Archive of Our Own

The silence screaming through every one of Naruto’s gestures burned against Hinata’s newly wounded skin. His fingers, though filled with a devoted care as they wrapped a bandage around her wrist, stood in sharp contrast to his hardened expression. His eyes remained fixed on what he was doing simply because he didn’t want to meet the moonlit gaze of the girl before him, inevitably clouded with guilt.

“I-I can do that…”

She whispered it like a silent plea for him to let her tend to herself, afraid the boiling waves of his irritation might scorch her.

Naruto said nothing as he finished the dressing. He stepped back just enough to grab more bandages, since there were still many injuries left to treat on his brilliant and courageous girlfriend.

“Turn around.”

From the hard, impenetrable tone of his voice, Hinata knew he was still upset.

“Naruto-kun…”

“Turn around, Hinata.” he ordered, his voice deepening, carrying even more of his frustration. His crystal-blue gaze pierced hers; Hinata, wavering, bit her lip before rising from the table and giving him the full view of her bare back, marred with ruptures from her fall down the ravine.

The image of her fighting alone, cornered and wounded, tortured Naruto all over again. The mark left by the kunai that had been meant for her had torn through her soft, perfect skin like a profane act against the sacred beauty that was her body. Naruto took a deep breath, swallowing the words he had already spoken, and that Hinata had already ignored, every time they ended up in situations like this. He hated seeing her hurt, blamed himself for every little scratch on her clothes. Being in love with a kunoichi had never been this stressful.

Naruto slipped the cascade of dark strands over her slender shoulders and let his fingers glide over the faintly dried bruises. Hinata held her breath beneath his touch, an automatic reaction whenever Naruto touched her. Her expression twisted when the alcohol met the open split in her skin and sterilized the wound. Naruto had gentle hands, carrying a tenderness reserved only for his girlfriend, yet the injuries still stung.

Naruto cleaned the wounds and, after leaving her skin free of possible infection, pulled Hinata’s hips toward him with both hands, a roughness thinly disguised that caught her off guard. Holding the roll of bandage, he wrapped it around her bust, covering her breasts and circling her torso to protect her injured shoulder blades.

She tilted her neck slightly and caught sight of the crease of concentration mixed with frustration on her boyfriend’s handsome face. She couldn’t help feeling guilty for upsetting him; yet at the same time, she thought the way he was treating her was unfair. She opened her mouth to try speaking again, but a pained whimper slipped out when Naruto tightened the bandages around her.

“Gomen… did I hurt you? Is it too tight?” The concern was evident in his voice and, for a fleeting instant, it was all he allowed himself to show.

“N-No, it’s fine like this.” Hinata kept to herself that she might have fractured a rib during the fall. The pain would be bearable until they returned to Konoha; therefore, she insisted on not upsetting Naruto further or worrying him with her recklessness.

She swallowed another murmur of pain when he finished the dressing and quietly lamented the loss of the warmth of his hands against her now chilled skin.

“There.”

Hinata turned around and looked at the shinobi’s broad, bare back, almost as marked with bruises as her own. The bandages she herself had wrapped adorned his sculpted abdomen and shoulder, the one he had set back in place when they returned to the abandoned cabin, the shelter they had used during the days they needed to lie low.

“Naruto-kun.”

“Get some rest for now, Hinata. I’ll make a round and make sure we weren’t followed.” He didn’t look at her, didn’t even turn his head, and Hinata knew she was being avoided.

“Please, Naruto-kun, don’t be like this…”

“I don’t want to have this conversation right now.” He took a step toward the forest, but Hinata didn’t want to remain in that unpleasant tension. So she didn’t allow him to end the conversation.

“But we’re going to!” The raised tone of her voice caught the Uzumaki off guard. His gaze snapped to her almost instantly. “I don’t think it’s fair. You would have done the same for me. Why am I being criticized for trying to protect you? For fulfilling my role as support on this mission?”

Cornered, Naruto shot back:

“I told you I had everything under control, that you didn’t need to come down, leave your position to help me, and you still did it. Again. You disobeyed a clear order to stay where you were.”

“You were surrounded, Naruto-kun. There were men coming from every direction. I simply couldn’t stand there watching you fight alone.”

“I could handle it.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to just watch you fight alone when I’m perfectly capable of supporting you too. That’s not how a team works.”

“I didn’t want your support!” he ended up shouting, and Hinata flinched. Naruto noticed her shock and regretted it instantly. With a sigh, he tried to lower his voice, though his anger was still evident. “Your only job was to use the Byakugan to keep me in sight and give me the signal if anyone saw me leaving. You had one job, Hinata, and you still did the exact opposite of what I asked you to do.”

Her eyes grew watery, and her shoulders slumped. Naruto had never raised his voice at her before. She felt small under the sharpness of his tone. Still, she wouldn’t retreat from her point. He would have to hear her out.

“My eyes are useful, but they don’t define all that I am.” Naruto could hear the pain in every word his girlfriend spoke, and it felt like his heart was splitting in two. “Sometimes it feels like I have to remind you that I’m a shinobi too, Naruto-kun. A trained and active kunoichi. I studied at the same academy you did, and we share the same values. And I don’t go on missions just to observe. I know how to fight. I know how to defend myself, and I’m perfectly capable of supporting you if it’s necessary.”

Naruto tried to mend the mistake in his words.

“That’s not what I meant, Hinata…”

“And you can’t order me to stay still while the man I love faces an entire battalion alone.”

