With You in the Future

Secret Santa 2020 (Part 2)

Once her feet were comfortable in her slippers, Hinata entered the flat, making her way to the bedroom to leave her purse here and take a hair band.

Walking to the kitchen, she noticed the magazines and the empty bag on the kotatsu as her fingers slid between her silky locks to gather her hair in her hand and so then tie it in a ponytail.

With effectiveness, Hinata also folded the sleeves of her turtleneck and took the hanging apron.

She then noticed that Naruto had stopped putting the groceries away and stared at something when she turned around. Their eyes met as she tied the apron around her waist.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, intrigued.

She lowered her eyes on what she was wearing, wondering if the few grammes she had taken at the beginning of the cold season were starting to be visible.

Losing their eye contact, Naruto came back to his senses. Of course he had already seen his girlfriend move in his kitchen, but it was still hard to believe it was now his everyday view.

"I'm looking at you, is all. I like to see you so comfortable."

As a result, he saw her blush as she smoothed the front of her apron out. He loved being the cause of her flush. She was so beautiful with her cheeks coloured due to his actions or words.

"What I saw is that you ate a whole bag of candy on your own again, Naruto-kun."

It's his turn to feel his embarrassment spread to the tip of his ears and he bashfully scratched his cheek, "Heh-heh, I love those things."

As she watched and dried her hands, Hinata shook her head with a small smile before helping him put things away.

Moving across the room, she told him about her visit at Kurenai's house. She was sure Mirai had grown again in less than a month. She had also seen her beloved teammates sitting in their sensei's sitting room, drinking tea.

Then, when she said Kiba won't be with them tonight, Naruto got surprised.

Even if Hinata's boyfriend and her teammate would fight like cats and dogs, they had always spent the festive period together by giving each other challenges.

While Naruto was emptying one of the shopping bags, Hinata noticed the light frown of his eyebrows and the tight line of his lips, but said nothing, knowing he would never confess he appreciated Kiba more than what he wanted to make her believe.

"He said he had a date with a girl he met a few days ago." She explained and opened one of the cupboards.

"Well, too bad for him, we'll eat his portion of the feast," Naruto laughed loudly as he closed the fridge door with his foot. "By the way, what're you doing this year?"

Glad he asked, Hinata got out several boxes of red berries and placed them on the contour.

"A strawberry cake with as much icing as possible!"

Naruto understood now why she'd said she was late on her schedule. As she read him the recipe, he looked over her shoulder and saw the cake needed to rest at least five hours in the fridge.

"Need any help?" he asked. "With the few things you taught me, I'm sure I can be the perfect commis chef you've ever dreamt of," he joked.

She glanced at the clock before nobbing, "If you could get everything we need, it would be great."

"Consider it done!"

While Hinata preheated the oven to 180C, Naruto took out ingredients and utensils out, tied his apron around his waist, washed his hands, and asked her what he could do now.