Recap: Naruto wakes up in the new year alone. He finds his cousin and best friend in bed- though both parties claim it's completely platonic. He starts to notice all the tension building between the two as he takes them out for a treat.

CHOKE

When Hinata woke up, the blood vessels behind her eyes and on the sides of her head were pulsing. She could feel how badly the alcoholic beverages had drained her mouth of moisture due to the sandy feeling of her tongue against the parched inside of her cheeks and the roof of her mouth. Her lips were dry and cracked and her body felt heavy as lead. When she rolled to the outer corner of her double bed, the duvet slipped from her shoulders. There was a shiver as her skin met with the cold morning air- apparently, she'd left a window open.

Worse still, it looked like she hadn't even attempted to put on any pyjamas to replace the expensive party outfit she had ditched in the early hours of the morning. Hinata wriggled until her only exposed body part was her head, from where she lay she could see the dress Mother had put her in. It lay in a puddle on the floor alongside the shoes and her bra, her hair was tangled and matted at the back of her neck.

She made note of the changes in her surroundings that she hadn't caught the night before.

Boxes had been placed in her room. They were piled neatly in the corner between her bed and wardrobe.

If she'd missed those the night before, how drunk had she been? Had she done anything that would embarrass her parents? Herself?

She hoped not.

With a groan, the young woman pulled the bedsheets around her shoulders as she stepped around her outfit from the previous night to explore the boxes. Hinata hadn't heard from Naruto and she was afraid to contact him. He said he hadn't wanted to see her, so she made sure that he wouldn't.

To protect herself from her own feelings, Hinata once again let her parents plan and micromanage every aspect of her life. Cowardly, yes. But it was easier that way, it had always been easier that way. The routine they were working on wouldn't give her time to dwell on Naruto and their breakup- or rather her abandonment of their relationship and the feelings of guilt that attempted to take a hold of her when she was alone for too long.

The young woman did what best she could to bring order to the piled boxes, ordering them by size and weight as nothing appeared to be labelled. No doubt she would be summoned to the study soon. Father had scheduled another CV workshop for her. Meaning he would go over the entirety of her work history, possibly with Neji or the BCCTVS recruitment manager and tell her which of her jobs to include on the new resume as well as how to play off her inability to keep a job for longer than six months at a time.

She'd had many jobs.

Primarily waitressing and retail work in the past five years. She often worked as a childcare provider for a few neighbours, but that was strictly off the books, cash-in-hand and sporadic at best. There were a few half-years where she worked maternity leave admin roles… nothing lasted. Every year since her personal savings were drained, Hinata had spent at least two months racking up credit card debt as she searched for another contracted or temporary role to accept her.

Only, she didn't have to worry about that now.

The Hyuuga family had money.

Old money.

And they lived in luxury, yes- but not to excess.

She had never craved any material items growing up, everything had been provided for her. There was never a need to question the origin of her belongings or the food on her table. It was something that her parents took care of so that she wouldn't have to worry, just as their parents had done for them. Making sure that there was a roof over their head, food in their stomachs and the materials to excel in their studies were the way Hyuuga showed familial love.

That just how they were raised, and how they raised her. That's what people did right?

Hinata constantly looked for the non-verbal cues from her parents that would reveal their love and pride for her. The things her classmates counted as embarrassing annoyances- parent's hiding notes in their lunches, being overly enthusiastic at recitals or even showering their faces with kisses whilst dropping them off at school- Hinata had so jealously craved… And then Naruto came along with his warm melting touch that was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

In the beginning with Naruto, she was drunk off of his attention, it was everything she had ever wanted. Back then, there was not a moment where they were together that she ever felt the same insecurities that being around her parents seemed to inspire in her. When she moved into his studio flat, she hadn't minded the supposed lifestyle "downgrade" (in certain people's opinions) because with Naruto's kisses and touches she was distracted from the cold, or occasional hunger pangs when the difference of her circumstances started to become clearer.

When they both got approved for graduate credit cards they started to splurge a little on each other, with things that seemed small like Brunch on Sundays or eating out a few times a week. A spending habit that grew progressively worse every year. The end of each month meant a familiar tightening of belts as they tried to maintain a lifestyle just beyond their means. Then, when the minimum payment possible had been made on their credit cards, they'd be back to business as usual. It was so easy to spend money that both was and technically wasn't.

Right now, she craved something greasy and cheap. A thing that last month she would've considered a cheeky treat to herself. A large serving of cheesy chips from the chippies around the corner from her old flat sounded great. But, even if she travelled all the way into town and back undetected, she'd never be able to sneak something that unhealthy past Mother's locally sourced, organic, free-range, clean-eating only sixth-sense.

Hinata ignored her growling stomach as she finally opened one of the lighter boxes.

It held the cosy cushions from the couch and the blankets. The bright golds, oranges and yellows looked so odd when they weren't paired with the deep red couch they'd bought. Her apron and oven gloves, the cloth placemats she'd knitted so that when they ate at the coffee table, it wouldn't scratch or stain. No wonder the box was so light, it was full of fabrics.

