A/N: Okay, if there’s anyone here who thought of NaruHina, you’ll be very disappointed. If you hate NaruSaku, you’ll be a bit irritated.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.

Hinata couldn’t believe it. What was Naruto doing here? Neji would be so annoyed. No matter, Neji need not know. Gracefully, she sat in the shade of the huge tree. Naruto seemed very excited.

“ And then, she said fine! She said yes!” he practically yelled. “ I knew my efforts would not be wasted!”

Hinata only smiled distracted. Sakura agreed to go on a date to Naruto, so Naruto had gone around bragging to anyone who would listen. It was… cute, she admitted. At the very least, it taught her that romance still existed. She taught about the person whose eyes were as white as her own, and whose chestnut brown hair she admired so much. She fantasised reaching out to touch those soft brown locks.

No, she had to stop that!

“ Hinata?” Naruto questioned. He had obviously noticed that she was not paying him much attention.

“Hinata-sama…”was all she heard, in Neji’s voice.

Naruto waved his left hand in front of her face. “Hinata? Are you alright?” he asked worriedly. Hinata shook her head, as if to clear the cobwebs of her thoughts. Then she blushed and began to apologize.

“ I’m sorry, Naruto-kun, I w-was thinking of s-something else,” she finally replied.

“ It’s okay!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “I’ve got to tell Granny Tsunade!” He walked away quickly. And then, she heard him whisper something softly to himself. “She said yes,” he seemed to be murmuring. Hinata had never seen him so happy. He really did love Sakura.

He deserved his happily ever after, she mused.

As for her… where was her happily ever after? She watched a happy couple walk past hand in hand. He brushed away a strand of her long black hair and she giggled and planted a kiss on his cheek. They obviously loved each other very much.

How nice, she thought. If only she could be this happy.

She gazed at the sun. Maybe it did not matter, as long as she could see the smile on Neji’s face. Just once. Just once, she wanted to see that smile on Neji’s face. And then nothing would matter any longer.

She stood up and hugged the tree, pretending that it was him.

Neji watched his cousin. She did not seem to be upset about Naruto and Sakura, but something seemed to be bothering her. All if a sudden, she stood up and hugged the tree. He could see that she was smiling as she did so.

Was she feeling sad about Naruto’s and Sakura’s date after all? He longed to punch Naruto. What was that bastard thinking. How could he date Sakura so soon after dating Hinata? Yes, Sakura was pretty in her own way, but she would never be able to hold a candle to Hinata. The features of the Hyuuga clan were utterly beautiful, in Neji‘s opinion, and no one could come close.

“Hinata. Stop being upset. Just because Naruto found another date is no reason to sulk!” Neji chided. Neji didn’t understand it. He wanted to comfort his cousin, but the words poured out of his mouth before he could stop them. Hinata looked surprised.

“N-No, I’m happy for them. I’m j-just thinking of something else.” She replied.

Thinking of something else? What the hell was she thinking about? Neji sighed. He wanted to ask, but that would violate her privacy. They had come to the unspoken agreement to never probe into each other’s lives unless necessary. To Neji, necessary meant everything from dates to training, because it concerned her safety.

“Fine. Don’t think too hard,”he answered. Then he started to walk away, but not before he saw the soft smile on her lips. She made it that much harder to breathe.

Hinata was beautiful, there was no doubt of that. The smile was caught on his memory, and he didn’t want to let it disappear.

Hormones, he told himself. It had to be hormones. He turned on the byakugan, unwilling to turn his head back to look at her, only to find that she was looking at him as he walked away. She was smiling as he walked away. He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but whatever it was, it made her happy. That was the only thing that mattered right now. She was smiling…

Neji couldn’t understand himself anymore.

Why had that mere smile affected him to this extent. She had always been beautiful, and all her smiles were pretty, too, but the smile on her lips now was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Neji knew he would never be able to see Tenten that way.

As Hinata trained with her team, her mind shot to her cousin. He was worried about her, wasn’t he? She smiled happily. It was nice to have him not be violent and just be by her side, talking.

If only that moment could have lasted forever.

Then she could always be happy.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Sorry about the 2 month waiting period. So sorry!