Chapter 2: Together, We Learn
Together, We Learn

Of course, the wedding night scared the hell out of Hinata. She certainly wasn't ready for that yet.

She had already showered, was dressed in a long silk gown, and was sitting in what was now hers and Naruto's bed. They also owned their own place within the Konoha headquarters now.

She tried to calm herself down, but her beating heart wasn't helping at all. They had to consummate their marriage at some point, she knew that, but she didn't want to do it yet...not right now, when he didn't even have the same feelings as she did.

Her heart nearly stopped when the bathroom door opened and Naruto stepped out in an orange silk robe.

She almost smiled at the fact that even the pajamas were in his favorite color, but she couldn't smile because her nervousness was consuming her right now.

Naruto closed the bathroom door behind him and slipped into bed beside her, sitting quietly in the same position as she was in. To be honest, he didn't actually want to do it either. He knew she was scared and that this whole thing left her with no choice. It left him with no choice either.

He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Um...Hinata...?"

Hinata's gripped the blanket just a little tighter. "Yes?"

Wow, she didn't even stutter. He expected her voice to tremble or something, but she answered him so firmly. Was she not nervous at all?

"Sorry." He apologize for the hundredth time since he chose her. "I don't want to make this uncomfortable for the both of us. You're one my precious friends and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I know this marriage is going to be hard for the both of us, but I'm willing to give my all for both you and for this village."

This was the exact reason why she fell for him. He genuinely cared about the people who were dear to him...he wouldn't do anything that would put them in harm or do anything that would place them in a difficult situation. He was one of the reasons why she's gained so much confidence in herself over these past few years.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when he slightly shifted so he was sitting a little faced towards her. He reached for her hands and held them in his own. "...I'm actually a bit nervous right now, and I've never done any intimate things with a woman before, so I apologize if this isn't what you imagined for your first time. If I'm hurting you in any way, just let me know..."

Hinata felt herself blush for the first time in forever and she closed her eyes tightly when he let go of her hands and gently laid her down so that he hovered over her. She turned her head to the side because she didn't dare to look at him right now. She almost gasped when she felt him lean down to place a featherlight kiss on her neck.

Suddenly, she took a hold of his robe and immediately sat up, pushing him away, bumping her head with his in the process.

"Ow!" They both winced and exclaimed at the same time.

Hinata let go of him and she placed her hand on her forehead, which was probably red from the hard hit. She gazed up at Naruto and he was also holding his forehead. "I'm sorry!" She immediately apologized.

Naruto looked at her and she was taken by surprise when he suddenly let out a small laugh. "Hinata? You really don't want to do this right now, do you?"

Hinata bit her bottom lip and then she slowly shook her head. "...I'm sorry...it's just, it doesn't feel right. Can we just...wait? Until the right moment comes for the both of us, can we wait before doing this?" She asked hopefully.

Naruto sighed in relief and he smiled at her. He felt incredibly awkward kissing her like that and he was glad she pushed him away before things went any further. "To be honest, it didn't feel right for me either. Today's been a tiring day, probably more for you than for me, so I understand if you feel like this right now. We can wait...I won't mind."

Hinata also sighed in relief and she thanked him. She was glad that she was bold enough to push him away like that. She was also glad that he understood and felt the same way she did about this. "...can we just sleep now?" She asked.

He laughed again at her innocence and just nodded. They both laid down, facing each other.

Naruto's eyes trailed over her face. She was his wife. Hinata Hyuuga was his wife. It was kinda unbelievable now that it really hit him.

Hinata was also gazing at him, admiring his blue eyes and blonde hair. It felt like a dream, laying here beside him. Naruto Uzumaki was her husband. It was a strange thing to think about. In a blink of an eye, they ended up in this situation that they never thought would happen in a million years.

"Goodnight, Naruto..." She muttered softly.

"Night, Hinata..." He couldn't help but smile as her eyes fluttered closed and she quickly drifted off to sleep. Then he blinked curiously when a sudden thought struck him.

Thinking about the way she smiled today and the way her eyes lit up with determination, hearing the confidence in her voice and experiencing the boldness in her actions...and then now when he was gazing her, seeing how long her hair grew, how long her eyelashes were, how pretty and pink her lips and her cheeks were against the paleness of her flawless skin and how peaceful she looked when she was sleeping...

...he wondered...has she always been this beautiful?

He awoke the next day and at first, he was confused as to where he was, but then all of the events of yesterday came rushing back in his head.

"Oh yea...I'm Hokage now." He grinned happily and sat up, stretching out his arms.

Then he suddenly realized that Hinata wasn't even in bed with him. He looked at the time and realized it was only 8AM. Then the aroma of fresh soup and ramen hit his nose and he got excited when he guessed what she was probably doing right now.

He quickly jumped out of bed and washed up before running out the bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Are you cooking ramen?!"

Hinata nearly jumped at his sudden shout, and she turned to face him. Instead of answering him, she laughed softly at his appearance. His hair was sticking up in unusual ways, his robe was loosened a little so that his chest was exposed and his expression was like that of a little boy who just got a birthday cake.

Naruto's heart fluttered slightly at the sound of her laughter...he didn't think he ever heard her laugh so wholeheartedly like that before.

"Yes, I'm cooking ramen." She finally replied and walked towards him. She hesitated a bit, but then she boldly reached up towards him and ran her fingers through his hair, brushing out the tangles.

Well, shit.

He's never had anyone do that before...and he was surprised that she wasn't even nervous to touch him like it was normal. It was so weird that she got his heart racing like this when he's known her for so long and didn't even consider her anything more as a friend. The fact that she was so close to him right now wasn't really helping either.

