Chapter Text
Naruto gave shy nods and sheepish waves to his newly acquired staff-in-law as they walked by, Hinata nervously giving him a tour of her estate. She rambled on about the different rooms and suites, pointing out the decor and (Naruto was almost positive) possibly making up the history of the paintings.
He watched as she fidgeted with her engagement ring, tracing the outline of the diamond over and over in what looked like anxious disbelief. Naruto felt his fingers give an unconscious little twitch as they recalled the feeling of her hands in his, completely in awe of just how small they were compared to his own.
"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed suddenly, interrupting his (rather inappropriate) thoughts about her hands, causing him to flush. "And this is my absolute favorite room!"
"May I ask what makes it so special?" Naruto wondered, watching in fascination as she seemed to bounce in place, ready to share the room in front of them to him, an emotion he had never seen reflecting on her usually stoic face.
It seemed that there was more to the odd spinster persona than what was spread...
Hinata hummed, a somewhat coy smile sitting on her face. "It is better in person," she promised, opening up the door to him.
Naruto felt her excitement as if it was sunshine personified, something tangible and warm, spreading towards him as he peered into the room, more than curious to see just what makes Hinata become so excitable.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, but once they did Naruto could see the ridiculous amount of flowers (dead and alive) and the assortment of metal tubes and rods that littered the floors and on some of the desks. There were one or two pictures hung on the walls, but he could not quite place what of. In one corner, in front of the bookshelves but away from the windows, there was a strange orb resting on a velvet pillow.
Naruto could not help the shiver that ran down his back, standing in the slightly damp feeling room. Perhaps the rumors had merit after all.....
He shook his head to rid himself of his cavalier thoughts. However strange she and this room were, it was obviously very important to her and, while not interested in what was clearly meant to be the occult, Naruto did not have the heart to dismiss her generosity nor her hobbies.
"It is very," he trailed off, peering up at the photos on the walls for a closer look and then immediately taking a step back. His fiancée had portraits of dead people on her walls and he was meant to just look the other way?!
"Isn't it just?" she exclaimed, bouncing on her feet again. "I call it the crafting room, very logically named as I do most of my crafting in here. Other times, I craft with my friends."
Despite the subject at hand (dead people portraits), Naruto could not help but feel endeared to her explanation. "And what, uh, crafting do you do?"
"I specialize in a little bit of everything," she admitted honestly, making her way around the room to watch him. "Lately I have been finding myself going back to creating kaleidoscopes," Hinata let out a dreamy little sigh.
Naruto did not quite know what to say, still a little on edge from the portraits, but damn it all if he said something that made her lose that sparkle in her eye. "I enjoy those as well," he lied as honestly as he could, playing with one of the random metal tubes on the desk.
"Do you really?" Hinata gasped, hands moving to cover her mouth in surprise. Naruto felt his stomach flip seeing the shine of her engagement ring.
"Yes, I," Naruto shook his head, his hands abandoning the tube to scratch the back of his neck, fluffing up his hair unconsciously. "No, the truth is that I have never heard of those kalei-whatsits until just now. I apologize."
Hinata laughed, soft and light, filling the entire room with warmth. "It is quite alright, most people are not interested in the supernatural or the slightly strange such as I. Kaleidoscopes are on the lesser and more artistic side," she explained, walking over to the desk.
Naruto braved a step closer to her, fingers tingling again. "Now what exactly is a kaleidoscope?"
"You almost had me fooled," she laughed again, picking up what Naruto originally thought was trash which had actually secretly been the kaleidoscope all along. "Look through this end here."
Naruto gave her a skeptical look, taking the kaleidoscope out of her hands regardless. He held the tube up to eye, closing the other to get a better view, and looked through one of the ends.
"I do not see what the big deal is," he admitted, frowning as he lowered the kaleidoscope and twisted it in his hands in confusion. "It is just a small tube."
He looked away from the tube at the sudden sound of her giggles. His stomach doing another flip and he could not help but tense up as Hinata took the kaleidoscope and flipped it around, gently caressing his fingers with hers.
Hinata looked up at him (she really was so tiny compared to him) eyes sparkling. "That is because you are looking through the wrong end!"
In any other situation, Naruto might have felt embarrassed or ashamed he did not know something everyone else did, but for some reason, he felt as if there was no need to feel such a way in front of Hinata. He was aware that they have been introduced once or twice in the past, but nothing so deep as to feel this at ease in her presence.
"I see now," Naruto said, bringing the now correctly held kaleidoscope to his eye.
The sight through the kaleidoscope was gorgeous, an array of different colored pieces of glasses that were arranged delicately and neatly into different patterns to make one huge collective pattern. It was so impressive how one could create something so lovely from something so basic and she said that she has made mutiple of these???
"This is spectacular, Hinata!" Naruto gaped at the shapes and colors, grinning from ear to ear from the beauty of the designs.
Hinata flushed, pressing her index fingers together. "Turn the dial."
Naruto gasped, even more impressed by her work now that it was in motion. Now the patterns were creating newer smaller versions within themselves, shining and reflecting color.
"You are incredibly talented," he observed the kaleidoscope in his hands in awe. "What other crafts have you done lately?" He asked, wanting to see more.
Hinata blinked up at him as if not expecting that question then went off on a long spiral about the creation of the first kaleidoscope and how she first got into them and how to create them and her most and least favorites of her collection.
Naruto listened to it all, asking questions when needed and "ohhing" and "ahhing" at things he found interesting, which was everything really. He found even with her explanations he was not a fan of the dead portraits, still grossed out by the prospect, but was able to appreciate and understand why she was so fascinated by it all.
"Thank you for sharing your crafting room with me," Naruto bowed in gratitude, brain still reeling from all this new information, feeling warm from all her attention.
"It was nothing," Hinata mumbled shyly, moving her eyes from his to the floor and then back.
For the first time that day, Naruto was unsure of what to say to her. From the moment she shared her crafting room with him, the conversation had flowed easily, the words coming out naturally, but now that they were saying goodbye they felt stuck somehow.
"Would you like to promenade in the park with me tomorrow?" Naruto asked, hoping she would accept. He had no idea what to say right now, but all he knew was that he wanted to see her again and soon.
"Ah, I," she hesitated, chewing on her lip in thought for so long that Naruto was sure she would have turned him down. When he decided he would take it back, she finally agreed. "I would love to."
"I look forward to it," Naruto admitted, bowing again because it was true, he was extremely excited for tomorrow.
Hinata giggled, humoring him by giving him her hand to kiss before he left. "As do I."
*
"You were out long, sir. How did the proposal go?" His very nosy housekeeper asked when he returned, no doubt hoping to report back to the rest of the staff.
Naruto thought back to this morning where he completely different plans and then to who was now his fiancée with a smile on his face, the housekeeper eagerly taking note. "It went surprisingly well."