A/N- People, can't we all just get along? Please don't be rude to other commentators(if that's right), everyone has a right to their opinion and honestly, it does not bother me. I'm writing this fic purely for my own enjoyment, though I'm mega grateful for the comments and people who love to read what I write. It's a huge encouragement and I respect everyone's opinion; good or bad. Anyway this chapter is slightly heavy and slightly rushed(but accurate).
"Which one of you time travelers own this clunker?" Ino asks, plucking dust bunnies from a vinyl record, "I'm just asking, yanno, in case I catch a case of the butter fingers and skkkkrt," she makes the noise of a scratched record. "I want to be able to tell its rightful owner it should've died in its decade of spinning discs."
"Ino, don't touch it," Hinata sighs carrying an armful of clothes and hangers. She tosses them on the bedroom floor, throwing her head back to sigh at the whirring ceiling fan. "It's the last thing he's got of his god father and he's cut throat about it, honestly. You're already on thin ice since the brownies. Give it a rest already."
"Best spoken like a submissive Sally, gosh what the fuck happened to you?" Ino snapped falling back into the rug, on propped elbows. Her legs were wide open, red tipped toes squirming as she inclined her jaw at Hinata, "You're acting lke a pet, it's embarrassing and disgusting, ugh. Are you scared of the man and his inhumane penis? Does he punish you for being a curious puppy?" Ino teases with a pout.
Hinata rolls her eyes, "I'm respecting his privacy, whatever's on the record is probably personal and difficult to hear. It's not being submissive, I just have certain skills that you lack—like, manners and respect," She replies, staring through the wisps of her bangs at Ino. Hinata kicked a box labled, 'Closet apparel—Mine =^_^=', towards the heap she had previously extracted. Ino gave a faux smirk and then a frown took her face as she stared at the phonogram, gnawing idly at her fingernails.
"Is that so?" Ino asked with a darkened lilt, one flawlessly blonde, arched, brow raised. Hinata plopped down on her knees mimicking the raised brow with added puzzlement.
"Uh, yeah asshole, we all know you're an only child and as such, the word 'no' isn't exercised often and on the off-chance that it is, well, you normally throw a hissy fit but no, no we're not needling the vinyl so…fuck off." Hinata manages to say with a fake placid smile she added for special effect. Ino's cheek is raised, tongue roving her inner cheek for a static moment of reflection before there's a loud, pop. The noise reverberates throughout the nearly bare room.
They are making good time despite the many drawbacks she had counted on. Lost time came with the territory of being friends with the most notorious procrastinators—herself included—on the planet. But things, as of this hour mainly, have been running smoothly.
Sakura and Kiba were out delivering the disassembled king-sized bed, along with all of its dresser sets. Hinata had passed off the keys graciously, in hopes of avoiding more conflict and aggravating contact with Kiba. Sakura was adamant about leaving at first but Kiba mentioned swinging by Chousi's Wok for Chinese takeout on the way back and the pinkette was sold. She thieved Naruto's North Face fleece and a navy baseball snapback and no one could stop her from leaving.
Hinata was thankful for any distance between she and Kiba, it meant that she wouldn't have to revisit losing her virginity to him or any of the other things he felt the need to remind her of when they crossed paths.
Ino had already began to suspect some tension between she and Kiba, approaching Hinata and stating that Kiba had been, 'eye fucking the shit out of her'. Hinata pretended she was unaware and reminded Ino that it's been years since they've seen each other so maybe Kiba was just appalled by how ugly she had gotten. Ino looked a long way from buying her crap but didn't pry for the truth. Which was a first for her.
"The fuck does that mean?"
Ino asks, an octave higher than her usual tone. Hinata's eyes snap up to peer at the blonde, a smile still ghosted on her face.
