Chapter Text
"How do I look?" Naruto asked, wrangling with his cravat nervously, hands doing and then undoing the thing repeatedly. This was the most important day of his life, and he could not afford to wind up looking tacky but felt as if he accomplished just that.
He had spent several minutes debating on waistcoat and jacket colors and combinations with his valet, only to end up with his first choice --- a deep blue waistcoat covered with small designs in his signature bright orange. He was never into fashion nor into his looks too much but had put a rather large amount of thought behind his outfit today and just hoped that he looked half presentable.
"Absolutely nervous, sir," the carriage driver admitted, pushing his master's hands out of the way to fix his mess.
Naruto chuckled humorlessly, his hands starting to sweat now that they had nothing to occupy themselves with. "In an obvious way?"
"You have known each other since you were small, sir," the driver insisted, now finished with his cravat. "I doubt she will say no."
"Right. Yes," Naruto nodded along, trying to convince himself as much as possible. "But it is not within possibility if she were to ---"
"We shall never find out if you never leave to actually ask the miss," another footman spoke up.
It was true. This would be the third day now that he's delayed his proposal, working up the confidence to actually leave his property. The servants had been kind and gentle to him at first but were no doubt surely reaching the end of their patience. Naruto would not have been surprised if they had all rallied together, invited her over and proposed to her in his place because of it.
With that horrifying thought in mind, Naruto forced himself to shake off his nerves and got into the carriage.
*
Not two minutes later asked to go the long way.
*
The carriage driver, by some miracle, did exactly that.
*
"Sir," the carriage driver called, momentarily stopping in the middle of the street. Naruto, not one to be concerned with propriety, popped his head out of the carriage window in response. "There is a crossroads. Do you happen to know if it is a right or a left here?"
Naruto tilted his head in thought, thinking about the number of twists and turns he was quite familiar with on the way to his (hopefully soon to be) fiancée's. "I believe it is a left. Yes! Sounds about right."
"Wonderful, sir," the driver nodded.
Now what happened next would be viciously argued about for years to come because, whether by fate or even by some mysterious force ("he could not hear over the wind, Naruto-kun!"), he proceeded to take a right.
*
He exited the carriage with more confidence than he felt, nodding at the staff as he is walked from the entryway to the sitting room. They are quick to offer treats or even tea as he waits but he is so tense his usual appetite seems to have waned so he politely declined.
He regrets it immediately, having nothing to occupy himself with as he sits and waits. Taking the ring box out of his jacket pocket, Naruto studied the ring --- a small princess cut he knew she would love --- as he repeatedly stands and sits, practicing and steadying himself with what he is going to ask.
The staff regard him with strange looks multiple times over as they float in and out of the room (to get a good look at the jittery mess in their workplace he was sure), reassuring him that the lady of the house was on her way.
At the sound of footsteps descending the staircase, Naruto readied himself down onto one knee, opening the ring box just as their eyes met.
In that same moment he realized two things, that 1) she had the most stunning pair of eyes he had ever seen (causing him to feel quite breathless in fact) and 2) he, had somehow, managed to wind up at the wrong house.
Infamous spinster and local oddity Hyuuga Hinata seemed to glide down the stairs towards him, wearing a completely black gown with her long hair down her back with delicate pins at the crown of her head. She seemed equally as shocked as he was by his being there, obviously not use to receiving any guests. But the surprise seemed to add to her beauty not lessen it, two sweet pink circles appearing on her pale skin as her mouth fell into a delicate "O".
When she finally reached the bottom of the steps, she moved towards him slowly, as if he was a figment of her imagination or not there altogether. Naruto felt his heart beating in his ears as she approached him, not making moves to stand up or, at the very least, get off his knees.
"A-are you s-sure, my lord?" Hinata stumbles through her question, her hands shaking in front of her. Her voice comes out sweet yet small, like she is so use to disappointment that she would not be surprised if he were to take it back and for some reason that makes him want to stand up even less.
He should though.
He absolutely should stand back up, apologize for the inconvenience caused, walk back to his carriage, see this as a practice of sorts and make his way to the correct household and propose to the correct woman.
Naruto looked at her then, like really looked at her. Taking in the sadness behind the beauty of her eyes, the understanding tilt of her mouth as she braced herself for his response, her hands in front of her like a shield.
They had met once or twice, and of that, he was sure what he was not sure of was why he felt so compelled to stay.
He did not stand up.
"Yes," Naruto straightened, presenting the ring with more confidence. "I am sure. Will you marry me, Lady Hinata?"