“I phrased it badly, I’m not questioning your skills. I’m just saying I don’t want you risking your life for me. Again. Like you always do.”

“How can you ask something like that of me?”

“How could I not?” Naruto turned to face her completely, his muscles tense with the renewed argument. “Do you think I want to see you being mortally wounded in front of me again?”

“And do you think I want to see you pinned down and almost captured again?”

“I already told you I had it handled, dattebayo!”

“And I’ve already asked you to stop playing the hero all the time! You don’t have to do everything alone, how stubborn can you be, Naruto-kun!”

“Stubborn? Me?” Naruto scoffed in disbelief. “Are you serious, Hinata? How many times have we had this argument? Where you clearly pretend to listen to me only to do the exact same thing afterward?”

“And how many times do I have to remind you that, even if you’re a war hero, an impeccable shinobi, you’re not immortal. I don’t underestimate the shinobi world. I’m always afraid that another Pain might rise and threaten to take you away from me.”

“And what do you think I’m haunted by?” He pierced her with his gaze, laying bare the trauma they both still carried.

A shiver swallowed the warmth in Naruto’s body as he remembered the battle they had fought earlier. His throat burned as he cried out her name. He saw her cornered when she fell down the slope to help him. There were too many men, and they all rushed toward her, to Naruto’s horror.

He watched her fight even as he fought himself. He tried to reach her, and his heart nearly stopped when he heard her cry out in pain after being struck in the back. When they finally reached each other, he scooped her into his arms and fled along the path Hinata had mapped out days earlier in case they were forced to retreat. They would have fewer chances of being followed that way.

She had fought bravely, like a true Gentle Fist Master, but the number of men only kept growing, and they wouldn’t be able to handle them all. Hinata had come down to tell Naruto to flee, because she knew he intended to take down every last man. He couldn’t see the reinforcements arriving.

Both of them were injured in the middle of the fight and, after shaking off the bandits, they managed to escape with the artifact they had been sent to recover.

When they finally reached safe ground, Hinata barely had time to catch her breath before Naruto began vehemently scolding her for going to him. The argument lasted until they returned to the old cabin, and silence settled in when Hinata began tending to her boyfriend’s injuries. And here they were again, immersed in a conflict that, if they were being honest, would lead nowhere.

Naruto wanted his girlfriend to understand that he would never forgive himself if something fatal happened to her because of him. And Hinata wanted her boyfriend to understand that she would rather die beside him than leave him to fight alone.

The memory of the blow Hinata had taken during the fight was a perfect mirror of the same attack she had suffered from Pain. Naruto’s heart skipped a beat that very instant, fearing the worst. That was the reason for his fury when Hinata disobeyed his orders.

“Do you think I want to see you bleeding in front of me again and drown in my own misery because I couldn’t save you? When are you going to understand, Hinata? That I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you!” Naruto burst out again, determined to make her see the greatest of his fears. “I know what you’re capable of. I know you’re a brilliant kunoichi. I just don’t want you risking your life for me! I want to be able to fight for both of us. I want to protect you, to spare you. And most of all, I want you to stop trying to save me, because I don’t know what would become of me if I lost you.”

“You won’t lose me…”

“But I already almost did!” he raised his voice, his eyes glistening as the horror he had lived through and feared reliving shone clearly in his cerulean irises when he had nearly lost Hinata.

“Don’t you understand? It’s been four years, but every time you put yourself in danger, I’m thrown right back into that arena, back to that day, back to that memory where I watch you get struck down, brutally hurt, nearly killed because of me!”

Naruto struggled to breathe, crushing inside his chest the phantom pain that still haunted him, lurking in the corners of his deepest fears. “I don’t want to go through that again, Hinata. I don’t want to see the woman I love throwing herself in front of a kunai for me, because if I lose you… there won’t be anything left of me.”

Hinata lost her breath, swallowing all her frustration when faced with the naked fear in Naruto’s face and voice. He was furious not because she had interfered with his plans, but because the fear of her getting hurt while trying to save him still haunted him like a cursed shadow, constantly reminding him of how fragile life was and that, with a single mistake, in the blink of an eye, he could lose his only reason to live.

Life itself was already cruel, but a shinobi’s life was far worse.

Hinata carried within her not only the Will of Fire, but a burning, uncontrollable urge to place Naruto’s life above her own. Naruto knew she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice herself, just as she already had before, and haunted by that self-destructive love, he avoided putting her in danger at all costs, consumed by his greatest fear: not being able to save her.

Hinata needed to understand, once and for all, the magnitude of his love, the abyss her death would cast him into. Just like her, Naruto had proven incapable of loving halfway. When love asked him for rain, he became the storm. Hinata was his fertile ground, the center of his gravity, the force that kept him anchored. Without her, all that would remain was the hollow limbo and the dim shadow of his loneliness.

“I don’t want to have to deal with even the slightest possibility of losing you. I wouldn’t survive it. I couldn’t endure it. I would burn this damned world to the ground if it took you away from me. So please, Hinata… stop trying to save me and let me be the one to take care of you.”

The Hyūga’s eyes trembled with thick tears that threatened to fall at any second. She was swept away by that confession, drenched in a furious and relentless love, one capable of turning to ashes anyone who dared disturb the balance that held them together.

She hadn’t witnessed it herself, but the rumors from the time Pain attacked the village were disturbing enough. So she believed Naruto, because he had acted the exact same way when Pain attacked her. Overwhelmed by Kurama, his pain had spilled beyond the boundaries of sanity, and Naruto had succumbed to anguish when he was forced to watch Hinata be struck down before his eyes.