"People tell me no all the time, prime example, the fuckin' interview I bombed incredibly and" Ino says, lifting a ripped jean and fishnet leg. She pokes her toes at the polished wood of the phonogram, "Noriko wasn't some mother Teresa, but every now and again she tries to act like she cares. You're salty because my mom was and possibly still is an esteemed slut and she doesn't give me the time of day—while your dad watches you like a hawk watch chopped liver. Must suck, being so restricted, I can't relate." Ino taunted, with one of the laziest shrugs that Hinata has ever seen, if it could even be identified as such, "I just think it's ridiculous that you're being a pushover. Your dumbass fiancé has you terrified to touch his shit. Just seems unfair to me, he gets to put his dick in you and from what I hear you don't even limit him to one hole."
Hinata laughs snatches a white-collar shirt of hers from its hanger and does the modified version of folding; lining the sleeves together and then letting the neckline drop down to meet the hem. She tosses it haphazardly into the box, scowling at Ino with a tight lip. The blonde chuckles chewing on her lip, "Why're you giving me come hither eyes?"
Hinata shook her head, "No they're, 'you're reaching', eyes. I don't know why you're always giving people flack about their significant others, perhaps you're the jealous one. If there's anyone who should be able to understand him, it's you. You're an only child, his belongings are very valuable to him and he's been an orphan his entire life. Things really affects him sometimes, and he's never had anything to call his own and I get that, our boundaries aren't entirely unbreakable or restricted. We just have a thing about asking, compromising how much we can truly give to each other. We may be engaged but we haven't explored every aspect of each other."
Ino pointed a long finger at her, and wagged it, "Aren't you an only child too? Don't try and act self-righteous bitch, like you're not team spoiled."
"Not rally, I mean, in a sense I guess. It's complicated." Hinata admits tossing a brass hanger aside after halfheartedly untangling the straps of a midriff blouse from it.
Ino scoffed, "You either are or you aren't and you've never mentioned any other Hyuugas. Besides' your extremist cousin in the army and your racist dad,"
Ino mouths off, cocking her head to the side expectantly. Like someone just waiting to be right about something. Something chirps and Ino shifts to her left elbow to dig out her phone, "hold that thought, I need a moment." She murmurs staring paralyzingly at the screen.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I shouldn't have said that.
She's never told anyone, except Naruto, about her mother's second child. Her baby sister, who died along with her mother. She grew to be eight months and Hinata highly anticipated her arrival—like the way someone eagerly awaits a birthday palooza. Her mother always thought it was adorable, and even bought a doll so that she could practice bottle feeding and the proper way to hold a child. She had big plans for the baby, and best of all she wouldn't have to play alone. Her mother went into an early labor, Hinata woke up to the screams of excruciating pain and her father trying to sooth her mom. The screams didn't subside and she's sure the pain hadn't either. About time she had the nerve to leave her room, her father had already called the maid in to look after her because they were going to the hospital. She remembered her feeble attempts to get her way and go with them, she stood there, crying but Hiashi wasn't having it. Her father was scrambling around the house like a chicken with its head cut off; he was grabbing overnight bags, requesting the doctor over the phone and yelling over her mother's crying. It was chaos, like a vague nightmare that she couldn't make sense of.
The maid was about to shuffle her away to her bedroom when, her mother breathed out her name and before the maid could convince her that she was hallucinating, she ran to the sofa. Her mother gave her a warm hug and promised her that the maid would bring her to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning. Her mother kissed her tear stained cheeks, peppered her face with more kisses and told her to get plenty of rest so that her arms could be nice and strong to support the baby. There was something unreadable in her mother's eyes, glassy with unshed tears. She could see the worry creasing her forehead and though she wanted to make a plea to tag along, she figured it was best to let it go. She nodded and kissed her mom goodbye, too excited to sleep but somehow—someway, she drifted off with syrupy thoughts of finally meeting her brand-new sister, after holding so many one sided conversations with her mom's stomach—it'd be nice to finally teach her how to talk.
