disclaimer: thanks, but no thanks.
notes: watching the sing-off. It's pretty good. I'm not even living off food right now, I'm living off music. The Scientist – Coldplay.
some assembly required
Hinata shifted uncomfortably. Sitting on the couch in front of the fire wedged next to a very angry Sakura and a frigid Sasuke was more than a little nerve wracking. She twisted her hands in her lap and looked anywhere but next to her. It was New Year's Eve and she was miserable.
She dragged her gaze away from the ceiling then blushed. Naruto was watching her. He had a slight frown on his face. She watched him as he got up out of his chair and walked over to her couch.
"Oi, Teme." Nartuo whacked Sasuke's leg. "Move over." Hinata crossed her legs and shifted over. Sakura shot Sasuke a glare and he moved. Hinata gave Naruto a weird look. He shrugged and sat down next to her. When he was next to her Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief. He grinned at her and casually flung his arm over the back of the couch. He did the same thing to Sasuke and grinned cheekily at his best friend. Sasuke gave him a disgusted look and got up. Naruto grinned him out of the room. The tension dropped to almost nothing. Nartuo turned to Hinata.
"Better?" he asked quietly. She nodded. She could still feel the blood rushing to her face. He was talking in a low voice, leaning closer to her.
"So, Hinata-chan," he said. Hinata's face burned.
"Y-yes?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
"Are you having a good time?"
"H-here?"
"Yeah, on this trip."
"W-well, I-" she glanced at Sakura. Naruto frowned. "Let's make some t-tea." She said. She got up off the couch, accidentally brushing Naruto's leg as she got up. He looked up at her then followed.
"We're making tea," he said, "Anyone want?"
A chorus of no's followed as Hinata walked to the kitchen, trying desperately to keep her heart from beating out of her chest.
"So, what's bothering you?" Naruto asked, getting out two mugs from the cupboard above the sink. He did his best to hold back a grin when Hinata blushed as their fingers brushed. He liked the way electricity seemed to spark between their fingertips.
"I'm w-worried about Sakura a-and Sasuke-san. Things a-aren't working out like t-they're supposed to."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. He wanted to know what was up, but he like to keep her talking too. She had the cutest little stutter, but when she got more comfortable it got less and less noticeable. He wanted her to be comfortable around him.
"W-well, we had a p-plan to get them t-together. But if they k-keep fighting like this then it's g-going to go nowhere." She frowned and tapped her fingers against the counter as she waited for the water to boil. Naruto really wanted to hold her hand. To hold her.
"I'll help." He said. "I'll help. The Teme needs a girl anyway. A serious one. So I'll help."
"Really?" she asked. Naruto grinned at her. He watched the blush spread across her cheeks slowly, enjoying every second of it. She really had no idea as to the effect she had on men.
"Yeah." He shrugged. "And besides, we all know they want each other. They're just too dense to say anything."
Hinata giggled as she poured the tea. Naruto picked up his mug and sat down at the plain wooden table in the middle of the kitchen.
"Let's sit in here for a bit?" he asked. Hinata smiled, still blushing, as sat down across from him. He leaned forward just to be closer to her. He could smell her; the light scent of lavender mixed with soap and the aroma of her tea was making him dizzy. But he couldn't pull away.
What was happening to him?
Tenten was lying in her room, door barricaded, lights off, pillow over her face.
Last night was still playing through her head like a broken record.
The dancing.
The fight.
The thrill of his jealousy.
The kiss.
No.
Nono.
Nonono-
Fuck.
WHY DID HE HAVE TO KISS HER LIKE THAT!
Selfish bastard.
Like he even gave a thought to how she would feel about all this.
How did she feel?
She felt…like…
Oh, she was too tired for this! Who did he think he was to just grab her a kiss her like that? She could slap him with a sexual assault charge if she wanted to. In fact, she just might. Seriously, what was he trying to prove? He said that he was jealous of Shino, but then he refused to tell her why, like she was stupid not to know or something. Then he kissed her. And walked away.
But that kiss.
Her lips tingled at the thought.
That was a different kind of kiss. It was a really good kiss. It was…desperate.
Tenten could still feel the places where the broken off twigs of the tree had dug into her back, pushed up against a tree, his lips searching desperately over hers. It was deep, breathless, passionate.
Her breath hitched in her chest the way it had when he pulled away. Then he stammered out an apology and ran for it.
Tenten flung the pillow on her face across the room. She heard it land somewhere by the barricade. Her face felt hot and her breathing was erratic. She rolled over on her stomach and buried her face in her arms. The way she had reacted to that kiss! She felt…awkward.
She had pulled him closer. She had held him tight. She had moaned softly in his ear, urging him on. She was the one who loved feeling his hands on her body, touching every inch of her he could reach.
Tenten rolled clear off the bed and hit the floor with a loud, painful thump.
Funny how pain was a running theme in her life wasn't it?
So.
