered. "Could this mean that their love was when they were innocent and pure or it was innocent and pure."

Love when innocent and pure... "Oh." She realised. "Admiration from when they were young, when they were innocent and pure."

She wasn't aware they were getting closer but she felt Naruto play with a strand of her hair, signaling her to continue. Naruto has been doing more of that these past couple of months, just casual touches midst their conversation. Sometimes her hair, sometimes her arm, sometimes her leg. No matter how small, each touch left her head slightly dizzy. Intoxication wasn't to blame because heaven knows that it is almost impossible to get Naruto drunk.

"Next were moss rosebuds and daffodils." Her eyes followed his fingers which caressed her hair and felt the urge to move closer to him to see if he would caress her skin the same way. "Moss rosebuds meant confessions of love but daffodils are either, unrequited love or praise. That one is very ambiguous because it could fit with both context."

Naruto pressed his lips in tight line. "You're right, that's a bit confusing. A confession with praise or a confession with that ended up being unrequited. What's the next one?"

"The next ones were geraniums which meant stupidity. It fits together with the coming week's which were purple hyacinths. Purple hyacinths meant asking for apologies or sorrow."

He chuckled, fiddling Hinata's hair between his fingers idly. "So they messed up and then they're saying sorry."

"I think so. The next ones were a bit disjointed with the last one but they were much more happier. They were yellow roses and irises. When I took them to Ino they both had friendship in common. Friendship or Joy in friendship."

"Hm.." Naruto hummed. "Maybe they want to be your friend."

"Maybe..." she breathed out. "But the last one threw me off a bit. They've been sending me variegated tulips for the past week which meant..."

"Meant what?" he encouraged.

"..It meant beautiful eyes." Her voice got smaller towards the end and her cheeks heated. Maybe it was the fact that her admirer called her eyes beautiful that made her blush but she knew for a fact that the way Naruto was looking at her also the reason. His blue, blue eyes were trained on her intensely and she had to stop the urge from sliding down the couch to avoid it. The way he was looking at her made heat pool at the bottom of her belly and roll a wave of shiver through her body simultaneously.

He whispered something under his breath but she could only catch the last bit. "...indeed."

Which made the rest of her body turn blazing red and her heart beat accelerate like a motor boat and she almost forgot what stressed her this morning. She tried to raise her voice although she could only hear the erratic beating of her heart. "I didn't receive any flowers today," she told him. "That's worrying me because that might mean they are trying to see me in real life. It doesn't feel like the story is completed..."

"Don't worry about it. You have the whole of Konoha looking after you," he said offhandedly. "Oh by the way Hinata, I have something for you."

He stood up and walked to his desk, untangling his fingers from her hair beforehand and making her miss its warmth. He opened the drawers and shuffled the items inside. Grinning widely, he told her to close her eyes and no byakugan. She complied with his orders but he never said she wasn't allowed to peak. Sadly, before she could slip a look through her fingers, he was already in front of her.

"Ta da!"

And she gasped in delight at the sight before her. In his hands was her favourite tea pot, cracked but still standing. Lines pierced through the painted flowers that curled around the handle but it was still undeniably, the teapot that she loved dearly. All held together by glue. Realising there were tears in her eyes, she quickly wiped them away. She gave him one of her brilliant smiles which made Naruto's heart almost stop in its brilliance and placed it onto the couch.

No words could describe how happy she was. "Thank you so much Naruto-kun." She stood up and bowed to him in that gracefully way of hers. Not even Naruto expected what came next. Without warning, Naruto was tackled into a hug by Hinata who had jumped onto him with her arms gripping him tightly. It was so sudden that all ninja instincts left him and he fell to the floor with an oomph and Hinata on top of him. Her hair billowed around them and so did his edges of his Hokage robes.

"Thank you so so much, Naruto-kun," she said as she blushed from head to toe. "I really appreaciate what you've..."

And Hinata never finished that sentence because something caught her eye. Something that lied in a pocket on the inner side of Naruto's Hokage robes that she hadn't notice beforehand until she saw that there was a stray ribbon tied around it. A lavender ribbon.

Naruto smiled at her. "You going to finish that sentence Hina..." Then his eyes followed hers and his smiled dropped significantly.

A million thought whizzed through her head and time slowed down into a standstill. She heard blood rushing through her, felt her limbs go numb and she almost stopped breathing as the story they tried to weave earlier went through again and again. It made sense to her now. She understood. She understood all of it. A young innocent, unrequited love. Stupidity. Forgiveness. Beautiful eyes. And the newest development that lied in the pocket of the inner side of Naruto's robes. It's meaning honed in her mind through hours of meticulous study and research. Now the sight burnt at her.

An Ambrosia flower tied with lavender.

Mutual and reciprocated love.

And she wanted to cry. She wanted to cry because of her heart swelling up and the joy that threatened to drown her. Waves of happiness crashed consumed her, reminding her that every tear, every fear, ever moment of heartbreak was leading up to this. A ragged breath couldn't stop the tears from pricking her eyes and she wanted to cry because she loved him and he loved her too.

Naruto saw the tears in her eyes and felt panic creeping up. "Hinata, I didn't mean to- I mean I'm so-"

But his words were cut off as she took his face and kissed him with all her might. The tears that ran down her cheeks detract from the heat of their lips slanting together and soon he raised his hands and cupped her face and melted with her.

Still their story was not completed, it might never be. However Hinata knew she loved him and now knows he loved her too. That was all that mattered.

A/N: Thank you guys for you amazing support and reviews. They are what keeps me motivated to write and shows me how important it is to write reviews for other authors. I hope you had enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Ambrosia – Reciprocated love

Purple Hyacitnh – I am sorry, Please forgive me, Sorrow

Yellow Rose – Joy, Friendship

Geranium – Stupidity

Moss rosebud – Confessions of love

Camellia - Admiration; Perfection; Good Luck, Gift to a Man

Daffodils - Regard; Unrequited Love; You're the Only One; The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with You

Daisy - Innocence; Loyal Love; I'll Never Tell; Purity

Iris - Fleur-de-Lis, Emblem of France: Your Friendship Means So Much to Me; Faith; Hope; Wisdom and Valour; My Compliments

Variegated Tulip - Beautiful Eyes