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People Lie - about sex

By: nugarwrites
folder Naruto › Het - Male/Female › Naruto/Hinata
Rating: Adult +
Chapters: 1
Views: 8,188
Reviews: 4
Recommended: 1
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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kishimoto does, and I do not make any money from these writings.

People Lie - about sex

Quick note: This is chapter 27 of the fanfic People Lie, which may be
found on fanfictiondotnet. Due to ffnet’s policy against lemons, I
moved the lemon chapter here on AFF. As those of you who follow People
Lie know, sometimes the story is light, humorous, and full of
friendship, and sometimes it’s darkly humorous psychological horror.
Some readers like one aspect, some readers like the other, and I aim to
please both.

THIS CHAPTER is not hardcore PWP sex, this is just another light hearted
People Lie chapter. Expect the usual jokes and character development,
just, this time, with fun, caring naked playtime. Other than, yes,
there is some consentual romantic sex between a male and a female, no
other warnings for this chapter.

The next chapter, which isn’t quite done yet, (gimme a few more days)
will be just another somewhat darker People Lie chapter, with more
psychological implications, subtle jokes that fuck with your mind, and
arguably a lot more erotic sex.

Enjoy!


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It was evening before Naruto opened his eyes again, blinking in
the deepening gloom of his room. He was naked, laying face up on his
mat, with the sheets rumpled and only a wadded corner of his thin
blanket under his back.

Hinata lay half on top of his side, pressing into him and her head
laying on his right shoulder. One arm was thrown possessively across
his chest and she’d hooked her right leg over his.

Absently, he ran his fingers over the hard, wiry muscles of her
back, lightly tracing her scars. She was sweaty and sticky, but hell,
so was he, and he didn’t mind one bit. Her scars were still paler than
the rest of her skin, but far from being ugly, at least to him, he
thought they were rather beautiful. Everyone had scars, especially
ninja. Sasuke was covered in enough of them from just training. Even
he had scars now, puckered little divots on his stomach and back where
the tentacles that impaled his clone had somehow transferred the damage
to him. Hinata’s, though, were scars with meaning and symmetry. They
said something, and not just in the ancient tongue they were written in.

Hinata stirred slightly and made a small sound of contentment,
then quietened.

…ah, hell, he thought.

What was he gonna do with this girl?

Every now and then, she’d let slip how much she wanted him. And
that was kind of scary, because when she wanted other things, she was so
ruthless and unstoppable. If she really did plan on having him…

Oh, man.

Sure, he’d known she desperately wanted to belong to something
greater than herself since he’d first met her. That had been the basis
of their working relationship. Tired of being overlooked, of being
dismissed, of being lost in the background while others commanded the
attention of everyone around them… Hinata had, with surprisingly
accurate assessment, thrown her lot in with him. It was a situation he
could easily comprehend.

But there were times, like earlier, when something a little bit
more aggressive peeked through her veil of the perfect follower.

That worried him, even as it intrigued him. Hinata, having depths
even he didn’t know about.

She wanted him. Not just to be his, but she wanted him. Friend,
lover, husband, for life.

He’d never even imagined. Who marries their first crush?

Seriously.

He was a low class nobody with no family and no breeding. She was
effectively a princess. She was heir to a bloodlimit, a powerful
fighting style, economic and political power the likes he’d only dreamed
of, and a library of secrets he couldn’t even begin to guess at.

His only claim to fame was that he’d been deemed unimportant
enough to use as a living sacrifice to the Kyubi, and he’d gotten a few
nifty powers out of the deal. Yeah, he had godly amounts of chakra, but
his only real strength was the ability to share it. What use was the
ability to use godly power in a fight if you didn’t have people backing
you up? A shoggoth was one thing, and a very very powerful, scary thing
at that, but he had no illusions at all about going up against an army.
Maybe his kage bunshins would give him a better chance than most, but
he’d still lose eventually.

On the whole, he’d rather have been from a rich, powerful clan.

He’d fully expected that, one day, Hinata would marry someone from
another family, probably someone from outside the village, maybe someone
from a royal family, and create some sort of political alliance that
would benefit both clans. Then, remembering the bonds that had formed
between them over their years of being teammates, he would arrange
situations where by helping him she and her family would benefit, and
everyone would be happy. Except for their enemies, of course.

