::Cinnamon Sweet:: +A NarutoHinata One-Shot+

Recipe:

1. Take one sweet and shy girl with a weakness for dense louthmouths.
2. Watch her melt like jelly to her knees everytime exposed to said dense loudmouth.
3. Advise her to give him a gift.
4. Smack self upside head when she never takes credit for incredible birthday cakes.
5. Cool and let settle.
6. Watch carefully. If sweet and shy girl falls in love, contents might explode.

< -+->
Every birthday. Every birthday he would wake up to find a neatly-wrapped package on his doorstep.
It had happened ever since he was seven.
Naruto Uzumaki would wake up and, realizing it was his often-forgotten birthday, would rush to the door to find that single gift, smiling up at him.
::
At first, he thought it was a prank from some of the Academy boys. But then again, who was a better prankster than himself? Just for reassurance, he prodded it with a spoon, still covered in his morning's milk and cereal. Since it didn't explode, he deemed it safe enough to open.
"Whoa," he breathed when it unwrapped to reveal a two-layered cake with orange frosting and dots of rusty red cinnamon. That was when he started loving the color orange. It tasted great!
After making a huge mess and receiving heavy indigestion from devouring it at mach speed, he went to school, shuffling past everyone who judged him a nobody.
::
"Oi, sorry, Hinata," he mumbled when he accidentally stepped on the back of her shinobi sandal while in line for another one of Iruka-sensei's practice tests. It came off and she gasped, turning red.
Geez, I hope she's not angry with me, thought Naruto.
"Sorry," he said again, reaching down to pick it up. When he held it out to her, he couldn't help but notice how creamy and transfixing those pearly eyes of hers were.
"Nice eyes," he grinned, a bit abashed. Hinata let out a small squeak and snatched her shoe away from his loose hands, disappearing to the bathroom.
Yeah, just like everyone else, thought Naruto sullenly, loneliness crashing around him. Condeming him to solitude once more.
::
After school, he stayed with Iruka, just like always.
"Hey, Naruto! Happy Birthday!" Iruka congratulated heartily. Naruto grinned, sittting down next to Iruka at the head desk.
"You're seven already! That's great!"
"Iruka-sensei, how old to you have to be to be hokage?" Iruka sent glance at him.
"Naruto, seven is far too young. You're still learning basic jutsu," he sighed.
"I can so do it," Naruto muttered, put-out.
"I'm sure you will." Iruka scribbled on a few more papers before Naruto spoke, unable to keep that mouth shut.
"Are we going to eat ramen later?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Of course!" But Iruka couldn't stop himself from thinking Naruto had a one-track mind. Ramen and Hokage. Yes, a Ramen Hokage, indeed.
::
"By the way, Iruka-sensei, thanks for the cake. It was good," Naruto said, rubbing his belly gratefully after a large portion of ramen with his favorite person in the whole, wide world.
"Cake? What cake?"
"You know, the one you left in front of the door," Naruto said, rolling his eyes at adults' always-pretending-they-don't-know-what-you're-talking-aboutness.
"I didn't leave you a cake."
"Sure..." he replied, unconvinced, but going along with it anyway.
::
Now, everyone knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto. Knew since they were seven. That is, everyone but Naruto.
What an idiot.
< <FLASHBACK< <
Sakura drew cakes in the dirt in the playground of the Academy. Her friends were out sick today. Ino-pig was over there playing with her friends. They had broken up almost a year ago. Sakura sometimes thought it was stupid, what they fought over.
But Sasuke is hott! she thought, Who wouldn't fight over him?
Getting sick of cakes, seeing as she had to deal with them at her parents' bakery all the time, she dropped her drawing stick and stood up, dusting off her dark capris. She searched the grounds with her mint eyes.
She saw someone who looked like her before Ino had helped her make friends: Hinata Hyuuga. She was all by herself, sitting at the base of a tall, shady tree. Hinata was hugging her legs and staring off into space.
"Hey there," Sakura greeted cheerily, sitting down. Hinata looked at her fearfully and scooted back.
"What'cha doing here, all by yourself?" she asked. Hinata looked down, not answering.
"Is something troubling you?" she persisted. Hinata finally glanced up, nodding, barely perceivable.