Back then he hadn’t even been fully conscious of his love for the girl, yet his body had reacted instantly, as if it had already processed what his heart had not yet realized, as though he were already claimed by a love that had not yet been spoken or declared. Somehow, Naruto had always been hers; his heart had always belonged to Hinata, and that day he found the answer. He knew that, deep down, he had already loved her.

Being the object of that love was the greatest blessing in the life of a shinobi whose path had rarely been kind. Naruto wouldn’t trade the warmth of his muse’s arms for all the fortune in the world. His heart and soul were devoted to her, rooted in the promise he had made the day he first confessed his love.

“I want to be with you, Hinata. Now and forever… until the day I die.”

In his blazing gaze, overflowing with pure energy, Hinata could feel his love, powerful and expansive, meant for her alone.

“Naruto-kun…”

His girlfriend stepped closer, cupping his face in her delicate hands.

“My love, forgive me. I… I don’t want you to keep being troubled by that day. I don’t want to cause you pain, Naruto-kun…”

His forehead fell against hers, his eyes slipping shut beneath heavy lids. “I love you too much to lose you, Hinata. Can you understand that?”

His possessive hands framed her slender, bare waist, pulling her closer. “I never want to go through that again, that’s my torment.”

“You won’t. It won’t happen again. Naruto-kun, we’re together now, the circumstances have changed. We’re a team too, a good one, we work. And just as you can’t bear to see me hurt, I wouldn’t survive the thought of losing you… being imprisoned again, captured, or…” Her voice faltered, unable to finish. “I love you so much, and forgive me for that love being bigger than me so much so that it overflows and upsets you with actions that seem selfish. But I’m sorry, Naruto-kun. You could ask me the same thing a million times, and my heart would still insist on it.”

She didn’t call it a mistake, because it wasn’t a sin to try to save the love of her life; it was human, it was inevitable.

“All I can offer you is an imperfect promise… that I’ll take better care of myself, that I’ll be more patient, that I’ll trust you more.”

Naruto let out a long sigh and pulled back, but Hinata drew him in again.

“You’re so stubborn, dattebayo!”

Hinata bit back a smile.

“Not more than you, don’t you think?”

He made the mistake of opening his eyes and finding the embodiment of beauty before him. Hinata’s spell lingered over him, softening his stance and his heart.

“You can’t ask me not to save you.”

“You have to stop that.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve already saved me.” He searched for her opalescent eyes. “From a miserable life, from a lonely future, from the wrong path. You keep saving me day after day. Don’t you ever get tired of being my savior?”

“I would do anything for you.” she replied, resolute in her promise. “And you saved me too, you know that.” Hinata sighed beneath the gaze that burned through her at every moment. In an unquestionable whisper, she pleaded with quiet humility: “Don’t ask me not to fight for the man I love.”

“Don’t torment me with the thought of losing the woman I love.” Long, masculine fingers slid along her jaw. “Ah… you’re an impossible woman, Hinata Hyuuga.”

Hinata beamed, trailing her fingertips along his collarbone, feeling the heat rise.

“Forgive my insolent love.” Her nose brushed against his. “But you know I don’t regret my actions. The thought of taking someone I love’s place has always felt right to me.”

Naruto met her gaze, brimming with passion, then let his eyes drift to the small rise beneath her ribs. His thumb traced the texture of the three-centimeter scar, a silent mark upon her abdomen, a memory of the day Hinata chose to love him without fear.

“Just promise me you won’t leave me,” Naruto pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper. “Promise you’ll be mine beyond this life.” He searched her eyes again. “Because if you leave this world, Hinata, I’ll go with you.”

The intensity of his gaze, his plea, his touch burned through Hinata like white-hot iron. Her breath was stolen, along with her sanity.

“No matter where we are, I’ll always be yours, Naruto-kun. I don’t exist without you.”

Moved by their exchange of honest, mutual love, Hinata found herself overtaken by a blazing desire, breathing with a sharp hunger to have it fulfilled in that very moment. The monument of Naruto’s body sheltered her in his arms, shielding her from the outside world. Their closeness burned against her skin, a fierce longing to become one with the man she loved, to seal in flesh the love that surrounded them.

Without holding back, she whispered, stripped of uncertainty:

“Make me yours, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto had to look at her to fully take in what she had said.

“Hinata…” He chose to warn her, fearing she might regret it.

“Make me yours, here and now. I want to be one with you.”

The shyness laced in her voice, heavy with desire, sent a warning through all of Naruto’s senses. His body tensed, restraining his instincts from giving in to the burning urge to take his girlfriend right then and there. Hinata’s request was dangerous, a step in their relationship that could not be undone.

They had been caught in this sensual dance, teetering between desire and reason for a long time, held back from becoming one only by the archaic customs of the Hyuuga clan, where Hinata was meant to remain untouched until her wedding day to the Uzumaki. They had no date yet; no proposal had even been made. They had been together for only a year. It was too soon to speak of marriage. And yet the pull of the flesh was ever-present, constant and tempting, like a sin begging to be committed. How many times had Naruto nearly cast every rule aside and taken Hinata for himself? They had come close so many times, only to pull themselves back in the end.