When Hinata woke up, more vibrant than life, she hurried to get ready. She fished out an old afghan her mother had knitted and given to her and a lion plushie she thought the baby would like to cuddle with. She ran around the house in search of her designated driver, the maid—or Chiyo as they called her. Instead she was met with the scene of her father—sitting half on the living room chair, and half off with his fist buried into his eye socks, like he'd never need them again. She was old enough to know, something was wrong—and something terrible had happened.
"My mom died during labor and the baby..." Hinata says, trying to swallow down the enormous boulder trapped in her throat. Her eyes felt moist and prickly but she stripped a plastic hanger with several pairs of jeans weighing it down. It felt like the perfect depiction of her heavy chest. Ino, who had been idly prodding at her cellphone looked up, mouth agape and her eyes wide and repentant.
"Shit…fuck, that's—wow, I don't even know what to say. You never did say much about your mom. Well fuck me, I'm so sorry. You know I'm an asshole but this time—I swear it wasn't intentional."
She could feel the tension and the sadness like led being injected into her bloodstream. She huffed out a breath and tried to catch the tears before they could betray her.
Ino sat up attentively, placing her cell face-down beside her hip, "Way to rub it in, fuck, get over here and let me hug you. I swear I wouldn't've bought it up if I had known." Ino says sympathetically, which seems hard to pull off since she doesn't often think she has something to apologize for. The sincerity of the gesture only intensifies the overall feeling of heartache. She's dangerously close to suffocating. Every breath leaves and nothing comes through her stuffy nose.
"Fuck," She loses more and more air, tossing the unfolded shirt into the box and trying to hide from the embarrassment of coming undone over a fucking gesture. She was pathetic. She smacks her palms to her eyes and can't stop her body from quivering. She bites her lips to stifle her anguished cries and instead her breath trembles from her nostrils. She welcomes the subtle blotches that dance behind her closed eyelids. She can hear shuffling and gum being chewed obnoxiously. Arms envelope her and pull her in, she feels Ino on the side of her, tossing a leg over her lap, and the side of a knee against her back.
"I'm sorry." Ino whispers, swaying with Hinata against pressed against her small bosom.
It's not your fault, Hinata wants to say but her throat feels too tight, lips too hot and unsteady. Her skin feels like it's under the searing gaze of a microscope strategically placed directly under the sun. She keeps her eyes closed and tries to focus on the steady thrum of Ino's heart. The feather-light beat against her cheek feels relaxing. She doesn't know how long they sit there, in companionable silence, Ino rocking them, nearly motionlessly—forward and backward.
There's a blaring silence and this moment only dredges up the time she had confessed it to Naruto. They were going on their second date and decided to do the typical thing and go to the theaters. The movie hadn't yet begun, lights still on whilst the big screen showed commercials that no one payed any attention to. It was some Disney flick that both should be ashamed of attending without a child sitting between them but there they were with concession snacks and drinks. Beside her had been a mom and her two vibrant daughters, they were all similarly dressed and asked Hinata to take a photo on the mom's phone. Her stomach had already been lodged in her throat, they were a beautiful family and she couldn't help but to think about her own life. Photos she could never look back on because they never took place. She took the photo and complimented the family before hauling ass out of there.
Naruto eventually found her and she couldn't even choke out an excuse but he never asked. They hardly knew one another then but without a word, his arms engulfed her with all the heat of a furnace on that gelid night. He rubbed up and down her spine firmly, whispering that it would be ok, even though he had no clue what it was. He was so gentle, sweet and patient. They missed the movie, and he took her home. She begged him to stay the night and he needed no convincing. He just held her all night, and the story just naturally came along with the comfort. It felt good to—for once, express the pain that her father represses every day. After the conclusion, he was suddenly kissing the tears from her face, tenderly. She might've fallen in love then, the pain knotted her heart but the unguarded emotion he gave, had her stomach fluttering and her skin humming.
Like a tradeoff, he shared his story—he told her about the people who would adopt him for the dependent compensation, how he ran away, how he wound up in the home again and after a few signatures on a dotted line he was in the custody of someone else. He tells her about the abuse, about starvation and dark things that chilled her. They were spooing in her bed and his breath felt like steam on the back of her neck, it makes her feel safe. That moment between them, it's painful but she wanted time to freeze and she wanted to live in his arms forever.