Sakura couldn't let her curiosity win out. She'd be courteous and let the girl keep secrets to herself.
"What is it?" she asked eagerly. So much for courteous.
Hinata's eyes quickly averted to a blonde kid in the corner. Sakura tried to follow, but Hinata returned her eyes to Sakura too swiftly. Hinata, fearing Sakura had seen, buried her head in her knees.
"Well, if you want my help, I'll be glad to give it to you," offered Sakura, nodding with a smile. Hinata seemed to struggle internally for a bit, and finally opened her mouth to speak soft words.
"I want to give someone a gift for their birthday."
Ooo... Sakura thought, grinning like a fox, A crush, eh?
"Who?" she asked, squatting down closer to Hinata's pale face.
"...Someone."
"Aww, c'mon. I can't help if I don't know who he is, then I won't be able to tell you what he likes!" Sakura teased.
"Na-naruto."
That rang a bell, but Sakura couldn't remember where-oh!
Naruto? That prankster? She likes him?
"Well, I don't know what he likes for sure, but everyone likes cakes! My mom said so!"
"...Really?"
"Yeah, we own a bakery! You can come in anytime!"
"Uhh...umm..." Hinata stuttered.
She couldn't be caught at a bakery! Then everyone would know! No, she would not go to the bakery. She'd have to make it at home.
Hopefully, Father won't find out I'm dawdling, Hinata thought worrisomely.
"Thanks, Sakura."
"No problem!"
"You won't tell?"
"Of course not!"
"Promise?"
"Pinky promise!"
::
Then, of course, everyone knew about Hinata's crush the next day. It had somehow spread to all the Academy girls.
Who could it have been?
>>END FLASHBACK>>
Hinata would spend October the ninth submerged in the kitchen. Their chef was mighty suprised when the heiress came in with such a determined face, but he didn't dare tell a soul. Or else, her father would have blown a fuse.
She found a cookbook and started making the basic cake, fluffly and golden. She added her own little spices and small touches to it, to make it more personalized.
She wanted it to be the best gift for Naruto.
Cinnamon was her favorite, so she would dabble more in than the rest.
After she was done, she thought it needed something.
Something sweet.
Boys always like that, right? she wondered. She rummaged through the tall refrigerator on her dainty toes, groping for some frosting or whipped cream.
What she found instead was orange frosting.
Who, in the household, would like orange frosting? Hiashi would never admit to it. Never.
"Aren't there at least sprinkles? Anything but this?" she asked aloud, desperate.
Nope. Nada.
She frowned; it'd have to do.
And the next day, it was delivered.
::
When Sakura was put on Kakashi's team with Naruto and Sasuke five years later, Naruto told her about it.
He had always wondered if his crush delivered those delicious confections to his door. Since she was skilled in baking after all, it must have been her.
She answered him with a resounding 'no' and a simultaneous smack on the head.
So it wasn't Sakura. Then, who could it be? Naruto wondered, racking his feeble excuse of a brain for answers.
Sakura knew who it was.
Oh, she knew.
::
It was October ninth; Naruto was turning seventeen tomorrow.
It's the ten-year anniversary, mused Hinata.
He never figured it out, nor did she want him to.
She still couldn't scrape up the guts to tell him.
But she was sick. With the flu. With the Goddamned flu. Today, of all days.
She cursed her misfortune, but she had to make it.
It had become a tradition.
A secret kept in her heart that gave her more cheer than the holidays. And she didn't know it, but Naruto found those birthday cakes much more satisfying than those measly gifts he got from other people like Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Sakura, Granny Tsunade, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba and all the rest he'd come to know.
This year was different though, that devastating crush had started to weigh more and more in her bottled-up heart. It was suffocating, but liberating at the same time. Naruto wasn't all she ever thought about now, but, when she did, her heart would skip enough beats to render her clinically dead.
She didn't know what it was, and she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone.
What if Father found out? she would always remind herself. She made ready the cake with as much care as possible.
::
When Naruto got it, and tasted it, it seemed to encompass more than it did before. It tasted like...like...argh! He couldn't put his finger on it, but it reminded him of someone.
::
The next day, he got sick with the flu.
It must have been the cake, he chuckled, amused, but nonplussed.
