Together, We Are One

Denial.

That's definitely what Hinata was feeling.

She ended up returning back to the hospital and stayed for another two days before she could be discharged. The next couple of following days after that were...well, amazing, but it was also very different.

She noticed how much more eager Naruto was whenever he saw her and much to her surprise, he managed to convince the Konoha Council to allow them to do most of their duties together. It was more convenient that way and she loved the fact that she could stay beside him for almost the whole day.

The only thing she was trying to get used to, was the fact that he actually loved her back now. Though she was happy beyond belief that he finally returned her feelings, she just needed time to actually process it. It was just something that was hard to believe, because she's had a one-sided love for him for so long. After his confession on the Hokage Monuments, she just stood frozen. Though she knew he definitely did feel something for her and she was anticipating those words, it still came as a shock to her.

And now that their feelings were mutual, they needed to discuss about the rest of their future together. She knew for sure that she wanted children and she wanted to raise a family with him, but she didn't know if he was ready for that yet. Also, to have children...they would have to consummate their marriage, and she didn't know if she was ready for that.

As of now, she just got done with her duties at the academy, so she was heading over to the Hokage's office. On the way, however, she ended up bumping into Kiba and Akamaru.

"Sooo, are you doing ok, now? Ya know, you had us all worried sick when you were out for those whole two weeks."

Hinata nodded. "I'm a lot better now, thanks. Where are you going right now?"

"Ah, Akamaru and I are gonna head over to the training grounds...it's been too peaceful lately. We haven't had a good fight since we went against those rebels. It gets boring when there's no threats." Kiba shrugged as he patted Akamaru's head. "And you?"

"I have some stuff to take care of with the Hokage. Politics."

Hinata laughed when Kiba cringed at that word. "Sounds even more boring."

"...hm, you should find yourself a girlfriend, Kiba."

Kiba scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Eeeh, maybe. I'm not really interested in that stuff. It's a lot more fun just looking at other people's relationships...and speaking of relationships, it's almost been a whole year since you've been married to the Hokage. Still haven't thought about having kids yet?"

"Well honestly, I have been thinking about it. I really do want a family...but I just don't know if Naruto's ready for it."

"Heh, I'm pretty sure he's ready! He grew up without knowing his parents, so I'm pretty sure he'd want his own children so that he can be a dad to them."

"True...I'm just a little hesitant to bring it up to him, that's all."

"Why? You two should openly talk about things like this if you guys are married. That's the whole point of marriage, isn't it? To be with the person you love and have a family with them."

Hinata stayed quiet and simply averted her eyes down to the ground. He was right. She shouldn't be so scared to bring it up to Naruto. After all, he did love her now...so...he'd want to have a family with her, wouldn't he?

"Well! We're gonna be headed this way!" Kiba replied and waved goodbye before he hopped onto Akamaru's back. "...and hurry up with the miniatures of you and the Hokage, will you? I'm gonna be an awesome uncle to them!"

Hinata blushed at his words and just smiled and shook her head as she watched him depart.

Hinata opened the door to Naruto's office and she was surprised to see a pile of envelopes sprawled out on his desk. Naruto looked up at her and he immediately flashed a smile.

"Hey, Hinata!"

She walked over to him and sat down across from him. "What are all these envelopes?"

"Ah, these? They're fan-girl mails, hehe." Naruto grinned cheekily. "I got these a little after we won the war and I kept getting it up until our marriage. I just remembered that I kept them in a box in a cabinet here so I was just going through them."

Hinata felt a slight discomfort in her chest and she narrowed her eyes at him. Why would he want to go through old fan-girl letters when he's a married man? He shouldn't even be giving those letters a second thought; he shouldn't even be looking at them.

How can he just proudly flaunt those letters in front of her like that?

"Throw those out."

Naruto's smile slowly disappeared and he blinked at her sudden bluntness. "Eh?"

"I'm not gonna repeat myself."

He was taken back by her seriousness and he noticed that she looked a little irritated. Then it suddenly dawned on him that he's never seen this expression on her before...and then his heart fluttered when he realized why she suddenly looked so pissed.

He leaned forward a little and smirked at her. "You're jealous, huh?"

Hinata blushed faintly and she only glared at him even more. "Well, why would you want to read those when you're already married to me?"

Ha, she was cute.