He’d tried to explain that once, feeling incredibly awkward as he
tried to tell her that they weren’t going to be together forever.

She’d just stared at him, unblinking, and he’d given it up as a
bad job. As much as he tried to project an air of confidence, and he
was completely sure of his line of reasoning, he’d never had her so
obviously disbelieving him before. It kind of unnerved him, like she
knew something he didn’t.

Maybe she did.

Maybe marrying her wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Hell, if he had
to marry someone, she’d definitely be at the top of the list. He was
certainly going to have to do something. He owed her that much,
considering the crap he’d put her through.

But, with her family situation, marrying him couldn’t be what was
best for her. He wanted to help her, not make her fall in love with him
and throw away the advantages a marriage could offer. That was just him
being an asshole again, and he really intended to be less of an asshole.

Just another thing to screw up, he guessed.

Sometimes, he missed the certainty he’d had back in the academy.
Everything had been so cut and dried back then. Hide and learn. Watch
and think. Lie and misdirect.

Not like now. Now, there were expectations.

How was he supposed to take over the world with all these demands
on his time? Hell, he hadn’t even had time to learn the jutsu Sasuke
had copied. ANBU had beaten the hell out of Hinata and Sasuke. The
Kyubi was fucking with his head. And apparently his superiors couldn’t
decide between being happy with his performance or quietly strangling
him.

That fucking ANBU. He ought to be easy to find, that was a very
distinctive mask. But… he was sort of their sempai. Kakashi had
trained him, right? Kakashi had beaten the hell out of them on more
than a few previous occasions, though he called it ‘training’, which
somehow made it okay. That ANBU, though…

…best to put off thinking about it for now. He didn’t have the
skill or the leverage to do anything. Not yet. He’d just remember and
wait.

Of course, ANBU-san was right. The Hokage had forbidden him from
calling on the Kyubi. That had lasted, what, three days? Four? His
sense of time was all screwed up. But just the fact that he had
disobeyed the order really told him how badly impaired his thinking had
been.

It was the freaking HOKAGE. And he had the Kyubi. Of COURSE
people would be watching him. He was an idiot for not thinking of that.
No, worse than an idiot. Idiots think, they just make the wrong
decisions. He hadn’t been thinking at all. He was some sort of… cow.
They were pretty dumb, right? Wasn’t there something else supposed to
be even dumber? Bah, no matter.

He was some sort of cow… person… thing. He hadn’t been
thinking. RABBIT! Yes. They just reacted to whatever they
encountered, no planning. Yes. That was suitably degrading enough to
describe his actions.

Hinata stirred again and kissed his chest sleepily, then stopped
moving.

He glanced down at her tangled mass of dark hair. There must be
something really wrong with him to be laying there, his mind running in
circles with regret and worry, completely ignoring the naked girl at his
side.

She’d said she loved him.

He’d never felt so insignificant before. Like he was standing in
front of something so huge, so much greater than himself, and he could
only see the tiniest part of it. It kinda reminded him of those moments
when the Kyubi’s chakra had started flooding him, except with more
nausea and stomach clenching. That couldn’t be good.

Was the feeling something eldritch? May the gods damn the Kyubi.
It was probably its fault somewhere.

And seriously, what was he going to say to her father?

‘Oh, hey, I’m boning your daughter, but I think we can both agree
that marriage is not in her best interests.’

He couldn’t decide between laughing at himself or cringing at the
barest THOUGHT of the bloodbath that would follow. Whooo, that would be
ugly.

Hahah… crap. Now he was depressed. Damn it.

He could feel it, he thought. Forces gathering around him, all
with a less than benevolent interest in him and his team. The Hokage,
Hinata’s father, their fellow genin, ANBU, probably more. There would
be trouble.

It was all going to end badly and it’d be all his fault.

“It’ll be okay, Naruto,” Hinata said quietly.

“Mmm?” he said, startled.

“I was watching your face,” she admitted. “My tenketsu opened
while I was asleep,” she added by way of explanation. Her eyes were
still white, really more of a light grey, because she’d burned through
the last of his chakra in the run.

“Oh,” he replied, blushing lightly in embarrassment. She’d
probably read every thought on his face, damn it. You could never have
an unguarded moment around a Hyuga.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I would have said something, I
just… liked looking at you, holding me.”

