(Erm, just playing around with an idea here, but hope you like it. Let us know what you think. – Jake & Corbin, from the TTT.)
Butterflies or Beetles: Chapter 1
Water glowed when moonlight hit the algae just right. It was the perfect distraction, they both needed it. Hinata had long since known about the glowing pools, but, it seemed even more beautiful now. She wanted to say something, but what? It wasn't easy for the young man next to her. All evening he fumbled with his words, catching them before they could even greet the air.
Timidly, he avoided the real topic that bothered both of them, and Hinata had been thankful for that. They couldn't procrastinate forever, and someone had to break this awful tension. Some part of Hinata had long discovered that it wouldn't be Choji. He wasn't very good with girls, or at least that's what he thought.
Ino told her that, and Hinata had laughed nervously about it earlier, brushing Ino off. Now that Hinata knew the truth, she felt bad for him. "Choji…" She watched him jump as she spoke his name. She could see it so clearly now, he really didn't believe in himself. He didn't think he mattered, and knowing that hurt more than Hinata could express.
"What it is?" He asked, his words were only a little rushed.
"Choji, about my father..." She forced a smile. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry about mine too." He ran a hand through his messy head of hair. It was always so hard to keep tidy, even though he tried. "You're beautiful Hinata, too pretty for a guy like me."
"Please don't say that." Dipping her fingertips into the glowing water, she wished she could take away all of his worries, and hers too. "I don't want to hear you putting yourself down." She couldn't blame him though. "Everyone doubts themselves a little, right? It doesn't mean those doubts are true."
"I'm only saying what's true. Many clans are vying for you." Choji swallowed hard, he knew he didn't stand a chance. "It's no wonder why, either." He was almost thankful for that, only because he didn't want to get his heart broken. "How do you feel about that?"
Hinata laughed a little. "You know, you're the first one to ask me." The water was cool to the touch and she stripped off her sandals, walking out into the calm pond. "I don't know how I feel about it honestly."
"What about Shino, or Kiba?" Choji wondered aloud, scratching the side of his cheek. "Aren't they worried about you? Haven't they asked?"
"Oh them?" Hinata made a soft, noncommittal noise. "Shino knows he has to get married somehow, so he's pretty indifferent about the whole thing. As for Kiba, well…" Trailing off, she glanced over to Choji. "My father won't give him the time of day."
"It sounds like your father already knows what kind of family he wants you to join." Choji wondered where the Akimichi clan fell in that list, if maybe he was a higher prospect than he first thought. It made him swallow hard, and he realized his palms had grown sweaty. "Hinata, be honest with me, please. What chance do I really have in all of this?"
"That's why I called you out here." Hinata looked up to the dark sky, the stars twinkling along the black expanse. "The only reason my father is even thinking of giving me away is because I'm not going to be leading the Hyuga clan."
"Yeah, but so many families want you to join them." Choji said sadly. The Akimichi weren't the only ones.
Hinata toed the water she was standing on top of. "He says he'll let me decide between you and Shino. You two are my only choices, if I don't decide by my twenty-first birthday, he's going to choose for me."
"You're going to choose Shino, aren't you?" That was the easy choice to make, and Choji was sure she would. He didn't understand why she was so hesitant to say it, she watched the sky quietly, as if she was still unsure. "I mean, he was your teammate, and you are close to him."
"I could probably marry Shino, we could get along without too many disputes." Hinata explained slowly, as she lifted her fingers to twirl in her long dark tresses. "You're right, he's the obvious choice, but, I don't want to just put everything off because of that." More than anything, she didn't want to put all of the burden on Shino, either. "All three of us are going to find spouses eventually. You and Shino both have clans to lead, and I don't want to string anyone along. So what if Shino is the easy choice? I don't love him, and he doesn't love me."
"You…" Choji found his thoughts painfully. "You don't love me either. I don't think any woman really can. I'm not like the other guys."
"I don't know if I can." Hinata wanted to cry. "I don't know if I can fall in love with either one of you. I know Shino though, he'll go along with what's best for his clan. I know his dad has Sakura lined up if I don't work out." It was time to stop beating around the bush. "What about you Choji?"
"There is no one else." Choji hadn't even tried dating before, and his father had reached out to the Hyuga clan because he thought Hinata would be a good match. "I don't want to force you into agreeing to the proposal. It would be wrong of me to do that. As far as I know, my father hasn't found anyone else he finds suitable."
"Shino and I talked about this last month, when we started casually dating." She flicked her eyes over to Choji. "It's nothing serious…just…just trying to figure ourselves out. He's casually dating Sakura as well. So, since he's giving Sakura a chance, I thought…" She closed her eyes. What did she think she was doing? "Like I said I don't want to lead you on, but, if you want to try dating me...see if we can even get along…like that...I wouldn't say no."
Choji sighed, this was what clans did right? People their age, they started looking at their future in a deeper way. They started searching for the right person to spend that future with. It only made sense that they broadened their horizons. "Do you really want to give a guy like me the time of day? I don't have any confidence."
"Me either. I wish I did, but I don't." Hinata murmured as she stepped out of the water and sat beside him on the log. "I'm scared." Her toes gripped the grass, playing with the soft green blades. "My future has never been so uncertain before. I'm fortunate that Shino and I can think of each other as the fall back plan, but, that's not fair to him."
Choji didn't know what to say to her.
"What if he turns out to really like Sakura? What if she turns out better for him than I could ever be?" She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice. She had even put up a good fight, but it had begun to crack. "I would never take away his happiness, but that would only leave you. I'd never want to force you into something like that." She tried rubbing her eyes, but they still stung. "That's not fair to you, Choji. That's not the kind of person I am."
Sometimes, Choji really hated being the sixteenth head of the Akimichi clan. "It's not your fault." He said as he took one of Hinata's hands into his own. "Please don't cry." Her cheeks were stained pink, and while that was normally cute, it wasn't this time. That color was one of shame, anger, and a feeling of powerlessness that he fully understood. "We're both in this together, and by the sounds of it, so is Shino. That's just how these clan things go, I know that."
Her fingers were so cold, she felt like ice. He wanted to keep her warm, to protect her, because that's what friends did. He'd always thought that she was gorgeous, but he'd never had the confidence to ask her on a date. He thought he didn't stand a chance in hell, but if Hinata was willing to give him one… "I want to try dating you, if you'll let me."