Title: To Catch a Fox
Author: desbutterfly
Genre: romance/humour, fluff
Pairing: NaruHina, mention of SasuSaku and NejiTen
Rating: PG – 13
Summary: Hinata wants to take things to the next level with Naruto. Too bad he doesn't seem to be getting the hint

--

"Just jump him," Ino said, leaning over to spear her chopstick into one of Sakura's dumplings while she waved a hand in Hinata's direction.

Hinata blushed and her mouth dropped open, but before she could stammer a protest, Sakura jumped in.

"Don't be crude Ino-pig," she said, smacking the blonde's hand away from her plate with a glare. "That's not romantic at all."

Ino just grinned. "It could be. I'll get you some rose petals, Hinata-chan, half price. Dump them on his head and then jump him."

"I-I don't think that's...um..." Hinata smiled weakly and picked at her food. Something told her it was a bad idea asking the other girls for advice on how to tell Naruto she was ready for...well...more.

Not that she wasn't already fine with the kissing. Naruto-kun was very good at kissing her! On the...cheek. And the forehead. And occasionally on the lips when he got excited, but he always apologized to her afterwards for those. He didn't have to apologize though, because even if Hinata couldn't find the words to say it, she thought those kisses were the best of all of them, and it had been almost a year since they started 'going out' together.

Frankly, Hinata had expected him to start asking for sex months ago, but it was becoming apparent that if anything more involved than cuddling was going to happen between them, she would have to be the one to initiate it.

"Maybe you could try tackling him a lot in training," TenTen offered, tilting her head in Hinata's direction. "That usually works with Neji."

"TenTen, that's just another way to say 'jump him'," Sakura complained, with a moue of dismay.

TenTen shrugged and Ino gave Sakura a triumphant look.

"Well then, what would you suggest forehead-girl?"

"Hm..."

Hinata watched hopefully as Sakura swirled the straw in her drink, a finger pressed thoughtfully against her lips. The pink-haired girl had to deal with Sasuke on a regular basis. Surely she would know the best way to go about initiating these kinds of romantic moments without it being too embarrassing, right?

Finally, Sakura clapped her hands together with a smile.

"Isn't it supposed to rain this afternoon?" she said.

"That's what the weather report said," Ino replied. "So?"

"So, all you have to do, Hinata-chan, is make sure you get caught in the rain near his house. Get really soaking wet—Ino-pig, stop snickering, I didn't mean it that way!—and then knock on his door and ask to stay until the rain stops. A little lack of wet clothing, a little huddling together for warmth, and bingo! Sex is assured."

Hinata swallowed hard at the thought of taking her clothes off in Naruto's house, but managed to stay on her stool and take a sip of water to clear the flsuh from her cheeks.

"Y-you really think that will work, Sakura-chan?"

"Can't fail," Sakura boasted, leaning closer. "Naruto's a bit thick, but even he should be able to get a hint that big. He's still a boy, after all."

"And quite a nice-looking boy, at that," Ino teased, fluttering her eyelashes. "Hinata-chan's lucky!"

"What are you girls yakking about now?"

They all turned on their stools to see Shikamaru and Neji—obviously just returning from an Anbu mission and dropping by for lunch—pushing past the curtain of the Ichiraku stand. Shikamaru looked bored and exasperated, like always, but Neji was staring at Hinata with a curious look on his face.

'Oh no, I hope he didn't overhear any of that,' Hinata thought, trying to sink into her chair. Since it was a stool, that approach didn't work very well. She almost fell off, but Ino grabbed onto her jacket and pulled her back at the last second.

"Hinata-sama, are you all right?" Neji asked, look of curiosity forming into a look of concern.

"F-fine! I'm fine, Neji-niisan, really," she said, laughing nervously. "A-actually, I was just finished eating and so I was going to go home…"

Neji peered suspiciously at her nearly full plate of food, but nodded in response.

"I could escort you home, if you wish," he said.

"NO," all the girls yelled at once, which caused looks of even deeper suspicion to appear on both Neji and Shikamaru's faces.

"I-I mean, you just got here," Hinata stuttered, getting up from her stool. "Stay and eat your lunch. I'll be fine going home alone, really."

Neji stared hard at her for a few moments, and Hinata squirmed, trying not to let her emotions show on her face too much. She breathed a sigh of relief when her cousin finally looked away to sit down on the stool beside TenTen.

"Suit yourself," he said. "But you might want to hurry. It looks like it's going to rain soon."