Naruto chuckled softly and then started collecting them and putting them back in the box. "Alriiiight, I'll toss it. Sorry." He got up and carried the box over to the trash and dropped it in.

"There, happy?"

Hinata stayed quiet and then she slowly stood up and walked towards him. Naruto was once again taken by surprise when she came closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Now it was his turn to blush. Besides their first kiss, this was the first time she's ever done something bold towards him. He was scared that she might hear how loud his heartbeat was when he felt her lay her head against his chest.

"...you're mine." She muttered quietly against his shirt.

Oh, damn. Holy shit.

He couldn't even find words to describe how he was feeling and he felt like his heart would burst. She was being so bold with her words...and right now, was she actually being possessive over him?

She was making it clear, straight up, that he was her man...and that was such a turn on. He gulped and then gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

Hinata was expecting him to hug her back, but she was surprised when he suddenly pushed her away. She felt insecure when he looked away from her and then backed away just a little. Did she do something wrong just now?

"U..um..." He cleared his throat softly. "You can go home first. I'll take care of these things and then I'll come."

"We were supposed to do this together...are you sure? I can help-,"

"It's alright, Hinata." He managed to flash a smile at her. "You go rest. I'm almost done, anyways."

"Oh..." Hinata didn't insist any further. "...then, I'll have dinner ready. I'll see you in a bit." She stood there for a few moments, hoping he'd show a gesture of affection towards her like he always did.

But, nothing.

He simply nodded then went to sit back down at his desk.

Hinata felt confused. As she walked towards the door and took one last glance at him before she opened it and exited the room, she couldn't help but think that she was bothering him in some way. Was it because she hugged him unexpectedly like that just then? Did he not like it when she initiated the first move?

He always hugged her and kissed her first, but if she did it...did that make him irritated in some way?

Was she being too clingy?

Hinata felt her heart drop at all the thoughts swarming in her mind. She shook her head to herself and then took a deep breath. She was just overthinking, that's all. She continued on her way out and then dashed ahead to their home.

When Naruto heard the door finally close, he let out a small frustrated groan. God, he didn't know how much longer he could control himself. He had already desired her even before he knew his own feelings, but now that he was absolutely sure of how he felt towards her, it was just ten times harder to resist.

He wanted to hold her and kiss her endlessly. He wanted to be one with her, both in body and in mind. He wanted to connect with her on a deeper level and not just keep doing these simple pecks or hugs that they always give each other.

But everytime he had such thoughts, he would be reminded of what she told him on their wedding night. That night, she wasn't ready yet...neither was he. But now, it was different.

They were together everyday now that he had convinced the Konoha Council to let them do their duties together. He was glad that he could spend almost every waking moment with her, but it was just difficult to control his own emotions.

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and dropped his head down on the desk. He was crazy in love with her and he wanted to do nothing more but just pour out his love to her.

But until she was ok with it...until she was ready, he would do his absolute best to push down his desires. He didn't want to hurt her in any way, whether it be physical or emotional. He wasn't going to force himself on her if it wasn't what she wanted yet.

She was too precious to him.

Also, for a while now, he's been wanting to discuss with her about having a family. If she wasn't ready to consummate their marriage yet, it definitely meant that she wasn't ready for children, too. He found himself smiling at random times in the day whenever he thought about a son and daughter running around in their household. He wanted nothing more but to share the rest of his life being the leader of his beloved village alongside a beautiful family.

"I need to talk about it with her, soon..." He muttered to himself. He didn't want to rush her into it, but he also knew it was something that they needed to discuss soon.

The next following days were confusing for Hinata.

Naruto seemed...distant. When she was with him throughout the day, he wasn't as talkative as he normally was. She also realized that when they walked together, he didn't hold her hand anymore; instead, it seemed like he was making sure he kept a good few centimeters between them so they weren't too close.

She's been counting the days and it's been four days straight since he last hugged her.

It was breaking her heart, honestly.

Was it because he was getting bored of her? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to convince the Council to let them do their duties together...maybe he was tired of seeing her so much.

Maybe he was regretting the fact that he told her he loved her.

Maybe...he really didn't feel the same way yet and he just said those words in the spur of the moment because she was hurt so badly from the mission.

Hinata glanced over at Naruto, who was staring straight ahead with a poker face. They were heading back to the Konoha headquarters from the ninja academy and the whole way there was awfully quiet. She couldn't bring herself to say anything because she felt like the atmosphere was too tense.