She didn’t sound defensive, he noted. She actually sounded kind
of proud. Happy?

“Are you happy?” he asked.

“Not if you’re not,” she replied, and this time she moved, sliding
up so she could rest her chin lightly on his chest and look up at him.

He shrugged slightly and looked at the ceiling. “I’m not not
happy,” he replied.

Her pale liquid grey eyes stared at him, even as he avoided her
gaze.

Naruto squirmed slightly under that gaze, realizing that she’d
probably shifted her focus so that she was basically looking down on
him.

“I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “I’ve never been happy
before, not really, you know.”

“You haven’t?” she asked, and this time she did seem hurt by his
words.

He resisted the urge to groan at his slip. “No, it’s… I mean,
I’ve been… almost happy. Satisfied, pleased, whatever. And I think
I’m happy, but at the same time I’m scared. We’ve made a lot of
progress, but I see a lot of ways we could lose it all. Does that make
any sense? I don’t think I have words for this.” He didn’t like that
feeling. He’d always had a larger vocabulary than most of his peers,
and he’d made a serious effort while growing up to develop the same kind
of cultured speech that, actually, Hinata herself had.

She continued staring at him for many long, long minutes, and he
grew more and more uncomfortable under her gaze, like an ant under a
magnifying glass. He didn’t say anything, though, fearing he’d just
make things worse. One tilt the wrong way and she’d burn him to a
crisp.

Whatever Hinata saw when she looked at him, scrutinizing him with
all her knowledge and bloodlimit and what carefully hoarded wisdom she’d
accumulated from the shadows of everyone else’s lives over the years, it
apparently met with her satisfaction. Abruptly, she smiled, lunged up
and on top of him, grabbed his head in her hands, and kissed him full on
the mouth.

The kiss was deep and involved and there was some tongue here and
there, and it left him breathless even as he started to respond.

Abruptly, she stopped and snuggled in to lay her head on his
chest, her ear right above his heart, sighing in contentment.

Naruto was thoroughly confused, even as he wrapped one arm around
her and started combing the fingers of his other hand through her shaggy
hair. She needed a haircut.

“Hinata?” he asked.

She didn’t say anything.

“Hinataaaa…” he drawled, “what was that all about?”

“Shh, you’re ruining the mood,” she countered in a light, teasing
voice.

“Hey…” he complained. He thought for a moment, then he really did
groan. “Aww, this is one of those female things they warned me about,
isn’t it?”

She lifted her head, kissed her finger, and touched it to the end
of his nose. “Now you’re getting it.”

He groaned. “I knew it was eldritch.”

“What was that?” she asked, mock sharply.

“Nothing, nothing…” Crap. She knew what that word meant.

“Did you just compare me to the shoggoth?” she asked, sitting up,
her eyes blazing with the power of her active bloodlimit.

Damn damn damn. Thoughts flashed through his mind, most revolving
around the presupposition that most women, including Hinata, would not
find that a complimentary comparison. He needed a clever reply, and
fast.

“No,” he lied. It was the perfect response. There was no way it
could possibly be confused for a yes.

She poked him in the ribs, getting a startled, half laughing
squawk of indignation.

“Hey!” he complained, grabbing at the offending hand to restrain
it. She pulled, but he was stronger, and he poked her in the ribs in
retaliation, making her twitch.

Hinata raised one eyebrow and stared down at him, even as she
raised her free hand, two fingers extended. “Do you really want to go
there?” she asked.

Naruto’s blue eyes twinkled like mad. “Hinata-chan, that’s where
I live.” He made a feint towards her side, then changed at the last
minute and went for her stomach. “Ha hah!”

Hinata was faster, however, and grabbed his wrist in a grip like
iron. Naruto pulled his hand back, intending to drag her across his
chest, but she kicked out with her left leg to lift her hips and threw
her right leg across his waist, suddenly straddling him.

He was very aroused, and she was very warm.

“Ha ha,” she said, completely deadpan as she leaned over him.

He quirked his lips and glanced to each side. He held her right
hand in his left, but she had his right in her left. Still… he was
stronger. So, summoning his strength, he simply raised his arms above
his head, forcing her to lean over, closer and closer until her breasts
pressed against his chest and her face was inches from his. Her nipples
were hard.