I mean, that was the best thing I've ever tasted...maybe even better than ramen!
GASP
Oh no he did not just say that!
::
Hinata, upon hearing he got sick, was mortified. She accidentally gave him her flu!
How stupid of me! she scolded herself.
She would not bake another cake, not after this.
::
On Naruto's eighteenth birthday, he wondered where it was. That cake ravaged his mind, wouldn't let him go. He had to know.
::
"Sakura?"
"What, Naruto?" She looked up at him irritatingly, "I'm working," she said, punctuating her statement with a face as she glared at him over her hospital patient. She was saving a life here, and here Naruto was going to ask her a stupid question.
"You know that cake I get on my birthday?"
Sakura stopped and jerked her head up to look at him. She could actually see he was fidgeting, not the hyperactive fidgeting, but the shy, meek kind of fidgeting.
"What about it?" she asked, feeling like a heavy weight was lifting off her shoulders.
She felt like she was making history. Part of the reason the cutest couple, voted by the rest of the Konoha population, would get together.
It felt good.
"Do you know who makes them?"
So close, Sakura thought, mind bursting. An estatic grin replacing her frown. It was about time! Seriously! Naruto and Hinata had been fairly good friends ever since he came back from training with Jiraiya a few years ago. How dense could he be not to open his eyes and see how attractive she'd grown, with suitors left and right!
Time to make history.
"Yes..." she replied slowly.
"Who?"
She couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hinata!"
Naruto stared.
It was silent, until the patient's unresponsive heart monitor brought her back to earth.
"Holy crap! He's dying!"
Oops.
::
Hinata noticed Naruto had been avoiding her for the past couple of months.
It hurt, more than she imagined.
Whenever the bumped into each other, instead of a loud 'hi', he would stutter and mutter an excuse before taking off.
And to make this things worse, he couldn't make it to her eighteenth birthday party; the Hyuuga's threw one hell of a giant shindig.
He was sick.
Despite everyone elses' congratulations, even her Father's and Neji's, to her suprise, she felt like a gaping hole wasn't filled. After the party, everyone went home, and Hinata's hopes that Naruto would come crashed into oblivion.
::
"Hinata? ...Hinata?" An urgent whisper. She sat up in bed; she'd been sleepless. A figure was crouched at her window.
Naruto.
"Naruto?" She opened it and let him pad in.
She didn't care if Father saw. She was eighteen. She was a woman of her own free will now.
"Sorry I couldn't make it," he apologized sheepishly.
"Umm...it's ok. You were sick."
"Yeah, but I was going to come anyway. I was just putting some finishing touches on your gift." Her heart skipped a beat, but she wouldn't allow her to set herself up for disappointment anymore.
He revealed a cake from behind his back. It looked just like hers.
"Happy Birthday."
She was speechless.
"It's not as good as yours, but..." Naruto was actually timid. His foot made mad swirls in her carpet.
"Oh, Naruto!" He bit back a yelp of astonishment as Hinata threw her arms around him.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried. She suddenly grinned, or the closest thing to a grin as he had ever seen from her.
"Let's taste it," she suggested. A delicate slice was separated from the rest and they shared it in silence.
And what a silence it was. It roared in their ears, shrieking of things yet unspoken.
And who to break the ice? None other than Hinata.
"Naruto..." He looked up.
"That was the best thing I've ever tasted," she admitted quietly, blushing.
"Well, you know I've yet to taste the best thing," he replied after a moment.
"Oh, really?" Hinata felt slightly stricken that her cake never got up to Naruto's standards as 'the best'. What she didn't see was that mischievous sparkle in Naruto's eyes.
There was a bit of cinnamon and frosting on her lip. Really, there was.
So he leaned in and kissed it away, just like her breath.
And that heavenly aftertaste...
Yeah, that was definitely her.
"I came to return the favor..." he whispered in her ear.
::
He sure did.
The next day, Hinata got sick with Naruto's flu.
< ~results~>
Ehh... That was the sappiest/fluffiest thing I've ever written.
Well, now that we've all established rainhealsme as someone incapable of writing romance, let's have some muffins.
*personalized muffin delivery* xD H*lls yeah. I got high tech.
Feedback is appreciated, but not necessary. ^^