Title: Something Special

Author: Shawny Wong

Characters: Naruto x Hinata

Prompt: married life

As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha was prosperous – which meant that the people of Konoha tended to have extra discretionary income – which in turn, led to a thriving business community. Konoha had several shopping districts and many specialty stores with quality merchandise, including imports of silk and tea, handcrafted furniture, and fine art. With all of those options, it should have been a simple task to find a gift.

But it wasn't.

Naruto sped through the largest shopping district in the village on a quest to find the Perfect Present.

A book? Too ordinary.

A sweater? (It was getting colder...) Nah. Too practical.

A silk kimono? She already owned a dozen.

A new weapon set? Too unromantic.

Oh! New training scrolls and more exploding tags? He actually paused and almost bought them before he remembered that this gift was supposed to be for her – and not for himself!

A mouth-blown glass figurine? Pretty, but too breakable.

A "decorative" centerpiece? No way. Even he could tell it was butt ugly.

Why was it so difficult to find the perfect gift?

I suck. I suck. I. Totally. Suck. I don't know why she married me. I suck so much. How could I have forgotten our first anniversary? Argh!

On this day, last year, he'd married the most wonderful woman in the world. She did so much for him and was such an integral part of him that he couldn't imagine a life without her. He could hardly believe that an entire year had already gone by. (Wow. A whole year already?) It felt like he'd just gotten married. His life was fantastic... no... better than fantastic! He had a rewarding job, great friends, and a beautiful wife who he adored. He was so busy with missions, training his genin team, cuddling with Hinata, training on his own, training with Hinata, developing new jutsu, kissing Hinata, and working at the Hokage tower part-time that the months had simply flown by.

In fact, the date had completely slipped his mind until he'd run into Ino on his way home from a D-rank mission with his genin. Their conversation had gone smoothly – just two friends catching up – until...

"So... Are you doing anything special for Hinata tonight?" Ino asked casually.

As a trained interrogation expert, Ino prided herself on her ability to remember the tiniest of details, no matter how insignificant; it was a skill that had saved her life more than once. As a good friend, Ino prided herself on her ability to remember all birthdays... and anniversaries.

"Um... No?"

"What do you mean 'No'?"

Naruto winced. His ears still hurt from the sheer volume of her scream.

Ino had promptly shoved a calendar in his face and rubbed his nose in it for good measure. Then she'd ranted about the idiocy the male species in general – and his lack of consideration in particular – before she'd ordered him to go buy something nice for his wife. Immediately.

Naruto was more than happy to comply. After all, he loved his wife and wanted to get her something nice, but he was running out of time.

It was already dusk by the time he arrived at the shopping district. Several shops were already closed – and the ones that weren't closed were about to be. Shopkeepers were taking down signs advertising today's sales and clerks were sweeping the floors and pulling the outdoor displays back inside. Everyone seemed eager to go home.

He groaned, frustrated and depressed by the sad truth staring him in the face. He didn't have a gift for his wife. He took a deep breath and made a familiar hand sign.

"Kage bushin no jutsu!"

He was not going to go home empty-handed.

"I'm home."

Naruto closed the door behind him and removed his sandals. He could smell something delicious cooking in the kitchen – and it made him feel even worse. Hinata stepped out of the kitchen to greet him, wearing an apron that said: I Kiss Better Than I Cook. Naruto grinned in spite of himself.

"Welcome home, Naruto-kun," she said with a smile.

"Here. These are for you." He offered her a colorful bouquet of assorted wild flowers. In desperation, he'd sent over a dozen shadow clones into the fields and the forest around the village to pick the prettiest flowers they could find. "Happy anniversary, Hinata-chan."

"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "These are beautiful. Thank you, Naruto-kun. I didn't think you'd remember."

"I didn't," he confessed. "Ino reminded me. I'm sorry. I know it's not much, but... I forgot and... I'm really sorry."

"Oh, Naruto-kun. You don't have to be sorry. I'm not upset."

Hinata put her arms around his neck... (Naruto's arms automatically went around her waist and pulled her close to him) ... and gave him a sweet kiss.

"You're not?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm not," she said firmly.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

She gave him another kiss – one that proved she really did kiss better than she cooked. And considering what an awesome cook she was... Naruto was left dazed, breathless, and with tingles all the way down to his toes.

"That's good," he murmured. "But Hinata-chan, it's our anniversary. Why didn't you say anything? We could have done more to celebrate. Something... you know... special."

Hinata shook her head and kissed him again.

"Silly. This," she gestured around them, indicating him, her, and their cozy home with a wave of her hands, "This is something special. I'm married to you – and that makes every day a special day."

Fin.

Author's Note:

Written for slytherin_gypsy (on Live Journal) because months and months ago, she requested a NaruHina drabble and provided the prompt: married life.

slytherin_gypsy: Sorry for taking so long. I hope you like it!

Some girls make such a big fuss over Valentine's Day and/or anniversaries. I've never understood that. When you're with your special someone, every day is a day that should be celebrated.