“So what do you think now?” he asked, attempting to lick her nose,
but she was just out of reach.

“I think this leaves you completely unguarded,” she replied
honestly.

His eyes widened. “Huh-WAHAH!”

She’d released his wrist and attacked his vulnerable underarm with
a complete lack of mercy, hitting all his ticklish spots as he squirmed
and thrashed beneath her. It was several breathless moments of flailing
before he managed to trap her hand beneath his arm and shift his grip so
he had her wrist. She pulled and twisted, but his hands were hard and
calloused, and his fingers curled completely around her slim wrists.
She’d have to put his fingers in the right torque to break that grip,
and he knew her tricks.

Even though he’d captured her hands, his glare, through unshed
tears from the tickling, was indignant.

She leaned down and stole a kiss, using the movement to rock back
on her knees and slide lower on his waist, so her flushed sex met the
top of his shaft. She ground against him for a moment, and giggled at
the expression on his face.

Poor Naruto couldn’t decide between enjoying the sensation or
being irritated at continually being outmaneuvered.

“Just as planned?” Hinata asked archly.

“My schemes are not easily comprehended by others,” he retorted.

She bounced her hips slightly, and he felt warm, wet flesh slide
over his manhood. “Your complexity astounds me.”

He frowned at her, well aware of what she was doing. “How am I
supposed to take myself too serious when I have you and Sasuke to bring
me back down?” he asked plainly.

This time she did quirk her lips at him in a tiny smile. “I’ve
never underestimated your resourcefulness.”

“At being a fool? Of course not.” He heaved upwards, and Hinata
squeaked as that did interesting things with his muscles under where she
pressed against him. But that wasn’t the idea.

He levered himself upwards on his shoulders and feet, arching his
back, pulled her hands down so his knuckles were on the floor over his
shoulder, then kicked, flipping them both over backwards. He had to
balance on his knuckles as they spun, so he didn’t put too much pressure
on Hinata’s wrists, though she probably could have handled it just fine.

Hinata realized what was going to happen, and simply wrapped her
legs around his waist so he couldn’t dislodge her. There wasn’t quite
enough room for them to flip all the way over, since they were a little
over a meter from the wall to begin with.

Naruto’s feet and shin hit the wall, and he caught himself with a
thump, making sure he didn’t just land heavily on Hinata. Now he was
above her, pinning her wrists to the floor, and he pressed forward
between her legs, pressing into her, his penis trapped in the cleft of
her butt. The angle was all wrong for penetration, his hips too high on
hers, but his knees were against the wall and he couldn’t straighten his
legs. They were just too close.

She shivered as he leaned down and nipped lightly along her
collarbone, his supernaturally sharp teeth careful to not break the
skin. Hinata loved him like this, all rippling muscle and controlled
power. Naruto had changed in the time she’d known him, not just
mentally, but physically. He’d always been heavier, stockier than his
height would have suggested, but when they’d been put on the team with
Sasuke, he’d used his transformation technique to make himself look
older and taller. Call it vanity on a young man’s part, but he’d
reasoned that physical appearance had a lot to do with subconscious
respect.

Now he was as tall as Shikamaru, his measurement for an
appropriate height for his age, and heavier than any of his classmates
but Chouji. An ordinary henge wouldn’t work, but Naruto was far from
ordinary. Still, it wasn’t little things like being able to change his
shape, for all intents and purposes permanently, that impressed her.

No, when she was looking at him earlier and she saw his sky blue
eyes go dark, then light, then dark again as he lost himself in worry,
she realized that he wasn’t thinking about the present. He was happy,
happier than he’d ever been, she could tell at a glance. No, he was
thinking about the future, and how to protect them and the hard earned
happiness they had. Naruto took nothing for granted. He would treasure
every moment with her, just as she treasured the ones with him. And
though he was a man of many plans and even more worries, there was not
one ounce of quit in him.

She knew him better than anyone, even, she suspected, himself.
And if he was worried about her admitted plans to marry him one day, she
knew that the thought of quitting just because it might be difficult
never even crossed his mind. He wanted what was best for her, and the
only thing she had to convince him of was that he was what was best for
her. Not some loveless political marriage to strengthen her clan and
resources. It was so sweet the way he completely dismissed his own
feelings as if they didn’t even matter.