She didn't know what she did wrong. Maybe she was expecting too much out of him. Of course he wasn't going to shower her with affection everyday for the rest of their marriage because she knew that would be tiring to do. But the fact that he didn't even touch her at all for almost a whole week was...disappointing. At times, she wanted to reach out to him and hold his arm or just snuggle close to him when they were alone at home, but she couldn't find the courage to do it...not especially after he pushed her away when she hugged him first the other day.

"...you ok?"

His voice brought her back to reality and she managed to force a smile at him.

"Y...yea, I'm fine." She muttered quietly and watched him as he just simply nodded and looked forward again.

Normally, he would definitely ask her once or twice to reassure if she really was ok, or at least be stubborn about it, but...but he just nodded. She felt her heart break once again at the lack of attention he was paying to her.

She slowed down enough so that she walking a little behind him and averted her eyes down. She'll keep her distance from him for now. It seemed like he was avoiding her for some reason so she didn't want to trouble him even more.

"I'm going to head over to the hospital."

Naruto stopped walking and he turned around to face her. "Eh, why? Are you hurt somewhere...?"

She felt a bit hopeful when she saw that familiar worried expression on his face, but she quickly pushed down her feelings. "I'm ok, I just want to go check if they need to restock on any supplies. The trade from Iwagakure is getting a bit slow these past few days."

"Oh yea, huh. I'm gonna have to talk to Shikamaru about checking into that. I'll see you in a bit then?"

Hinata nodded, and then she did something that made both her and Naruto freeze on the spot. She bowed to him.

Naruto blinked at her sudden formality and when Hinata lifted her head again, her eyes slightly widened at her own actions.

"Y...you don't have to be so formal, Hinata...are you sure you're ok?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at her and when he reached towards her, he was taken by surprise when she took a small step back.

"I'll get going. I'll report back to you within an hour." Hinata quickly replied before she dashed off, leaving Naruto to stand there alone.

He was a bit dumbfounded. What just happened? Did she just back away from him...? She stepped away from his touch, as if she didn't want him to be near her. Did he do something wrong to her?

"Shit...maybe because I've been too distant..." He muttered to himself and sighed. To be honest, he's been trying not to get too close to her in any way because he was afraid he might lose control. He felt like if he hugged her or if he kissed her, he wouldn't want to stop.

He's been restraining himself from showing her any affections because of that.

He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a small frustrated groan. He knew he was hurting her, and the fact that she stepped away from his touch proved that she was hurt. That was the last thing he wanted to do...he didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

But he just couldn't trust himself if he was too close to her. It's been almost a whole year into their marriage and he's been holding back for months now.

'Should I just talk to her about this?' He thought to himself. It was embarrassing to talk about. What was he going to say? That he's been distant because he was desperately trying not to pummel her down and show her just how much he loved her?

He felt so dirty and so vulgar for even thinking about such things. She was so pure and innocent and he hated himself for having such thoughts. She was his wife and the person he loved the most in the world...he didn't want to break her heart anymore than he already has.

Hinata honestly felt like crying.

It's been such a long time since she's felt this horrible and she never imagined she'd have this feeling of being unwanted by Naruto, out of all people.

Instead of going to the hospital, she found herself walking to the training grounds.

Those doubts started to fill her mind again and she gazed down sadly at the ground. Did he...really love her? Was he being so distant because maybe he was regretting the decision of confessing to her?

She knelt down and let out a shaky sigh, trying to control her emotions.

All those times where she thought she might have a happy ending, just went out the door. That fear of being in loveless marriage came crawling back again. She closed her eyes and tightened her hands into fists.

She stopped herself from thinking so negatively and shook her head to herself.

She remembered clearly in the beginning that she already promised herself that she would become a strong woman, despite whether he came to love her or not. Her life's duty was to Konoha and to the people, first. And from the beginning of this marriage, she also made a promise that she would still love Naruto unconditionally, no matter what happens.

If he didn't love her...so what?

If he was regretting his confession, so what?

If she wasn't good enough for him, so what?

She realized that all this time...she's been doing things because she wanted to be someone worthwhile in his eyes. She still loved him and she was sure she was always going to love him...but she wasn't going hold herself to his standard anymore.

Her self worth wasn't, and shouldn't, be through Naruto. It was through herself, and only herself.