"I'll be fine!" Hinata squeaked out one last time before scurrying out into the street, the brisk fall air cooling the heat on her face and raising goosebumps on the back of her neck.

The sky above her was a promising grey colour and she could feel the first few stinging drops of rain hit the collar of her jacket, even as she passed the training grounds.

'If I walk slow enough, by the time I circle the hospital grounds and then make my way over to the street Naruto's house is on, I'll be soaked,' she thought, happily. 'Oh Naruto-kun…this time I'll be able to get you to understand my feelings for sure!'

--

After standing in the pouring rain for five minutes, Hinata was seriously beginning to regret listening to Sakura's advice. Her feet squished in her sandals when she took a step, her coat felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and her wet hair was dripping water uncomfortably down the back of her coat.

She had the feeling that if she looked in a mirror, she wouldn't see herself, but something resembling a drowned rat. Definitely not sexy.

Still, she arrived at Naruto's front door as planned, and it was too late to back down now, unless she felt like explaining to Neji why she wanted to run around in the rain for a while before going back to the Hyuuga compound like she said she would. Which she didn't.

'Here goes nothing.'

It took Naruto about five seconds to answer her timid knock on the door, dressed in loose slacks and a black t-shirt, a toothbrush hanging between his lips. He broke into a huge grin when he saw her, but it was soon replaced with a look of confusion.

"Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" he asked, tossing the toothbrush on the counter behind him and stepping forward to usher her into the house.

She dripped on his carpet and wrung her hands together miserably.

"Uh…well I-I…Naruto-kun…"

"You're all wet," he observed with a frown. "Why were you out in the rain? You could get sick doing stuff like that, Hinata-chan."

He waved a finger at her sternly, before fleeing into the bathroom. Hinata stood shivering in the hallway until he reappeared, a towel in his hands. He looped it around her shoulders and rubbed the ends of her dripping hair with the fluffy fabric, a look of intense concentration on his face.

Hinata, for her part, could only stand still and relish the warmth emanating from the closeness of Naruto's body. When Naruto finally finished drying her hair and took a step back, she bit her lip in disappointment.

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun," she whispered, staring at her hands, which were shaking, and then the floor. The water-spots on the carpet made her flush guiltily. "Oh, I've gotten your carpet all wet. I'm s-sorry, I'll clean it right away—"

"Don't be silly," he said. "It's just water. But say, Hinata…why'd you come over here? I didn't miss a date or anything, did I?"

Hinata looked at Naruto's paled expression and held back a laugh.

"N-no, of course not," she said. "It's just um…well, I was walking and then the rain and…I mean…would you mind if I…"

She made a vague gesture towards her soaked clothing, which took Naruto a few seconds to interpret.

"Uh? Oh! Yeah, sure. Hinata-chan's probably really uncomfortable in those wet clothes, right?"

"Well i-it's…"

"Go change, okay? My bedroom's that way, you can't miss it." He pointed helpfully to the left, and Hinata blushed and mumbled something that might have been a 'thank you' before dashing down the hallway towards the small room.

After she closed the door tightly, behind her, Hinata rested against its frame for a moment, breathing deeply. Too deeply.

'Oh, dizzy...'

A knock on the door made her jump.

"Hinata-chan, are you okay in there?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine!"

"Okay. You can borrow some of my clothes to wear until yours dry," Naruto yelled through the door. "Just um...don't take any from the second drawer 'cause those are the ones I'm not sure are clean.

"...Um, right!"

Hinata quickly grabbed the first thing in the top drawer that came into her hand and pulled it out. Then she shrieked and threw it across the room. The pair of green and orange boxer shorts fluttered softly to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Hinata?"

"I'm okay, r-really," she called back, pushing her hand carefully back into the top drawer until she found something less likely to induce seizures if she tried to put it on.

'Should I...keep my panties on?' she wondered, stripping off her wet jacket and pants and hanging them carefully on the lone chair in Naruto's bedroom. 'Sakura-san didn't say...'

"Are you sure you're okay in there?"

"A-actually Naruto-kun," Hinata said, squaring her shoulders, "could you c-come in here for a second?"

"Need help finding something to w--whoa...whoa." Naruto stood half in the doorway, hand still clutching the handle as he stared at her.

Hinata shuffled her feet nervously and tugged the faded black shirt down further, even though it practically fell to her knees anyway. She hadn't really realized how tall Naruto actually was. The sleeves bunched and draped over her arms and she pushed them back with trembling fingers, face growing hot.