Giving herself to him was no decision, no decision at all. They
were together forever, even if he didn’t know it yet.

That was what she was there for, to point out the things he
missed.

He lost himself for some moments, tracing the scars on her upper
chest with his tongue, nibbling up the side of her neck while she
sighed. He kept it up, nuzzling behind her ear and whispering wordless
sounds of love until she was completely relaxed and limp beneath him.

“Hah ha,” he said quietly, grinning down at her.

He was quite devious, and he well knew the effect he had on her.
He exploited it mercilessly.

He pulled upwards on her wrists and stretched upwards, sliding her
away from the wall, then slid his hips backwards, letting his hardness
prod her. He shifted his hips slightly, and she slid hers slightly to
one side. She wanted it as much as he did.

Still, the honor of the Hyuga was at stake, and his guard was
down, thinking her defeated. She flared the chakra in her wrists and
twisted, almost like a twin localized kaiten, sliding them out of his
loosened grip. And as she had moved her pelvis to one side, she’d also
relaxed that leg, which suddenly shot out and kicked at the wall. It
just barely reached, but when the sole of her foot hit the wallpaper,
she used chakra to get a grip with her foot as she grabbed him and
twisted.

Naruto was absolutely astonished to be rolled over, and suddenly
she was on top, her fingers dancing down his sides and across his
stomach as he laughed and gasped.

“Wah hahaaaaaah! HINata… stttttttooooop!!” he cried, tears in
his eyes, but there was no stopping her.

She knew all the sensitive places, and could even see where his
muscles quivered the most. Naruto tried to grab for her, but he was too
surprised to get control over himself and his strength was no hindrance
at all. She was faster with her hands than he was, and every time he’d
reach for her, she’d hit the ultra ticklish spots under his arms and
he’d clamp his arms back down to protect those spots.

“Hinata! Stop!” he begged. “No fair!”

Which did no good at all, of course. There were too many, and his
wildly flailing arms couldn’t cover them all.

Abruptly, she used some sort of wrestling move, easy since he was
all but helpless under the tickling, and trapped both of his wrists
behind his head, holding onto one finger of each with her right hand in
a torsion lock so that if he struggled, he’d break his own fingers.
That left one of her hands free, and his eyes widened in horror at what
she could do with that free hand.

“I give! Seriously! You win!” he said quickly, tears of laughter
streaming from the corners of his eyes.

Hinata leaned close, dangling her breasts in front of him, pleased
to note that, at least once, his eyes followed their movements rather
than her free, dangerous hand. “Naruto… weren’t you the one who taught
me that the victor does not have to be told that she’s won?”

“I say lots of things,” he admitted, flinching hard when her hand
drifted closer to his underarm.

She smiled, and he was disturbed to note that it was much like his
own predatory smile. “And weren’t you the one who taught me what to do
with an advantage?”

He whimpered, because the thing to do with an advantage was press
it ruthlessly.

“Now, it’s time for you to recall your own lessons. What do you
do when you’re outmaneuvered, overpowered, and in an situation where you
have already lost?”

Aww, man. She would remember that. He quirked his lips.

“Submit. Beg. Cast aside dignity and pride. Survive as long as
possible and look for a way to escape and reverse the situation.”

Hinata smiled down at him, clearly enjoying the situation. “As
expected of Naruto-kun.”

He tried not to roll his eyes too obviously. “Well, this is one
of my best plans. Even though I lost… I still win. I need to make
more of my plans win-win like this.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, but my clever Naruto, there’s
something you forgot to take into consideration in your plan.” Her
fingers darted for his side.

“AH! HAHAH!”

“The lesson for you, my captive,” she purred, “is never, ever
challenge a Hyuga to a tickle fight, for you are within range of my
divination.”

She made a motion with her hand, and Naruto squealed surrender.

“Please! I’ll do anything you want! Just please stop! I beg
you! I’ll make my begging face if you just give me a moment!” he cried,
laughing at the same time.

She stopped and gave him a measuring look, tapping her lips with a
finger, just to remind him that she still had a free hand and he didn’t.
“Weak, Naruto-kun. Very weak. Your begging needs work, but I guess
it’ll do. You’re lucky I prefer it when you’re strong.”

He laughed relief.

“Now, what to have you forfeit…”

“Anything,” he replied. “Anything at all.”

