Baka no Kiba-kun

He always knew how to embarrass her. He always knew how to make fun of her, to tease her. He knew exactly how to make her laugh, exactly what buttons to press to make her angry, exactly what to say to make her cry. He could be so hilarious, so infuriating, so mean. He could be a stupid idiot or the biggest sweetheart or an insensitive asshole—but then, that was Kiba.

And, she supposed, she loved him for just being him.

Stupid Kiba-kun.

Those were the thoughts that always floated in her mind when she spent time with him, and those were the absentminded contemplations that were occupying her thoughts as she sat with him now. They were relaxing in the shade in the hot, summer afternoon, although the shade wasn't doing much to cool her down, since her burly teammate and his huge dog were radiating enough heat to warm a room during even the coldest winter nights.

Hinata let out a contented sigh as she buried herself deeper into Akamaru's soft, white fur, careful not to wake the sleepyhead on her lap. Akamaru nudged her side with his big head affectionately and Kiba let out a big snore, his sharp fangs visible in open-mouthed expression he wore in his sleep. She poked at his cheek and snorted daintily.

Stupid Kiba-kun.

There was no one like Kiba. He was often compared to Naruto and Lee because of how loud and obnoxious he was, but to Hinata, he was a person all his own and she wouldn't have wanted anyone else. She considered herself lucky to be able to get to know him personally. Spending nearly all of her time with her team and her sensei growing up formed a small, but close-knit family that she yearned and didn't have within her own clan. It gave her two new brothers, and that was the type of love she felt for Kiba and how she knew he loved her.

But, she had never really considered falling in love with him or that he could ever fall in love with her. In fact, she never even thought he was capable of having any type of feelings for her, until Sasuke had brought it up one day.

"I mean, I could see now why everyone loves you so much," he had said grudgingly. "I just don't know why anyone could not fall in love with you. I mean, Naruto's a different story, but he's Naruto. And you did spend—what?—like all your life with him by your side. He probably noticed all the good things about you before anyone else ever did." And then her boyfriend muttered into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her tighter, "I'm just glad I got to you before anyone else did."

Hinata was baffled and, for the first time, wondered herself. Then again, she only had eyes for the blonde for a good amount of time.

"Haaaah?" Kiba had asked in disbelief when she questioned him about it. "Of course I love you."

"I-I mean were you ever in love with m-me," Hinata clarified, averting her eyes in embarrassment.

"Mm…" Kiba trailed off. He leaned back on his arms, scrunching up his face in thought, his bright, red tattoo marks on his face distorting. "I don't think so."

"Oh," she said thoughtfully.

He looked at her quickly. "I mean, I don't know, Hinata. I don't think I could ever feel for you like that, even though I knew how great of a girl you are and how awesome it would be for a guy to have you by his side for the rest of his life."

Hinata shook her head. "I know, Kiba-kun. It's fine. I was just wondering."

Then his face softened. "You know what I'm saying, right?"

"Nn," she reassured, giving him a soft look back. She felt the same way about him. They loved each other, like brothers and sisters should, like teammates could, but they did so much so that they could never be more than that.

When they were genin, she had caught him looking at her intensely with a slightly comical expression on his face.

"Hinata," he had said randomly as they had taken a break from training to eat.

"Nani?"

And then he took her by her shoulders squarely and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.

"Eh?" she had exclaimed, her cheeks reddening into unbelievable shades of red.

He looked to the sky thoughtfully for two whole minutes before shrugging, "It's not that big of a deal, I guess?" He walked away muttering, "I don't get why Naruto and Sasuke made such a big deal out of it."

After recovering from the initial shock, Hinata had sputtered, "N-not big of a deal?!" My first kiss was supposed to be with Naruto-kun! she had screamed internally, and then she attacked him with a flurry of punches. Kiba's face muscles, particularly those surrounding his lips, were paralyzed for the next few days, thanks to a series of strategically deactivated tenketsu points. The only consolation she got was that he had hilariously drooled more in those days than Akamaru ever had in his puppy life.

She had forgiven him, eventually, and that was the extent of their "romance." Her finger tightened dangerously at the memory through Kiba's scalp and his face grimaced in his sleep. "Itte," he grumbled, before shaking out of her grasp.

Hinata's brows met in the middle of her forehead as she bit down a laugh.

Stupid Kiba-kun.

He was so annoying, but she knew he loved her.