Steam on her neck, butterflies on fire in her gut and his voice echoing through the room, surrounding her with its depth.
"Hey guys it's me, Tenten."
"No shit, get out."
The floorboards creek and Hinata is almost sure that Tenten does not, get out.
"No thanks, I've been out there, I want to come into the out with all of you lovely gay people."
Ino breathes heavily through her nostrils against Hinata and pauses.
"Are you acting like an amateur on girls gone wild still, or are you done?"
"Yep, I've been cured. Sakura mixed some shitiful things in a blender and all I wanna do is get it out."
Hinata feels a jolt of motion and errant strands of Ino's hair tickling her forehead, "The fuck, don't come in here, get your shitty booty to the toilet!"
Tenten cackles, "Shitty booty, not. I never specified which end it wants to come from silly!"
"Ten, I love you bitch but I swear to a deity of your choosing—that I'll beat you within an inch of your life if you puke in this vicinity."
Feet hit the floor persistently. Like someone stomping in place.
"Oh my fuckin' god, if I have to get up and fuckin murder you, so be it."
Tenten laughs, "Angry boar. Like angry birds but with more gore—whoopse I meant with more whoreeeee."
Tenten claps, giving herself props for the joke.
Ino sighs, "Are you patronizing me you black market chun-li?"
Hinata couldn't help it, that one had her. She felt the knot in her chest loosen the moment she laughed.
"Stop that." She scolds Ino, sniffling and attempting to salvage what dignity remained. She pulled away from Ino to scrub the overlapping sleeves of her fiancés shirt over her eyes.
"Say it to my face, thotty!"
Tenten pulled at Ino's sloppy ponytail and sprinted out the door screaming and crashing into the narrow hallway walls.
A cold draft whistled into the bedroom. Ino released an exaggerated breath.
"Bitch is fuckin' skitzo…"
"She's just had too much to drink, courtesy of you."
"Uh no, I bought vodka, which you bogarted. Tenten bought her own date rape in that bag that looks like a fuckin' hoof.." Ino snaps trying to get the name, eyes rolling to the ceiling with an, 'uhhh help'.
"Bota. She bought a goat skinned bota."
"Whatever. Fuckin skitzo drinkin from a goat's leg."
Hinata chuckled, shaking her head.
"Stoppit! We should probably make sure that she drunk Sakura's brew." Hinata makes a move to follow Tenten.
"You gonna be ok Kitten?"
Hinata nodded, "Ya I just had a moment, I've been, stressing about stuff. The move, me being jobless—everything is just kind of moving quicker than I thought."
"Well, stop—you dunno how lucky you are. You're only twenty-three, you already met the guy that would sell his soul to save yours. Everyone else is still suffering with the cat and mouse games. Meanwhile you're leagues ahead of half the people your age. The guy wants to marry you and he wants to love you and not just hit and quit. Yes, I rag on the guy—I rag on everyone but it's just an extension of my love. Anyway, let's go sober this dumbass up."
"Yes, lets."
RamenLuster25:Where are we camping tonight, new lair or old lair?
PrinsassHyuga: lol one last night in death star apartments? I'm gonna miss this dumb place…but they're in dire need of renovation. A Death Star II. :'D
The apartment was far from being back in mint condition—if that's what it could qualify as when she first settled in.
The narrow halls held bits of papers, particles and pieces to machinery that she'd probably end up tossing anyway.
Kiba had chipped a wall whilst trying to be showy with the dresser, Hinata had no idea who he was trying to upstage but she all but damned him to hell the moment he nicked the corners of the hall. Their landlord was a raging bitch and they hardly needed any reasons for her to bill the dog shit out of them.
The woman would search every nook and cranny of the place just to get a cent more.