"You should've at least brushed your hair and wore something other than this robe before you came out." She laughed again before her hands traveled down and she tightened his robe so that it fully covered his chest. "The ramen's ready, so you can eat now if you want."

Naruto once again couldn't help but smile at her. "Thank you, Hinata."

She led him over to the table and his eyes glistened at the sight. Two bowls of fresh ramen sat at the edge of both ends of the table, still steaming, and there were a bunch of small side dishes such as fish cakes and seaweed scattered in the middle of the table.

"This looks so amazing!"

He didn't waste any time and sat down, grabbing the chopsticks even before she sat down in her own chair.

She laughed for the third time that morning when he slurped the noodles loudly and picked at each and every side dish there was. Then she remembered that he was Hokage now...and it made her so happy that she was the only one who got to see this side of him.

Naruto glanced up at her and stopped eating so fast. She was looking at him with such a face that seemed like she absolutely adored him right now...it was a bit strange. He's never had anyone look at him so affectionately like that before...and then he suddenly wondered why she was even gazing him with such an expression.

He swallowed what was in his mouth and then set down his chopsticks. "Sorry, I should've waited for you to sit down and take the first bite. You cooked all this so early in the morning and I just dove in like this." He apologized. He felt like he was always apologizing to her. It always felt like she did so much for him, yet all he did was take what she had.

"It's ok, go ahead and eat. You're probably gonna have a busy day ahead of you." Hinata reassured him.

"So are you. You're my wife now so you'll be busy alongside me."

'You're my wife now.' That statement made both of them freeze for a slight moment. Naruto was surprised that he said it so easily. It felt both unreal and real at the same time...that she was wife now. Hinata could feel herself blushing, and she looked down at her bowl. Honestly, it still felt like a dream, even though he was really sitting there across from her.

The silence was broken by a loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Naruto quickly got up and ran to the door, opening it to reveal a middle-aged man who held a stack of paper in his arms.

He bowed to Naruto before speaking. "Hokage sama, these are the paperworks that require your signature for the day. There are also missions and important official documents from neighboring villages that need to be looked over."

"Oh, of course. Thank you. I'll head over to the main office in ten minutes." Naruto bowed his head and took the papers before the man walked away.

Hinata came up behind him and her eyes widened at the huge stack of documents. "You're supposed to look through all of those?"

"Ehehe, yea. When Tsunade was Hokage, she always had stacks of papers like this whenever I saw her, too. It's fine, it all comes with the responsibilities of being Hokage. Besides, everything in these documents are important matters so I have to make sure to read them thoroughly anyways."

"I'll help. You can go ahead and do the signatures and I'll read the ones that don't need a signature and just report them to you later tonight." Hinata suggested as she reached out a hand to him, expecting him to give her half of the stack.

"Are you sure?" Naruto blinked.

Hinata nodded at him and urged him to give her half. He sighed and then divided the stack of papers, giving some to her.

"Let's finish breakfast before we head out, then."

The next few days were hectic and chaotic.

Naruto was busy running around, getting acquainted with where everything was, what kinds of responsibilities and activities he was going to be in charge of, and who the important people of both Konoha and other villages were.

Hinata was also busy running around, overseeing the ninja academy's programs, managing market affairs, and reading over important documents that Naruto was too busy to read.

It was different than what they both imagined because they rarely saw each other. After a long day of learning their duties and finishing their jobs, the only time they saw each other was during the evening or night.

Hinata expected the stress and headaches that were going to happen sooner or later, but she didn't know she was going to be so overwhelmed by just one month of training and being educated about Konoha's leadership system.

She also missed him. Instead of working beside him, they were apart for the whole day, doing their own individual things for the village and she was a bit upset that she didn't even see him until bedtime.

Naruto, on the other hand, was so busy that he didn't even have time to think about what she was doing. However, he found it surprisingly comforting to go home to see her sound asleep on the bed. Seeing her peaceful and relaxed expression made everything he was stressed about that day go away.

When he came home today, it was already far past midnight and he guessed that she was probably sound asleep already.

He quietly opened the door to their room and to his surprise, he saw her sitting up on the bed.

"Hinata? It's late, shouldn't you be sleeping already?" He walked over to her and sat down beside her.

Hinata turned to face him and she stayed quiet for a few moments before she finally spoke. "...when are we going to be able to spend some time together?"

Naruto stared at her blankly. "You want to spend time together?"

"Well, I mean...we are married. And for the past month or so, we barely see each other. It's only logical that married couples spend time together, right?"

Naruto understood her point and he nodded. "Yea, but the things that we're busy with are important. I'm pretty sure that after this month of training is over and we learn how to properly do our duties, we'll be able to have some free time."

Hinata opened her mouth and she was about to say that she missed him, but she figured it was too early to act on her feelings. She sighed and forced a smile at him. "I understand. Then I'll just have to be patient." She then laid down and turned so that her back was facing him instead.

Naruto felt guilty again. He didn't know how to care or love her properly like a husband should love a wife. He was convinced that she probably still loved him...he still remembered clearly her confession when she fought against Pain to protect him. Maybe that was why she always gazed at him with so much affection.

Sure, she made his heart race here and there and she was undeniably getting more beautiful every day in front of his eyes, but he still couldn't find it himself to say that he had strong feelings for her yet. He knew for sure that right now, regrettably, his heart still belonged to Sakura.

But he made a vow to himself, that he would try to love Hinata back. It was going to take a while to get accustomed to this lifestyle and to the fact that she was his significant other now, but this was reality.

He laid down and faced her slim back. Then he boldly scooted closer to her so that their bodies were almost touching and he reached over with one arm to embrace her.

"Goodnight Hinata..."

All Credits to the author and masashi kishimoto