Jack high," Naruto grumbled, his vo

Jack high," Naruto grumbled, his voice barely audible and immediately drowned out by a gleeful cry.

"Three of a kind! I win!"

"Not likely, I've got a straight."

Silence consumed the room as each party member turned to face the last remaining player. The one who had kept quiet throughout the entire exchange, meticulously waiting to make her move.

"Hinata?" Sakura spoke, prompting her to reveal her hand.

A rather uncharacteristic smile graced Hinata's features as she slowly revealed her cards one at a time. Sasuke smug grin slipped away as he observed the Full House placed before him, trumping his own run. He scoffed and glanced over his shoulder, as if trying to feign apathy. Naruto however, knew better. His friend really thought he had won for a moment there, but was proven wrong. The blond allowed himself a brief smile at the bruising of the overconfident Uchica's ego. This almost made his loss worthwhile.

Well, almost.

"Nicely played, Hyuuga," Sasuke spoke, as he begrudgingly surrendered his shirt. "Looks like you win."

"Which means I get Naruto's boxers!"

Naruto's hands seemed to act of their own accord, as he reflexively covered his lower extremities.

"... I hate this game." The blonde moaned in despair.

"Come on, dobe, one more round. You could win your pants back. You in?"

"You know it, 'ttebayo!"


Hinata had always hated these formal functions.

Granted, she had grown up as the Hyuuga heiress, and consequently, was more than familiar with them, but that didn't mean she enjoyed them. If anything, she barely tolerated them.

All she had wanted to day was spend a nice quiet evening with her boyfriend; who, at the moment, wasn't here... Well, at least not in spirit, anyway, that's for sure.

She could hardly recognise the man before her. He just wasn't acting like himself at all tonight! Sure, his typically outlandish behaviour would not have been suitable in this kind of environment, but she hated to see him like this regardless. His normally exuberant, cheerful demeanour was shrouded by an impassive, nonchalant expression. His typically unruly blonde hair now sat limp upon his head, finally flat and immobile after the hours he'd spent in front of the mirror with gel and a brush. His sparkling blue eyes also fell victim to this facade, now appearing dull and vacant as they bored through their surroundings. Even his normally ludicrously bright orange jumpsuit had been abandoned in favour of a midnight blue button-up shirt and some dark slacks.

"Is something the matter, Hinata?" The blonde queried, as he noticed her pale eyes studying his form curiously.

"No, Naruto-kun... Nothing at all."

But really, they both knew that that was not the case.

.

The walk home was silent; silent and uncomfortable.

Well, at least, for Hinata it was.

Normally she didn't mind it when the gaps or pauses in their conversation, often finding the quiet that existed between them comforting. But at the moment, her mind was in turmoil as she ran through the night's events, over and over, trying to understand the motivation behind her usually outlandish boyfriend's actions. What puzzled the young woman even further was the fact that Naruto hadn't said a word since they had left. Normally, after attending an event like that, the blonde would be chatting in an exuberant about how boring and condescending the people there had been.

But tonight, he hadn't said anything like that. Not a word.

Surely there was something that Hinata was missing here. What was wrong with him? Was he aware that she'd noticed his abrupt change in behaviour and think that he'd upset her? Had she been that obvious?

In retrospect, she realised the act; or at least the young man's efforts to keep it up; were rather sweet, really. She had told him how important this function was too her family, and how he needed to be on his best behaviour. He had certainly gone above and beyond her expectations of what his best behaviour was.

Though, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel as though he had overdone it with the formalities just a little bit.

That was an understatement, for sure.

She glanced across at the blonde, his presentation, upon their departure from the function, now appearing much more familiar to her. His hair had returned to its normal dishevelled state, his shirt had been untucked and his jacket thrown half hazardly over his shoulder as he slowly paced through the entrance to their apartment.

"Man, these dress shoes sure are a pain," Naruto declared, finally speaking to her for the first time in what felt like hours, as he tore his right one off and tossed it aside dramatically.

It struck the hardwood floors with a dull thud that resonated throughout the silent room. Hinata glanced down at the aforementioned object with curiosity, before she responded.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata inquired curiously, watching her boyfriend as he made his way over to the couch, slouching resignedly against it.