Kiba sighed. Here he was standing out on the freezing balcony with Sasuke. He had a cigarette between two fingers but Sasuke didn't smoke. He took a drag and decided to stick his neck out.
"You and Sakura seemed pretty tense in there." He said. If he died because of this he was dragging Ino to Hell with him. This was her stupid idea after all. Her and Hinata and that blond idiot, Naruto. Oddly, Karin and Suigetsu declined joining in the group meeting, preferring to sit in a corner by the fire alone, wicked looks dancing in their eyes.
Kiba shivered as he waited for an answer.
"Yeah."
Yeah? Kiba stared at him. Yeah? That was it? Seriously? What the fuck. He pushed a bit further.
"Why?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I dunno. Chick stuff."
Kiba snorted. That wasn't an answer. And to think that yesterday he was speaking in actual sentences…around Sakura at least.
"Well, whatever it is that it is that she thinks you did, man, apologize."
"What?" Sasuke glowered. Kiba took a steadying drag on his cigarette before answering. Sasuke was bat-shit crazy sometimes.
"Look," he said, "whenever you have a fight with your girl the only thing that will make it go away is if you apologize. Even if you didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't." Sasuke said. He sounded sulky. Kiba rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.
"I know, but if she thinks you did then you'd better apologize. In the kinds of relationships we have with women, the women are always right."
"What kind of relationship?" Sasuke looked genuinely puzzled.
Holy shit. The guy had no clue, did he? Holy shit.
"Never mind." Kiba stubbed out his cigarette and turned to face his friend. "I'm going to give you step-by-step instructions on what to say to her. You go up to her, ask her why she is angry at you and then apologize like no tomorrow. And whatever you do, do not let her get going on a rant." Sasuke was still staring at him like a fool.
"I don't know where you're going with this."
"Oh, fuck, Sasuke! You like her, it's obvious so don't even try to deny it. You also live with her. So unless you want your life to be worse than it already is you have got to apologize. Grovel! Plead! Just don't let her leave this cabin angry at you. Look what happened to her and Ino."
Sasuke was now looking thoroughly alarmed. Kiba felt satisfied that he had completed his role in this. Hopefully, now, he could sit out on the patio next to a heater and smoke in peace.
Sasuke went back inside.
"Well what if I don't want to flirt with her?" Suigetsu asked. Karin shook her head. He knew what was coming.
"What you want doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that my mother gets her grandchildren. And since Itachi is probably gay and I hate children it falls to Sasuke to find a suitable mate." Karin explain this to him like it was obvious.
It wasn't.
"So, you're sacrificing one of your best friends because your mom wants grandchildren?"
"Well, yeah." Karin shrugged and tossed back her wine. "If I didn't think she couldn't handle him I wouldn't bother. But I mean come on! She got him to speak in full sentences! We never thought that was going to happen."
Suigetsu groaned. He didn't want to do this. He wanted to relax and drink and maybe kiss Karin.
…
Wait.
…
What?
Oh, no. Oh dear God no. He did not just think that.
But he did. He did just think he wanted to kiss her.
He watched her get up, saying something he didn't heat. She ruffled his hair, making a shiver race down his spine. Watching her walk away, he slowly reached up and smoothed his hair. This did not bode well.
Sasuke was going to fucking kill him. Well shitson.
Sakura was sitting on the floor in the hall. There wasn't really a reason she chose to sit here, she just wanted a place to sit that was away from people. So the hall it was.
She was just getting mad at everyone. First Ino had to go and be a selfish bitch again. And then Sasuke had to be annoying a try to pry into her business. And Tenten was being a coward, sulking in her room and Neji was off being a manly man, expressing his frustration somewhere on the mountain. And Hinata and Naruto were off being all lovey-dovey. And Karin and Suigetsu were plotting something that was sure to end in tears.
She dropped her head onto her knees. What the hell was wrong with her? She should be happy that Hinata was getting the good sort of attention from a guy. She should be glad that Ino was respecting her rage and leaving her alone. She should go apologize to Sasuke for being concerned about her. But she couldn't bring herself to feel bad about snapping at him or ignoring Ino. She did feel a little bad about pointlessly hating Hinata and Naruto.
"Ow," she yelped. She had just banged her head against the wall. It was a lot closer than she thought. She rubbed the back of her head and looked down the hall. There were no lights on under the door. Sakura grit her teeth and glared at the door. Tenten needed to man the fuck up and face her issues. She pushed herself up off the floor and strode down the hall, fists clenched at her sides.
Having migrated from the kitchen to the living room to share their plan with the others, Hinata and Naruto were now sitting alone in the living room. Hinata was in one corner of the couch, legs curled under her and Naruto was in the other corner, arm hanging over the arm rest, watching her intently. Silence had fallen a few minutes ago. Hinata could feel her stomach twisting under his gaze. It was a pleasant feeling. She blushed and looked away, at the fire.
"Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto said. She looked at him. When did he get so close!