Hinata pushed away those pitiful emotions that made her feel like trash and let out another sigh. She's come so far...she wasn't going to let something like this bring her down. She wasn't that weak.

Slowly, she stood back up and dropped her robe to the ground. Glancing up at the sky, she guessed it was probably around 1pm since it was getting hotter...and her next assignment on the list wasn't until 3, so she had some time to kill.

Activating her Byakugan, she reached down to her weapons pouch and shot out three kunai's at lightning speed, splitting two trees in half.

When she got home later, she was definitely going to talk to Naruto.

8pm.

This was probably the earliest Naruto's ever been home. He opened the door and expected to see Hinata already in the kitchen cooking, but to his disappointment, no one was there.

'Well, it is a bit early. She probably won't be home till 10.' He thought as he hung his Hokage robe on the couch. It felt strange to be coming home first.

He wondered how he would approach the situation that they were in right now. He was pretty sure that she was still hurt and he didn't know what he would say to her when she got home. He didn't want her to feel like he didn't love her or anything like that...he knew he had a lot of explaining to do to make up for the last few days.

He hoped that she wasn't crying by herself somewhere. He knew that she probably blamed herself for his lack of affections towards her because she always found no faults when it came to him.

Naruto sat down on the couch and leaned his head back against the pillows. He would've never imagined that the person he would come to love the most would be Hinata. It still shock him no matter how many times he thought about it. From their Genin days to the Fourth Great Ninja War, he always saw her as a friend and nothing more, nothing less.

And then as they spent more time together in their marriage, he came to know who she truly was and how amazing and beautiful of a person was. He never thought that he would be so crazily in love with her and that he would be so captivated by everything about her.

Thinking back to how she drew away from his touch earlier, he hated himself for that. He hurt her so much to the point where she didn't even want to be touched by him. He had make things right...he couldn't possibly sleep tonight if he didn't apologize to her.

He nearly jumped in surprise when he heard the door suddenly open and their eyes met as soon as Hinata stepped in the door. She froze for a few seconds because he's never been home before her.

"..y...you're home early."

"Ah." Naruto simply replied and then averted his eyes down.

Hinata shut the door behind her and took off her robe, hanging it down on the couch next to his Hokage robe. "Um...did you eat yet? I'll make dinner-,"

"No, it's fine. I'm not that hungry."

"Oh..." Hinata realized that he wasn't even meeting her gaze and her hands clenched into fists. "...I'm gonna go shower, then. Come to sleep if you're tired." She muttered before she walked past him.

Naruto was about to reach out and grab her hand, but he quickly restrained himself. Why did it feel so goddamn tense between them? He hated it. Both of their responses to each other were short and that was probably the most awkward greeting they've had.

He slowly stood up and walked over to their bedroom. He changed into a simple orange t-shirt and black pants before climbing onto the bed. He sat there and listened to the sound of the shower and figured he'll just wait until she's done and then he'll talk to her. It had to be tonight...if he waited until the next morning, he felt like it would just make things worse. He didn't want things to be like this between them...not especially after he already told her he loved her.

It wasn't good for either of them if they had regrets in this marriage. If they lacked communication, it'll only destroy their relationship and it was far too early for that to happen. He wasn't going to let that happen at all.

After 10 minutes or so, he heard the shower stop. He waited for a few moments and when he turned to look at Hinata, his heart nearly skipped a beat. She came out with her hair still a little damp and she was only wearing a thin, spaghetti-strapped silk dress that reached mid-thigh.

Hinata nearly gasped when she saw him sitting on the bed and blushed when he quickly turned away from her. She gazed down at herself and realized that this was the most skin she's shown around him. "I...I'm sorry. I thought you were still in the living room..."

"It's fine...just wear one of your robes. I won't look till you're done." Naruto muttered. Why did she have to be so tempting? And when did she ever own a dress that short? God, she was not making this any easier for him.

Hinata was about to walk over to the drawer to quickly grab one of her sleeping robes, but then she stopped. Her eyes narrowed and she simply set down the towel she was holding on the side of the bed.

He was her husband.

She was his wife.

The fact that he was still looked away from her body and the fact that she felt the need to hide herself from him was...unnecessary.

Hinata quietly climbed onto the bed and sat down next to him. "...Naruto."

Naruto turned around and was expecting to see her wearing a longer robe, but he was taken by surprise when she was still in the same outfit. He was about to turn away again, but she reached over and gently held his hand.