Now, however, the request had come from Hinata herself, his sweet, shy girlfriend, who, amid soft, embarrassed moans, had once begged Naruto to stop touching her; otherwise, they would cross a line they might easily regret, especially if her father ever found out. But now Hinata seemed stripped of every restraint; both her voice and her entire body cried out with the certainty of what she wanted.

She wanted Naruto to take her as his woman, his forever.

Her breathing had turned uneven. The temperature rose quickly, suffocating the both of them.

“You can’t ask something like that and expect me to resist, my love…”

“I don’t want resistance, I want surrender. I want to give myself to you.”

Naruto was lost, consumed by his obsession with that woman so small, yet holding absolute power over him.

“Are you sure, my Hime? There’s no turning back from this. I don’t want you to regret it. I can wait as long as it takes to make you mine.”

“I won’t regret it, I want you. Please, Naruto-kun…” she pleaded, lips swollen, eyes sparking, fingers trembling.

And Naruto didn’t try to resist, not even for a nanosecond, unable to go against his own desires.

The growl that escaped his throat as his mouth claimed hers sent electric waves through every atom of Hinata. His desperation was evident in the pressure of his lips against hers, in the way his fingers sank into her pale, bruised skin, and in the heat that radiated from him.

Blinded by desire, he pulled Hinata back to the table where he had treated her wounds. She sat against the wood and wrapped her legs around him. Naruto’s arousal pressed against her thigh, hard and insistent. Between the heated clash of lips, Hinata took the chance to admire the Uzumaki’s sculpted muscles. They were dirty, marked with bruises from the earlier battle, and still dotted with open wounds, bandages scattered across his wrists, arms, and thigh, but neither of them cared about the sting or the pricks of pain; everything was numbed by the longing to become one.

Hinata reached for the small clasp of the bandage that covered her chest, letting it slide down over her shoulders and bust. Naruto followed the movement with hungry eyes, watching as her breasts were freed, lifting toward him as if begging to be touched. Hinata tangled her fingers in his golden hair as Naruto trailed kisses from her chin down to her chest, taking one into his mouth. It had always been the shinobi’s favorite pastime when they were in his apartment, playing with Hinata’s breasts. How many times had he not spilled himself against them, begging Hinata to stimulate him with her soft curves, a fleeting relief amid so many restraints? But not today. Today, he wouldn’t find release there. At last, he would claim his pleasure where it truly belonged, inside her.

She leaned back and watched him lick her swollen nipple, suck it with fervor, and mark her with his hungry lips. He trailed down her abdomen and, as always, kissed the scar that haunted him. Despite the rough urgency of his needy touches, the act carried a tenderness, as if he feared reopening the wound. Hinata felt her skin prickle, he always gave her that gentle gesture.

Lifting her hips, she let Naruto remove her shorts. In one swift motion, he grabbed her by the waist and turned her against the table. His chest, burning with the heat of a thousand suns, pressed against her back, and his arousal pushed against her behind.

“You remember how we usually play, don’t you?”

He bit her earlobe, his hoarse, lust-laden voice pouring into her ears, enough to reduce Hinata to nothing but dust. She glanced back over her shoulder, swallowed by the storm in his eyes when she felt Naruto’s dominant, impatient hand slip into her panties. Nothing they hadn’t done before.

“Fuck… you’re already so wet, my Hime.”

Naruto coated her clit with the slick sweetness her pulsing core offered, drawing a breathy sigh from her. One finger slipped inside, and they both moaned in unison.

“I wanted to make you mine somewhere more appropriate, not in this decrepit cabin.”

He thrust his finger, working his thumb, much to Hinata’s undoing.

“I don’t… oh, I don’t care. I want you so much I feel like I’ll fall apart if I don’t feel you completely.”

That voice had always hypnotized Naruto. The shinobi knew he would do anything Hinata asked, even when it wasn’t truly a command.

“You want me, my Hime?”

Naruto pushed another finger inside, spreading them within her.

“I-I do, Naruto-kun… oh!”

Hinata’s hips arched involuntarily, seeking more of his touch. His teeth sank into the pale skin of her shoulder in an attempt to restrain himself.

“Then you’ll have me.”

Naruto withdrew his fingers and turned her toward him, capturing her cherry lips. In a heated, ravenous kiss, he pulled her slender, curved body close. Hinata removed the band from his blond hair and wrapped her arms around him. With a single step, he laid her down on the futon where they spent the night. Her hair fanned out, and her arms welcomed the man of her dreams, ready to hold her entire world within them. Naruto mapped a trail of kisses and licks along her curving body until he reached her panties, removing them in a single motion.

Her outer lips were already swollen and flushed from his touch, small traces of her pleasure glistening between them. She instinctively pressed her thighs together, shy, but Naruto caught her knees and spread them again.

“Don’t hide from me, Hina. You’re mine and I want to see all of you.”

Savoring the inside of her thighs, Naruto sucked at every inch of her milky skin until he reached the heat between Hinata’s legs. It would be the first time he tasted that forbidden fruit, because although his girlfriend allowed his fingers to bring her to climax, she had still been hesitant about oral sex. Wasting no time, his tongue slid along her small opening before parting it and drawing in that sensitive, nerve-filled bud. She trembled at the contact, her hands finding his blond hair below. Naruto’s lazy eyes opened, and his mouth devoured her. On his tongue bloomed a taste he instantly knew would become his new addiction. The sinful flavor of Hinata’s virginity spread across his tongue, feeding his most depraved desires.