One by one, Hinata placed the items back into the box. There was a tugging throb in her chest as she recalled the small living room and adjacent kitchen in perfect detail and the happier moments she'd spent with Naruto and friends there. She could feel her throat constricting and knew that It was time to move onto another box. Maybe one of the heavier ones that was at the base of the pile.

Luckily the possessions inside the second box she opened didn't bring up memories of her time out of reach of the Hyuuga family's influence. Her books. The romance. The fantasy. The mystery. They were all there. They were in such good condition- and she knew instantly that Naruto hadn't been the person to pack this box. He'd never been so careful whenever they had to pack. Someone else had done this… or had helped him.

She hoped it wasn't Karin… the female Uzumaki was nice, but she was also scary.

Especially when she was enraged. Hinata had seen Karin fight while they were students, the girl was deceptively strong, had a knack for immobilizing holds as was known for fighting dirty- punching below the belt and even biting. Knowing how protective Karin was over her cousin, Hinata hoped she didn't cross paths with the young woman soon.

Hinata quickly fetched her favourite novels from the box and placed them on her double bed. She read and reread these often enough to find a place for them in her own room, the others she knew she could find a home for elsewhere in the house. Maybe finally even share a few with Hanabi if the girl could be torn from her homework, cello practise and judo instruction or phone for more than an hour. Checking her phone for the first time in days, she fired off a few texts to reassure worried friends that she was fine, just 'really busy a lot is going on right now'.

Her fingers darted to Naruto's contact information and she thought about calling him… or texting him. She'd settled down since the night she left and actually listened to the voicemail Naruto had left her.

He was sorry for scaring her. Wanted her to come back. To talk. They'd forget the engagement for now, and just try to fix what they had. He rambled for a while before the message cut. He'd been talking for too long.

The voicemails that followed contained yelling. Begging. Cursing. Crying… the very last message, she heard Karin telling Sasuke to hold Naruto so she could get his phone.

Those messages caused her to second guess herself again. If she hadn't been happy at home before… and she wasn't happy with Naruto… how would she ever feel something akin to joy?

She quashed the urge to reply to him. Slamming her phone down just as Hanabi walked in and launched herself face-first onto Hinata's bed.

"Y-you could've knocked!" Hinata protested. "What if I was n-naked?"

"But barging in unannounced on their hungover siblings is what the family babies do Hinata. Plus… I've seen you naked lots of times." Hanabi joked dismissively, "Mum wants to know if you're going to leave your room today? Its way past lunch you know."

"I'll leave my room when I'm ready."

"You better be ready in an hour. We're going by Uncle Hizashi's. Neji proposed to his girlfriend last night."

Hinata's heart leapt to her throat. Had she heard that correctly? What was it about the winter season that made men so eager to drop down on one knee?

"He did?" the older girl forced out after taking deep breaths. Her head felt like it was spinning and Hinata was so glad to already be sat on the floor, else she might've fallen to her knees. Hanabi's words continued to make their way to her ears… but it was all fuzzy.

"Yeah, or something like that. She accepted by the way. Like… who wouldn't?" Hanabi continued, completely oblivious to her sister's distress "Mum's getting worked up about what we're going to wear. Like it's not a formal event but can't go looking too casual you know? Have you ever met Neji's girl? She's some kind of welder or something- can you imagine that? Neji's Ai-baa is gonna have a fit."

Neji? Engaged? But they were too young for all of that. He was only one year older than her… and yes, he was very mature. He had been for as long as Hinata could remember, but how could he be ready for such a serious commitment? And the family were so… judgemental… There was a reason Naruto barely interacted with the family before- to marry into the family you had to meet certain specifics. She didn't want to put him through that… or put herself through that.

"Hanabi-"

"Yep?"

"I'm going to get a glass of water, are there painkillers in our bathroom? I don't feel that great… I might pass this time."

Hanabi looked over her sister once. She was confused… but then a glint of understanding took over. A small grin was twitching the teenager's lower lip as a sly look took over her grey eyes. For a moment Hinata thought her parents actually told the teenager the truth of her sister's reappearance (even though she'd been sworn to keep quiet about it). And Hanabi wasn't exactly known for her subtlety- was she trying to tease her big sister?

Oh, of course stupid Hinata ran away from a proposal like an idiot when everyone else would literally die for the proclamation of life-partnership.

"Too much champagne last night huh? Can't escape, sis. The whole clan's gonna be there. Even grandma, I'm not going to suffer her attitude alone. So better get dressed!" Hanabi sang as she left her sister's room. Hinata closed her eyes and took multiple deep breathes. This wasn't a sign that she made the wrong decision. This wasn't a sign.

This wasn't a sign.

This was just a coincidence.

Right?...

hey lads im back. super busy again. kinda short. shit's popping off at work like its mad and ive not had much time to do fuck-all. updates twice a month probably?