There were many things that were scathed during the arduous journey from apartment to apartment. Tenten, in her inebriated state, killed an entire box set of vintage china. The first present her father had ever given her, and because of that, she's never put them to use except on the rare occasion of his visits. Which were few and far between. The set was enamel and pristine white, with a silver lining, the teacups were beautifully airbrushed with sunflowers. Hinata didn't know whether to pull her hair out from the roots or crumble to the ground and be extra, luckily, she didn't get a chance to do either because Tenten was lurching up her guts and crying. Repenting repeatedly to Hinata, who stood in limbo, between agitation and compassion.
Ino had somehow managed to get lost so often in the janitor-closet apartment. The blonde would go missing classically and turn up the moment they'd round up a search party.
Hinata soon discovered her hiding spot, standing in her bedroom and admiring herself in the body length mirror stashed behind the bedroom door. Sometimes Ino had her phone on speaker and appeared to be talking to someone who seemed just as fluent in, 'bitchanese' as she was. Other times she'd be taking photos with her middle finger cocked. Multiple times she would catch Hinata walking through the hall and beg her to be the photographer of her impromptu photoshoot. Hinata always declined but Ino would only shadow her around and cat moan in her ear until she gave in.
Packing was a nightmare, she should have listened and waited.
RamenLuster25: Just getting off, are you awake?
PrinsassHyuga: Yes, I need you. :/
RamenLuster25: I know, I'm coming. I have pretty good news I'd like to tell you in person. Also, I'm gonna make a quick pitstop…for the junk.
PrinsassHyuga: You're off the hook for that—I just need you,I just want you, plz hurry
RamenLuster25: ok…will be there in 5.
Mari: Hey Nata, I am so deeply sorry for not attending the packing party. I gave you my word and unfortunately, things went awry. The universe would not let me have a win today. My phone died on me and I've been behind in all of my meetings. Problems aside, I'd like to double date with you and Naruto—you two can come to mine and Shikamaru's. I'll make good on the offer! Once again, deeply sorry and I hope you forgive me. Dinner sometime this week?
~Temari Nara
Me: That's a relief we were worried when you went off the grid. It's ok Naruto and I won't be breaking in the new kitchen anytime soon so dinner at your place sounds both doable and welcomed. Thanks, and I'm sorry about the shitty day. I can relate. Sleep tight, give Shika my best.
Mari: You're sweeter than a peach. :* Nighty Night dearest. Oh, I hope you don't mind, I'll probably have my brothers over. It's a big maybe but just a heads up.
~Temari Nara
Me: The more the merrier, plus Naruto has some type of man crush on your brothers. They'll be in their own little world, that'll give us some space to cruise your master closet and the medicine cabinet lol.
Mari: I guess I'll make it a mandatory event for them to attend.
~Temari Nara
Shino: Srry. Didn't kno he'd turn up like that.
Me: No reason to be, it wasn't as hard as I thought.
Shino: So, your welcome then?
Me: Don't meddle in things concerning us ever again. If you want to keep being friends with me, I'd appreciate it if you'd not tell Kiba about things concerning me. It makes neither of us happy and if you're so fond of spinning webs, you can leave me out of this. Yes, we kissed—New Year's a while ago, I admitted to you that I was confused about the feeling but it doesn't mean that I accepted it or wanted it. It was an impulsive move that I regret, I feel absolutely disgusting knowing I had a lapse in judgement but I was a different woman when it happened. I'm engaged and in the past I've given Kiba a lot of my firsts but I'm engaged to be married and I wanna be honest to Naruto, always.
Shino: I told him nothing except that you were to be engaged. Anyone who knows your Instagram user can see that. I don't know what he's said I've told him but I haven't. And I will always be your friend. You're like a baby sis to me. Come to the pet shop sometime, there's something I think you'd want.
Me: It's a hard no on the bugs, I can't even pour spoiled milk out without squealing.
Shino: You should be so lucky if I offered you one of my endangered beauties but no. Call it a late birthday gift but stop by sometimes and I'll let you meet the new pups.