Pinning her legs around his neck, Naruto indulged in those wet lips that seemed to make love to his own. Even restrained, Hinata’s hips moved in spasms, seeking more contact, more of that intoxicating pleasure. His mouth pressed deeper against her throbbing core, and without stopping the work of his tongue, Naruto groaned against her as Hinata flooded him with her profane elixir, her climax spilling over him without warning.

Her legs turned to jelly, devoid of strength. Her entire body convulsed, still caught in small aftershocks. Drenched, she watched Naruto rise onto his knees, his chin and mouth glistening with her release. The sound of his belt unfastening drew her attention, and Hinata followed the long fingers of the shinobi as he loosened the leather and pulled down the zipper of his pants. A thrilling anticipation coursed through her, raising every hair on her body. This meant what she had long been waiting for: to finally be taken by Naruto.

Her clouded eyes traced the powerful form of a shinobi shaped by years of training. His chest, exposed to the sunlight that filtered into the small space, was coated in a thin sheen of sweat that gave him an almost hypnotic allure. From his pronounced trapezius, a mass of muscle sculpted the physique of a perfect ninja. Broad shoulders led into swollen biceps; his hardened torso was adorned with the defined lines of his abdomen; and lower still, along that sinful trail framed by tawny blond hair, lay the object of Hinata’s desire.

The erect, imposing shaft swayed in the air as Naruto pushed his boxers down along with his pants. The flushed tip already glistened with pent-up desire, making Hinata’s mouth water as she recalled the times she had held him in her hands. Her small fingers had always earned praise from her boyfriend when she pleasured him; and it had taken her time to admit just how much she enjoyed touching him, bringing him that kind of pleasure. The heat between her legs still lingered, burning for him.

When he stroked himself in a lewd tease, a sinful wave rippled through Hinata; she spread her legs shamelessly for him, giving him full view of what he had done to her just moments before, a loud, undeniable invitation for him to claim her as his. He squeezed himself and let out a low growl as he watched his sweet, shy girlfriend slide her hands along the inside of her thighs and open herself to him.

“Fuck, Hime… you’re so damn beautiful.”

Overflowing with obsession, his gaze burned through every inch of Hinata, and for a fleeting moment, Naruto almost felt guilty for defiling something so pure. Yet in the face of his raw, consuming desire, he knew there would be no turning back from what he was about to do to his woman.

She moaned, her body pulsing in longing to take him in.

“Naruto-kun, please…”

Naruto considered himself the worst kind of pervert for how obscenely arousing he found that tone. It wasn’t always intentional, but his body interpreted it as a call, to split her open and pour himself into her without restraint.

“Keep touching yourself for me. Don’t stop.”

With his length throbbing in his hand, he leaned over her and brushed against her slick entrance. Naruto kissed her slowly, deeply, drawing a soft, needy sound from his girlfriend.

“You know I want you more than anything, don’t you, my Hime?” he murmured, hovering over her. “Then you also need to understand that the moment I join myself to you… I won’t be able to stop.”

He warned her, licking his lips before capturing hers again in wet, hungry kisses.

“If I take you now, Hinata… I’m not stopping.”

She nodded frantically, wrapping one leg around his waist.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop. Make love to me, Naruto-kun, I’m begging you.”

Naruto drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the air between them, closing his eyes as he took in her desperate, melodic plea.

“It might hurt a little, princess, but I promise it won’t last long. Just relax, okay?”

Hinata nodded, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt him part her, burying his hardened length into her warm, wet core. Naruto couldn’t stop his gaze from traveling down their bodies, halting at the moment they became one. Hinata took him in, slowly, deliciously. Her slender fingers moved to her clit while her tight entrance stretched to accommodate him. A trembling moan left them both as they joined.

Despite his overwhelming hunger for her, the shinobi took care to move slowly, fully aware of the untouched, sacred territory he was entering. But Hinata was so wet, so swollen, that the slickness eased his way. Once he was sure she was alright, it didn’t take long for him to begin moving, intoxicated by the way her soft walls clenched around him.

Hinata felt the pressure burn within her as Naruto’s movements gradually increased. He scattered kisses across her face and chest, trying to wrap her in a sense of comfort so the experience wouldn’t be painful. He felt her resistance at first, but it slowly melted away. His hips demanded dominance, his body craved urgency. He needed to move faster or he would lose himself completely.

“Tell me if I hurt you, love.”

It was his cue to take her with more urgency, more intensity. Hinata wrapped her legs around him, lifting her hips higher. Naruto pressed himself flush against her, sinking in completely. Nothing could have prepared Hinata for what it felt like to take Naruto into her body. The sensations overwhelming her escaped all reason, sending her drifting somewhere beyond time and space, where he was everything around her.

Her soft, unrestrained moans spilled freely, her body drawn helplessly to his. Surrounded by such pleasure, the Hyuuga wondered how she had resisted him for so long. Had she known what awaited her, she would have given herself to him sooner.

“Ah… my Hime…” The nickname slipped from Naruto’s lips like a prayer, right after he pulled her lower lip between his teeth. Their entwined bodies moved in an intimate, fevered rhythm, arms and legs tangled together, fingers and nails chasing the edges of pleasure, mouths swallowing each other’s sounds. Naruto lost himself in her goddess-like curves, eager to savor every part of Hinata, unwilling to forget a single inch. His hips drove into her, and she welcomed him; his body claimed her, and she embraced him, warm, wet, and impossibly tight.