"Don't get me wrong, I do like my dress shoes..." Naruto continued, taking his time to slip his left one off carefully and examine it, his fingers stroking over their dark leather texture.

"Well, I mean, they're nice for formal events, and they look good when they're all polished and shiny... But, they're just too much effort for me." he added, as a black tie was loosened and pulled from around his neck, before joining the small pile of clothes forming across from him.

Hinata said nothing, but instead chose to watch on quitely, still not completely certain about what the blonde was getting at.

Noting her silence, Naruto felt compelled to elaborate.

"I have to polish them and I can't be too rough with them, otherwise they'll get scuffed and ruined, and all my effort will be in vain... And what for? So I can look nice for one evening? Really, it just doesn't seem worth the effort. Besides, they're just a charade. This whole formal, elegant thing really doesn't suit me at all. I don't know why I even bother with it sometimes."

"Is something wrong, Naruto? Hinata inquired, moving closer to the towards the man before her.

"I wanted to impress your them tonight, Hinata. Your father, the Hyuuga elders.." Naruto's head bowed slightly and his voice lowered as he spoke, his actions only working to obscure his face from her more. It was almost as if he was ashamed of something. "I wanted them to think that I was 'appropriate' suitor for you. I didn't want to embarrass you tonight... But I get the feeling I messed up."

"You could never embarass me, Naruto-kun..." Hinata spoke softly, reassuringly."But the man who came tonight, did. That man wasn't Uzumaki Naruto."

When the blonde didn't respond, Hinata moved gracefully around the couch, sitting across from the blonde and facing him. Pale lavender orbs gazing deeply into his own blue eyes; eyes that were clouded with an uncharacteristic sense of hesitance.

"I don't want you to think that you have to change yourself for the benefit of me or my clan, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke confidently, "How they feel about you isn't important to me and ultimately doesn't matter."

The blonde faced away from the woman before him stubbornly, his lips forming an almost playful pout as she spoke. Hinata gradually shuffled closer in response, moving to gently rest her forehead comfortably against his own.

"I love you for who you are, Naruto-kun," she continued her voice lowering to an alluring, gentle whisper, as her dark locks tickling against his bare neck and shoulders. "For your strengths, your flaws... For everything that you fight against and hold inside you, but were too afraid to let anyone see. I never want you to feel ashamed for who you are, because you changed me. You helped me find faith and confidence in myself, to fight for what I believe in, and to never go back on my word... And my father, or anyone else in the Hyuuga clan can't understand that, then I feel sorry for them... Because if they saw what I saw, they would know that not only are you the strongest, most loyal and most resilient shinobi in all of the village, but also the kindest and most compassionate man that I know... But most of all, they would know that you were the man I love, and more than worthy of my heart."

As the reassuring words of the woman before him gradually sank in, the smallest ghost of a smile pulled at Naruto's lips.

"You know," he muse as his lean fingers slowly stroked over the soft contours of her cheek, "While I do like my dress shoes, what I really prefer are my sneakers."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered, curious as to where he was going.

"I know I can't exactly wear them to a formal event like that, and I wouldn't. I'm just saying, when it comes down to it, I'd much rather wear them. They're much more comfortable, and they're just easier." He continued, completely unphased by his girlfriend's confusion.

"Sure, they might hurt and even seem awkward at first, but they accept me as I am. They mould and accommodate me in a way that makes me feel comfortable, just like you."

The calloused, tanned plains of his hands, slowly grazed up her shoulder blade. Hinata could feel goosebumps prickling her skin as the piercing gaze of the man before her, never left her own.

"I had to work my ass off every day to try and gain the respect of love of those around me. And sure, in the end, it worked, and it made me feel happy and accepted. But you always loved and admired me Hinata. I never had to dress up and act like high class snob. You've always accepted me for who I was, no matter what."

"You are my sneaker, Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled softly, his arms enveloping her frame warmly.

Hinata couldn't help but notice the heat that slowly overwhelmed her features, and was certain there was now a soft blush dusting her cheeks. She glanced done at her feet bashfully, doing her best to avoid his the deep, penetrating gaze of #19. Release

Naruto had never exactly been the kind of person to plan ahead, or even to take the moment t