"It's ok, Naruto. I won't feel embarrassed or anything like that."

Naruto slowly gazed at her and his eyes softened at how beautiful she naturally looked. The short dress didn't cover much either, so most of her legs and her arms were exposed.

"Um, Naruto..." Hinata averted her attention away from him. "...you don't have to force yourself."

He blinked and stared at her, confused. "What?"

"Well, you've been a bit distant lately, ever since you confessed. So I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to force yourself. I know that you might've just said those words in the spur of the moment and..." She paused for a moment before continuing. "...and so, it's ok if you really don't feel the same way. You don't have to force yourself to love me if you really don't."

Naruto just continued to stare at her, speechless. Did she really just say that? She thought he was avoiding her because he didn't love her? Because she thought he was just forcing himself to say those words to her?

That pissed him off.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He glared at her.

Hinata was a bit taken back by his tone. "I...I just don't want you to-,"

"You think that my confession was a joke? You think my words were meaningless?"

Hinata didn't know what to say. Maybe she had been wrong this whole time...maybe he really does feel the same, judging from how angry he looked right now. "...then, are you upset with me? You've been avoiding me for a few days."

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn it, Hinata, why do you always think it's your fault?!" He immediately regretted raising his voice when he saw her flinch.

Hinata felt like cowering down because he seemed so pissed right now, but she stood her ground. She gathered the courage to look back at him just as intensely before she spoke. "Because you never tell me what's wrong. So please, Naruto, if it's something that I'm doing wrong or if you're just going through something right now, let me know. I'm your wife...and if you really do feel the same, then please tell me what's been bothering you."

Naruto was surprised at her comment. Then he realized that he didn't even have the right to be angry at her right now. She had every right to feel confused because he made her feel so heartbroken like this.

He stayed quiet for a few moments and his expression softened when he calmed down. He held her hand and Hinata's heart fluttered when he pulled her in to give her a light kiss on the forehead.

It felt so nice to have him show her affection again...she honestly missed being so close to him like this.

"...I love you..." He confessed openly to her. "...so don't ever doubt my feelings."

"Then, why were you so distant?"

Naruto was still nervous and very embarrassed to say it to her, but he figured he just had to do it. "I was avoiding you because...well, because..." He sighed and hesitated for a slight moment before continuing.

"...because I want you."

Hinata just stared at him blankly. She didn't get it. What was he talking about? He already had her...she was his wife. She didn't understand at all. "But I'm right here, Naruto...you already have me."

Naruto let out another frustrated sigh at her innocence. Goodness, she was making this so hard.

Hinata gasped when he suddenly pushed her down on the bed and her heart raced like crazy when he kissed her without warning.

"No, Hinata..." His quiet and husky voice sent shivers down her spine and for some reason, she felt excited and she was anticipating for something...but she just didn't know what.

"I want you."

When one of his hands gripped her hips and he snuggled into the nape of her neck, she blushed extensively. She finally got what he meant.

"...o...oh."

Naruto almost laughed at her dumbfounded and innocent response. He leaned back a little so that he can look at her. "I've been...trying to hold back for a while now. I know you're not ready for this yet, that's why I kept my distance...I just didn't want to lose control..."

Hinata never imagined that the reason why he avoided her was because...well, because...he wanted her in that way. She now understood that he must've been very nervous to talk about it since it was something they both haven't experienced yet.

She couldn't stop her heart from racing so fast. The way he was looking at her was just so full of passion and it made her tremble. She suddenly felt disappointed when he moved away from her, and sat with his back faced to her. "I don't want to force you, Hinata. I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do it just because I want to, either."

She pondered for a few moments, thinking about it. Was she...ready?

Her gaze fell upon his back and his broad shoulders and she suddenly felt like she just wanted to embrace him from behind. She had the strong urge to just pull him down again and kiss him.

She wanted his touch.

She...she wanted him, too.

Slowly, she reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to look at her and found himself following her when she gently pulled him back to hover over her. She laid down on the bed once again and then Naruto was taken by surprise when she leaned up and gave him a sweet kiss.

Naruto felt like he was about to lose control right then and there, but he restrained himself. When she broke away from him, his heart melted when she gave him that loving smile.

"I love you...and I want you, too."

Naruto sure as hell hoped that she didn't say that in the spur of the moment. He definitely wasn't going to let her sleep tonight.

All credits to the author and Masashi Kishimoto