Ravenous, he growled against the pale skin of her neck and bit down on a generous patch, sucking hard. Hinata cried out, her nails digging into his sweat-slick, gleaming skin, completely forgetting the bruises that covered him. The pain struck Naruto sharply, but in all the right ways. He drove into her harder, intoxicated by her scent, by the strength of her thighs wrapped around him, by her hands roaming over him, and by the velvet warmth of her mouth against his shoulder.

Naruto was certain one of the stitches Hinata had made in his calf had torn open under the force of his movements, but he couldn’t have cared less. The white bandage slowly bloomed red as he poured every ounce of strength into burying himself between his girlfriend’s legs, finally becoming one with her.

“Ah! Naruto-kun!” Hinata was already nearing her climax again, and though Naruto was desperate for his own release, he didn’t want to stop yet.

“Come here, my goddess.” He rose, pulling her from the futon and settling her onto his lap. Returning to the table, he laid her against the wood and sank into her once more. “I forgot about your back for a moment. Are you alright? Does anything hurt?” he apologized even as he began moving again. Hinata tangled her fingers in his golden hair and sank her teeth into his broad shoulder.

“I-it hurts everywhere… but I don’t min-OH! I don’t mind.” Naruto let out a breath of laughter, because he felt it too, sharp pulses of pain throughout his body, still heated from the earlier battle. His muscles ached, several of his wounds had reopened. But nothing would make him stop, unless Hinata lost consciousness.

“Tell me to stop.” he teased, one hand braced against the table, the other gripping her thigh against his waist as he leaned over her.

“No!” Hinata purred into his ear, defiant. “Don’t stop, don’t stop!” Her voice dissolved into moans. Her arms clung to his shoulders, their foreheads meeting, their eyes locking, spilling into shared devotion. Naruto felt his stomach tighten, his release creeping closer. “I love you,” he confessed, drunk on it. His muse tightened around him, and that was his undoing. “I love you too.”

Hinata couldn’t hold his gaze as she came undone. Her mouth fell open in a drawn-out cry that sounded like music to Naruto’s ears. She called his name again and again as her body trembled around him, giving him everything she had. It was the breaking point for the shinobi, who found himself hypnotized by the sight of his girlfriend unraveling beneath him, arching, shaking, crying out in pleasure like the very embodiment of seduction, binding him to those sinful curves.

Naruto came hard; harder than he ever had in his life. For the first time, he spilled himself inside a woman, and by fate’s grace, inside his woman, the first and only one he ever wanted by his side. Now, the pact they had made was sealed. The surrender was complete, body and soul. Forever, his body and heart would belong to the woman in his arms; forever, her name would rest on the tip of his tongue like a mantra of joy, the only one that would ever fall from his lips.

Hinata felt overwhelmed, swept away by something nameless and long-awaited, now finally fulfilled. They remained joined as they tried to catch their breath. Her body rested safely within Naruto’s strong arms, still sharing the same warmth. She caressed his arms, his shoulders, his hair. Then she found his lips and kissed him softly.

Naruto stroked her back, brushing damp strands away from her face.

“Are you okay?” he asked, still pulsing inside her. His girlfriend smiled at him, cheeks flushed, her expression light.

“Better than ever.”

They shared a breathless smile, exchanging several soft pecks.

“You’re incredible, you know that, Hinata Hyuuga?” Naruto murmured against her lips, still dazed by her taste, her scent, her feel. “Thank you for trusting me. For choosing me.”

His fingers traced gentle patterns along her bare, damp back. She sighed, just as in love.

“You’re everything to me, Naruto-kun. I should be the one thanking you for choosing me back.” Her lips met his again, soft and full, warm with lingering passion.

“If I tell you something, promise you won’t get mad at me?” Naruto asked. Hinata looked at him curiously. “I think I’m bleeding.”

He bit his lip, a playful glint in his eyes as Hinata widened hers.

“N-Nani? Naruto-kun! Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I wouldn’t have stopped for anything in this world and neither would you,” he teased, pressing a kiss to her neck.

“You idiot! Come here, let me change your bandage.”

(…)

As he made his way back to his apartment after delivering his mission report to the Rokudaime, the Uzumaki shoved his hands into the pockets of his orange pants, watching the steady rhythm of his steps against the streets of Konoha. A nervous anxiety twisted in his stomach with every step he took toward home. The slight crease on his forehead gave away how deeply his thoughts tormented him, more precisely, how they nearly consumed him.

He had been weighing what he was about to do for the entire two months since his last mission with Hinata, the one forever marked by the first time they became one. During his most recent mission, now completed, he found himself wondering if this was truly the right moment, and, more importantly, how he would do it. The fear of seeming rushed or overly emotional still lingered in his decisions, but his heart insisted it was the right thing to do, leaving no room for doubt.

They had been together for nearly two years, and Naruto could say with certainty that Hinata was the woman of his life. He didn’t need more time dating to confirm the obvious. He was deeply, completely in love with her, and ready to prove it every single day by her side.

The trip to Kirigakure for diplomatic purposes had unexpectedly become a turning point in solidifying his thoughts. Naruto hadn’t realized how much sensitivity lay beneath the surface of the Mizukage, Mei Terumi. For a woman who had chosen to set aside the desires of her own heart to dedicate herself to leading a nation, she showed a sharp awareness of the path of a heart fully given, like Naruto’s.