"Y-yes?" she asked. She wasn't sure if she felt uncomfortable or just exhilarated.
"I really like you," he said. Hinata blushed again, but she noticed that he was blushing as well. "I was wondering-I mean, if you wouldn't mind-do you want to go out with me. Like on a date?"
"Oh, um." Hinata was at a loss for words. "Well, I-I…"
"It's okay if you don't." Naruto said quickly. But Hinata noticed him look away, as if disappointed. Her heart sank a little bit. She wanted to see him happy all the time.
"I-it's not that I don't want t-to go!" she said quickly. Naruto looked around at her. Hinata managed to meet his eyes and hold his gaze. "I want to."
"You do?" Naruto asked. Hinata couldn't understand why he was so excited. She wasn't anything special.
"Y-yeah!"
"Hinata-chan," Naruto asked. He looked shy again, blushing like a school boy. "Can I kiss you?"
Hinata felt her face go up another eight degrees. But she nodded and leaned in.
extras: okay so I enjoy writing the angsty bits way too much. And it took forever to update this because I'm a lazy little bugger. I have no other excuse. But I kind of love NaruHina right now. They are just so perfect! I want to be godmother of their children. And they have a song now. It's official Little House by Amanda Seyfried is their song.
Review Responses:
MYinnerNINJA: yes, and no. there's going to be a big climatic fight, possibly with hair pulling and scratching and the works. Girl-fights are pretty brutal. Haha, Sasuke is a bit dim, is he not?
xStarryyAngellx: ugh, Sasuke is so dumb sometimes. It's actually starting to annoy me a bit. I'm going to have to change that. Action? Oh, just you wait. AHAHAHAHA! Dude, don't worry about it. I read xing literally all the time. It takes me like a whole minute to realize what the signs actually say.
tigers-and-dragons: hahahahahaha! They didn't get up to anything…as far as I know. I'm pretty sure they just both went off to sulk (anti-climactic). Oh my…I didn't actually think of that…I was too focused on developing the NejiTen drama there. And the 'friendly chat' between Ino and Sasuke. Ah well, they will make an appearance to redeem themselves from being party poopers.
-my-name-is-V-: BAHAHAHAHAHA! Don't worry man, I react to every text I read on my phone. I'm on the bus and people edge away from me because I've got weird faces on all the time.
maughnsterhabits: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I really needed to get that out of my system. I yell at her because I'm so far ahead in my brain that the pace the story is actually going at in real life is killing me. I'm such a hipster that I only breathe on Tuesdays and Thursdays after five pm. What. Now. Don't sweat it, I can't pout either. I look like a mental monkey when I try. So I just don't do it. Karin is Swag-a-licious. Don't be a stripper…I feel like it would be my fault somehow. WHAT IF YOU GET ATTACKED IN AN ALLEY AND KILLED? Don't do it man.
MarWayWay: so hey. SasuSaku moments are always FLAIL WORTHY! Random caps lock for no reason. I think you might be a bit over tired…so very much sparkly? Yeah, nice try but not quite English. Not creeped out. I have a story to tell you that will prove that I am not easily creeped out. I think you will enjoy it. And you say no more long reviews but…Just curious but who names their kid Jesus? Even if he is extremely handsome? The Spanish soccer players are the reason I watch Fifa. Legit. And now:
HIPSTER 101:
Step 1: Always wear army style boots or sneakers with dark wash/ jewel ton skinny jeans or skinny tan pants (probably cuffed).
Step 2: wear tastefully baggy sweaters/cardigans with fitted shirts. Shirts should be solid colours, or with cool patterns on them.
Step 3: ALWAYS have a knit cap on you in case of emergency.
Step 4: be too cool to care about anyone else. This is essential to the hipster vibe.
Step 5: be obnoxious in a quiet, understated way.
I hope that helps.
wingedmercury: I kind of want to be Tenten. She's so cool. And Ino? Oh my, I love her to bits, even though she's a ferocious bitch. I have been waiting my whole life (okay, maybe not that long) to say that line. Even though I didn't actually say it. It still happened!
SasuSakuKawaii: Sasuke luuurrrves Sakura so he wants her to be happy and fighting with Ino makes her unhappy. And it's not so much that Sakura doesn't want an apology as she wants Ino to stop being such a princess and start considering other people's feeling and situations before she acts, you know what I'm saying?
Black-footed: clothes are excellent. It actually kind of bugs me when Karin is the bad guy. Because it's just so much more fun to have her as one of the girls! They need an element of bad-ass-ery in there to liven them up a bit. OH CRAP! I did, didn't I? Ah well. That's what I get for being lazy and not properly editing that chapter. It took me so long ot update because I have literally been running around like a chicken with its head cut off for the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy that imagery.
Monicalia: well thank you! Haha, Sakura is stubborn and Sasuke is stupid. What a pair.
withloveagain: don't you worry. It will happen. All in good time, my friend.
Greenrayner:why thank you kindly!