"I-is it okay? I'm sorry! I should have picked something else to put on..."

"Oh no!" Naruto blurted out, coming fully into the room, arms stretched out in protest. "It's uh...I mean you look...I mean, it's fine!"

Seeing his own cheeks reflect her blush, Hinata felt her confidence grow. She snuck a covert glance at the front of his pants and turned even redder.

'I guess this means the plan is working,' she thought, swaying dizzily.

Before she could slump to the floor, strong arms were lifting her and placing her on the bed. Through her tunnelling vision, Hinata managed to catch hold of Naruto's sleeves and hold fast.

"-ata...oi, Hinata! Oh man, you got sick from being out in the rain, I knew it. Hold on, I'll get Sakura-chan and she'll heal you right up."

"'M fine," she mumbled, fingers tightening on his shoulders. "I'm just...um...I'm cold!"

Naruto frowned, leaning forward to peer at her face. "Cold?"

"Y-yes," she replied, faking a shiver. "Very cold. I guess, with the rain..."

Naruto's face brightened into a smile and he immediately started pulling the covers back on the bed. Hinata helped with trembling fingers, and they were soon nestled together under the blankets, Naruto's arms around her waist, her head tucked under his chin. She snuggled happily into his chest and he gave a comforting squeeze of his arms.

It took Hinata five minutes before she remembered that the goal was not to be snuggling fully-clothed (or mostly clothed, in her case) in the bed, but snuggling unclothed in the bed. She reluctantly squirmed out of his hold and braced her hands on his chest to look at him.

"T-thank you Naruto-kun, but," she prodded hesitantly at the fabric of his shirt, "wouldn't you be more comfortable if you weren't...that is...um, shouldn't you take your c-clothes off?"

He shrugged and then sat up to take his shirt off while Hinata pretended not to watch.

"Should I take off my pants too?" he asked, hands pausing on the drawstring.

"O-only if you want to."

A few moments of wriggling beneath the sheets and the pants were tossed off the side of the bed with the shirt.

"All set," Naruto grinned, pulling Hinata back into the circle of his arms. She could feel warm skin against her palms and the soft hair of his legs brushing her toes. This time, she didn't have to fake a shiver.

"Hey, you really are cold," he said, hands moving to her arms so he could rub them briskly, long legs tangling with her own. "Better?"

"Much better," she sighed, resting her head over his heart. There was silence in the room as she waited for Naruto to make his move.

And waited.

And waited.

"Um...Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hinata-chan?"

She slid her fingers suggestively up his sides while staring intently at a loose thread in the comforter.

"Is there anything you w-want right now?" she asked, trying to sound seductive. But her voice cracked half-way through the sentence and she suspected that she ended up sounding like she had the hiccups.

Naruto pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead and smiled at her.

"Nope," he said, "I'm really happy, just having you here with me like this, Hinata-chan."

Her heart sank. She smiled weakly back at him and he squeezed her waist with his arms.

"How about you, is there anything you want?"

Hinata froze, hearing Ino's voice saying 'just jump him' in the back of her head. She looked down at Naruto's innocently expectant face and sighed.

'I've gone this far already,' she thought to herself. ''I can't give up now.'

"A-actually I do want something," she said.

Naruto's smile widened. "Sure," he crowed. "Anything you want. Extra blankets?"

Hinata took a deep breath, then threw her leg over Naruto's hip, bracing one arm on the bed, and bringing the other one up to tangle in the spiky blond locks. Then she lowered her lips to his and proceeded to give him a slow, deep kiss. About two-seconds into the kiss, his body lost its shocked rigidity enough to mould against her and his tongue made its way into her mouth.

Well, except for one specific body part that pretty much kept its rigidity. In fact, it was poking Hinata's thigh quite emphatically.

Mortified, she broke the kiss and buried her face in Naruto's shoulder.

He blinked, then touched his fingers to his lips.

"...Oh."

"Oh," she agreed, the word just a muffled puff of air against his collarbone. She smiled shyly as his hands fitted carefully around the sides her of face, raising her head until she was looking straight into his eyes.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek and she leaned into the motion, nuzzling his palm.

"Hinata," he whispered, bringing his lips closer, "would you like to--"

"Yes," she said as his knee slid up between her thighs. And yes again when his lips attached themselves to her neck, and again when his hands travelled down to caress her spine...and then lower.

By the end of the night, Hinata found that it wasn't so very difficult for her to tell Naruto exactly what she wanted.

--

fin.

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