A perceptive woman, experienced in reading people, especially someone like Naruto, whose heart had always been written plainly in his actions. He was the very definition of an open book; it was easy to see the countless pages filled with his girlfriend, the sweet, gentle Princess of the Byakugan, the girl known for capturing the heart of the Hero of the War.

Surprised at how transparent his feelings had become, Naruto found himself opening up to the Kage of the Mist. He spoke of his desire to build a life with Hinata under the same roof, tired of being apart from her and questioned whether taking such a decisive step might be too sudden, considering they had never openly discussed it before.

The Mizukage’s advice echoed in his mind.

“You know what scares me most about a woman’s love, Naruto? When she chooses. Not when she falls in love, because that can happen a few times in a lifetime. But when, beyond love, beyond passion, beyond the entire storm of feelings it brings, she decides to stay… that makes her devotion deep and pure. Because a woman doesn’t love with half her heart. When she chooses someone, she gives everything: courage, patience, respect, care. She fights battles no one sees. Endures pain she never complains about. And even so… she stays, by choice. And for you to be worthy of that kind of love, you have to choose her back. Every single day. Out loud. If you already make that choice every day by standing beside Hinata, then you already know what you have to do.”

To help him stand firm in his decision, the Mizukage gifted him a jewel crafted solely for that purpose.

“Accept it as an early gift. It brings me joy to see young hearts intertwined in something so genuine and pure. You are a good man, and Hinata is a good woman. And to symbolize this new chapter, this ring will hold you together in a unique way. The defining traits of your beloved are honored within it, a tribute to her, the focus of your burning love. As for your special touch… that will reveal itself at the moment you offer it, when you make the proposal. I hope she likes it.”

Filled with a sudden surge of courage, the shinobi returned to Konoha days later at full speed. Yet now, doubt crept in once more. The small box felt like it weighed a ton in his pocket, his fingers tightening around it. His heart stuttered the moment he saw the lights on in his apartment as he finally reached his street.

Hinata was waiting for him.

He took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to his floor. As he opened the door, he was met with the warm, familiar aroma of a rich broth, simmered for hours, notes of miso and slow-cooked bones filling the air. The scent of soy sauce completed the dish Hinata was preparing for their dinner. He slipped off his boots, leaving them by the entrance, and dropped his backpack to the floor. As he stepped closer, he tugged his jacket zipper down slightly, a wide smile spreading across his face at the sight of his girlfriend wearing slippers, one of his shirts draped over her small yet enticing frame, and an apron tied around her waist, leaning forward to taste the ramen broth with a small pout on her lips.

“Tadaima!” His hoarse voice announced his arrival and to the sudden swell in his chest, Hinata’s opal eyes widened as she rushed toward him.

“Okaeri, Naruto-kun!” She collided with him, warm and welcoming. Smiling, Naruto caught her in his arms and sealed those flushed lips, leaving traces of his longing behind.

“It makes me so happy to come home to you, love,” he murmured, showering her with kisses.

“The Rokudaime told me you’d be arriving today, so I begged otou-san to let me welcome you,” Hinata said, slipping his jacket from his shoulders. “How are you? Are you hungry? I’m almost done with dinner. I also prepared your bath.”

Naruto simply held that angelic face between his hands, quietly taking in the sight of his woman for a few moments.

“Thank you for being here, for being with me.” He chose to express, sincerely, all the care and affection Hinata devoted to him. And he realized that this was what he wanted for every day of his life: to come home and have her there, welcoming him with arms full of love. He wanted Hinata living with him.

“I’ll always be with you, Naruto-kun.” She rose onto her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Go take your bath, I’ll serve dinner soon.”

Naruto obeyed his “boss” and headed to the bathroom, shedding the usual grime of missions as he stepped under the water. He didn’t take long. Once he finished drying his blond hair, he peeked out to see Hinata carrying two bowls filled with ramen broth to the chabudai in the center of the room. She removed her apron and smiled at him.

“I hope it’s as good as last time. I added a special ingredient this time but I won’t tell you what it is.”

Hinata knew of Naruto’s deep love for Ichiraku’s ramen and had learned the recipe so she could serve it to him at home. It had become a habit to welcome him with his favorite meal, and Naruto appreciated that gesture more than anything.

“Hmm… let’s see if my taste buds are sharp enough.” He chewed thoughtfully, focusing on the layers of flavor as he sat on the cushion beside her. Hinata watched him with eager eyes, silently challenging him to guess her secret.

“Am I crazy, or is there a subtle hint of black garlic?” Naruto caught her bright smile and knew he had guessed right.

“You’re getting good at this, Naruto-kun. I’m proud.” She gently ran her fingers through his freshly washed hair. “How was your mission? I know diplomatic ones tend to bore you.”

“Surprisingly, it was actually pretty good. The Hidden Mist always treats me well, and after a long conversation, the Mizukage helped me clear up some thoughts that had been circling in my head, dattebayo.”

“Did she advise you on something?” Hinata blew gently over the broth before taking a small sip.

“You could say that. She helped me make an important decision, one that’s been weighing on me for about two months now.”

Naruto noticed the shift in Hinata’s expression.

“Is something bothering you, Naruto-kun? Something I can help with?”

“It wasn’t exactly bothering me… I was just struggling to make the idea real, you know? Putting obstacles in my own way that didn’t actually exist. Now I can see I’m on the right path.”

Hinata found the vague way he spoke unusual.

“It’s okay, Hina. Don’t worry.” He cupped the back of her neck and silenced her concerns with a gentle kiss, and they continued their meal in harmony. Naruto praised her cooking, and Hinata blushed as she admitted she had wanted to accompany him on his mission because she had missed him.