Hinata smiled, showing a lot of teeth. “Anything? Well, I’m sure
I’ll think of something.” She pressed backwards, and she was acutely
aware that she was almost painfully excited. How had they never done
this before? Naked play time was awesome.

She reached beneath her, twisting her shoulders so she could grab
his cock and finally aim it correctly. Hinata pushed backwards with a
serious expression on her face, closing her eyes as she did so.

There was some soreness, barely noticeable, from their first time
earlier. And the second and third, but admittedly it had all kinda
blended together into a lot of gasps and moans. She was a kunoichi, she
was tough and limber, and she was very, very horny. She pushed herself
onto Naruto in one smooth, slick movement, releasing his hands and
sitting upright so she could take him all.

Naruto couldn’t help but smile at her obvious pleasure when she
closed her eyes and brought her hands up to play with her breasts. He
liked her breasts. They were, all things considered, pretty damned
nice, and would only get nicer. Sure, his female form actually did have
nicer tits as far as size and shape and firmness went, but these were
Hinata’s and that more than made the difference.

Hinata was enjoying herself quite a bit as she started to rock
gently back and forth, enjoying the slight back and forth friction
across her sensitive inner flesh. She wasn’t quite as into it as her
thrown back head and soft moan might have indicated, but she knew Naruto
would appreciate the show.

Naruto did.

Oh, how he did.

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close so he
could lick and suckle on her breasts, paying special attention to her
hard, dark nipples.

That really did make her gasp. She liked it when he put his hard,
strong arms around her and held her close. She used her legs to raise
herself slightly, maybe half his length, then slowly slide down again.
She put her arms around his head and tangled her fingers in his hair.
This was what she wanted.

Naruto wasn’t one for making noises, other than some faster than
usual breathing and a few animalistic grunts, but the feel of Hinata’s
tight body in his arms and the warm wet movement on his cock was easily
the most physical pleasure he’d ever experienced in his life. It wasn’t
his first time having sex, or even his fifth, but this was his first day
with Hinata, the first time it really mattered what he did. He didn’t
want to come too early, as he had so many times during what he called
‘practice’ with his female clones. Her pleasure mattered.

But, as much as he’d worried about it, and secretly thought about
it, and planned for it, and studied it, and, possibly, even obsessed
about it, when it was actually happening all his thoughts and plans had
flown out the window, and all his fears and self doubts were chased
away. Nothing mattered anymore but the girl kneeling astride his lap,
bending her head down to kiss him.

She moved gently and slowly, and they stayed like that for a
while, kissing sometimes while he cupped her butt in both hands, or
she’d pull his face into her breasts while he ran his hands up her
spine. Sometimes she moved the way she wanted to move, and his eyes
would roll back in his head. Sometimes he would bounce her with his
arms and she would squeak at the sudden flurry of movement. They moved
together easily, just a few inches of sliding each direction, their
tangled, sparse pubic hair matted with sweat. She ground into him,
feeling delicious pressure in her clit where it pressed into his pubic
bone, and her stomach was aflutter with sensation when he finally
groaned, hooked his hands under her arms, and pulled down hard on her
shoulders, forcing them tightly together as he finally came inside her.

They stayed like that for several long moments, her nuzzling into
his hair as he got his shuddering breath back. She liked being locked
together with him, his juices inside her, like a husband and wife.

“Naruto… I love you,” she whispered.

But Naruto’s breathing was too loud, and his blood pounded in his
ears, and he didn’t hear. He said nothing.

That was okay. He knew it, anyway. And she knew, with Naruto, it
wasn’t what he said, it was what he did.

Really, it was no wonder she was in love with him, when for
months, every action he made, every glance he gave her to make sure she
was okay, every time he didn’t look because he trusted her to be where
he needed her to be, he’d been telling her he loved her.

One day, he might say it out loud, but that was okay. Hinata
relied on her eyes more than her ears, anyway.

Finally, he pulled away, and she rose off of him with a soft splat
of fluids, the messy side effect of sex. She blushed and reached for a
towel she’d gotten during their earlier encounter.

Naruto flopped back, breathed, then turned his head to look at
her.

“Hinata-chan?” he asked.

“Yes?” she replied, looking back at him as she cleaned herself up.

He suddenly smiled, amused by some private thought.

“Would my princess care for a bath?”