He always made fun of her growing up. Especially when she struggled through puberty. He would ask simply, "You're on your period, aren't you?" when she had her mood swings and ended up either in frustrated tears or hysterical laughter for small, unimportant things like ripping her clothes or dropping freshly made salve on the ground. It was too unlike Hinata to get upset easily and, of course, Kiba never failed to call her out on it. It only made her even more annoyed at him, but it also helped her loosen up a bit.

Kiba also made it blatantly aware of just how conscious he was about her body. Like, "Hinata, stand up straight, you should be proud of how much you've grown. Ino and Sakura would be jealous." Kurenai-sensei would reprimand him on his comments, and Hinata would shrink further into herself, while Shino would go on a rant about how degrading he was being. But then, he had helped her pick out a jacket to wear to help her feel less exposed and even offered to wear one himself. "Shino's already practically gowned up in his, we both might as well wear one, too," he said with a cheeky grin. "We can be the super awesome, tracking, jacket-wearing team!" Hinata laughed and called him lame, but it really did help her feel much better. She found that it was easier to stand up straight, although the jacket really was awfully baggy, shapeless, and hot.

And, of course, when she had been in love with Naruto, it was loudmouthed Kiba who would blurt out something to embarrass her. Luckily, the object of her affections hadn't noticed.

Stupid Kiba-kun.

But, just like all the men her life, he had his good points, too.

For every teasing remark he made, he always made a point to compliment her and make her feel less self-conscious and worthless. Maybe it was because he grew up in a house with only women, he understand what Hinata needed to hear, especially during the time when she was sent to live with Kurenai-sensei. It was always simple compliments or statements, too, like, "Your hair's pretty," when he helped her put it tie it up one day when she had her hurt arm badly in a spar with Neji as it she was growing it out, or "You should wear dresses more often. You look nice," when they would just come over to Kurenai's house to hang out. Or even when she felt like she wasn't fit to be a true Kunoichi after failing a training session with her father, he would point out that she was a tiny thing, and she was comparing herself fighting with her father, a Hyuuga, and the clan leader at that. "Most shinobi probably wouldn't even last a minute sparring with him or your cousin, for that matter," he comforted as she buried her face in his jacket to cry her eyes out for the thousandth time. "Chin up. You're a strong girl, Hinata."

When she wouldn't show up for training during the worst of that time of the month, he would barge in her room with freshly made cinnamon buns and plop down on her bed, with her messy hair and grumpy mood, and drawl, "Oi, Hinataaaa," as Akamaru would settle his large frame directly on top of her. "Stop being boring, hime-chan." He would dump random magazines from other villages and fresh candles and pain medicine next to her pillow and get her up. Then they would eat the buns together and she would cry and laugh and feel much better at his stories and teasing and gossip.

And the way he had always been super protective of her from the moment they were announced as members of Team 8 had never changed, whether it was directed towards members of her clan, her older cousin in previous years, and even Sasuke, when he had first started showing interest in the Hyuuga heiress. That distasteful curl in his lip and the snarl in his voice never failed to remind her just how much he cherished her and how important she was to him.

And now, too. He had somehow noticed that she was feeling kind of down and worried since Sasuke was sent away on a solo mission on the day she came back from one. Normally, she wouldn't have been too anxious but the fact that they had gotten into a slight disagreement before he left made her feel guilty and uneasy. She knew Kiba still felt a little resentment towards the Uchiha, but Kiba also knew how much Sasuke meant to her. He knew that taking her to spar in Team 8's favorite spot by the river would help calm her nerves.

Hinata smiled down at the face in her lap. There was no one like Kiba in her life. She leaned down close to his face and whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Kiba-kun."

Kiba opened one eye and squinted up at her, her face inches from his. "Nani? Are you trying to kiss me? I don't think Sasuke-teme would like it very much." He raised an eyebrow. "I also don't want to get pummeled into the dirt."

Her face flamed and she drew away from him quickly stammering, "I would never-!"

He barked a laugh and reached up to pull on her hair. "Relax, hime," Kiba grinned. "I'm joking." Then he mockingly returned her glare and turned on his side, facing away from her, and snuggled back into her lap. "You know you love me."

Hinata huffed and reached out to poke him in his side. "Unfortunately." But she smiled again and watched as one side of his face lifted, telling her that he also was smiling and, yes, loved her too.

Stupid Kiba-kun.