When Hinata stood to take care of the dishes, Naruto used the moment to slip into the bedroom and retrieve the small object he had left there earlier. He took a deep breath, drawing in all the confidence he could muster for what he was about to do.

“Love, can we stay here for a bit before we go to bed?” Naruto asked as she dried her hands on the kitchen towel.

Intrigued by the request, Hinata nodded and returned to the cushions, where Naruto sat beside her.

“What is it, Naruto-kun?” She took his hands, giving him her full attention.

“I wanted to talk to you.” His blue eyes met hers, and Hinata felt a flicker of tension. “Actually… I don’t really know how to do this. I just feel like I have to.”

The Hyuuga felt her hands being gently enclosed by his as her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Naruto looked down at her delicate fingers, her skin almost translucent, and his gaze lingered on her ring finger.

“Hinata… I’ve been thinking a lot about our relationship since we came back from our last mission together,” Naruto began, nervousness tightening in his chest. “That moment we shared stayed with me. I used to imagine what our first time would be like, but nothing could’ve prepared me for finally being yours that day. And after nearly two years of being your boyfriend… I realized something.”

Hinata held her breath, bracing herself for the worst. She parted her lips to interrupt, but Naruto kept going.

“I’m tired of being just that.” The blue of his eyes sank into the grayish-lilac of hers, searching for a place to belong. “Even as your boyfriend, with Hiashi’s permission and all the formalities in place, I still feel like I only have half of you. On the days you can’t be here, when I come home and you’re not around, something in me dims. I fall into such a ridiculous slump that the guys end up making fun of me. I’m tired of having to wait for you to ask your father for permission just to spend a little time with me. Or begging Kakashi-sensei to assign us to the same mission just because I want to be with you longer. I’m tired because I know I need more, and I’m not talking about what you can give me, but about what is already ours, and what I want to keep, protect, and nurture every single day… with you fully by my side.”

Naruto paused, drawing a breath as he tried to steady the words that seemed to tumble over each other on their way out. This moment mattered, it was decisive. He had to get it right, because a request like this only came once in a man’s life when his heart was truly given.

“What I’m trying to say is… after that day, when I had you completely for the first time, I realized something again, but even more strongly. You’re the only woman I want in my life. I realized I don’t need more time for us to grow into this or to be sure of what I want… because the truth is, I’ve always known. I don’t need or want to wait another two years to make you my wife when I can do it right here and now, with my heart open and completely yours.”

When Hinata understood where Naruto was going, her heart seemed to skip several beats. A fine sheen of sweat formed on her palms, and her nerves threatened to give way entirely. Her pale eyes widened, earning a soft smile from Naruto. She was grateful she was sitting, her legs likely wouldn’t have held her much longer.

“N-N-Naruto-k-kun… you… y-you…” Hinata had never stuttered so much in her life. Her voice trembled, but she fell silent as Naruto continued.

“I love you, Hinata. That’s always been an absolute truth in my heart even before I fully understood what love really meant. Ever since you chose to love me, I’ve been happier and I still am. I embraced life differently because you’re in it. I have no doubts about my love for you or about what I’m going to do. I’ve already made my decision… now I just need to know yours.”

Naruto released her hands and stepped back, lowering himself onto one knee. Hinata watched, utterly stunned, as he reached into the pocket of his pajama pants and pulled out a small velvet box. It was impossible for her to say a single word at the sight of the man of her life kneeling before her, offering her a ring.

Not just any promise ring, but an engagement one.

“I probably wouldn’t have had the money to buy you a proper ring, and for that I’d have to save for like nine months… and since I’m not exactly patient, the Mizukage gave me this.” He opened the small box, revealing a shimmering ring that reflected in the eyes of its future owner.

“She encouraged me to take this next step with you, to reach the final stage of a commitment. And as an early celebration, she had a diamond ring specially forged for me to give to you.”

Hinata brought both hands to her chest, overwhelmed by the delicate opulence displayed before her. The oval, water-like diamond, reminiscent of the Mist, stole all the air from her lungs. Its glow mirrored her own eyes, a milky white laced with soft blue and pearlescent reflections, just like her Byakugan. The band carried a quiet elegance, much like her, crafted in white platinum with refined mother-of-pearl, adorned with two nearly imperceptible threads that met beneath the stone, symbolizing Naruto and Hinata walking side by side.

The smile his future fiancée gave him was so radiant it nearly outshone the jewel between them, a soft curve of lips bathed in a gentle light, capable of eclipsing the diamond itself. And in her eyes overflowed everything her heart felt, everything her voice could not name: love in its purest form, too vast to be contained in words. The emotion that stole her breath surged through Naruto like a wave, and he couldn’t hold back the tears that began to dampen his face, his voice faltering. Hinata’s answer was already there, in those silent lips, parted in a breathtaking, luminous smile, where her decision spilled out effortlessly.

Even so, though he was already celebrating in quiet anticipation, Naruto needed to ask the question as tradition demanded. Because he knew that the moment Hinata gave him her yes, the world could crumble, time itself could bend, and no force, present or future, would ever be strong enough to pull him away from the woman who now held his heart in her hands.

“And it is with this ring, Hinata, that I ask you to share an entire lifetime by my side… that I ask you, with an open heart completely devoted to you, if you will be my wife, my forever. With this ring, my Hime, I ask you… will you marry me?”