A/N: Hmm...I should be studying for school...but I actually have a day off for Veteran's day and I rarely get a chance to write anymore...

I hope you guys haven't gotten bored of me...I'm so sorry how long it took me but I couldn't find any time. But here it is: the last chapter!

A quick refresher so you don't have to re-read the chapter before this...Oh, and please excuse the super fast pace of this chapter. I figured you'd rather want to know the end, or else it would drag on for another two months.

Kiba cuts me off, the same odd edge to his voice. "Don't bother, Hinata. I think I made my feelings clear the other day. I thought you had too...in that kiss."

My lips tingle at the memory.

"Then again, maybe it was just a kiss."

"It wasn't. It was more. Much more." I blurt.

"You mean, it could have been more, if you weren't getting married. A last fling before settling down into your perfect life with him." He starts walking up the stairs.

What is that supposed to mean?

"Kiba, wait..." I run after him. "I made it up. I was never engaged to Naruto. He proposed to someone else and left me with the job of explaining to everyone that he actually dumped me. So I lied and said he proposed and then it got out of hand, and...oh, god...you probably don't believe me, and even if you do, you think I'm crazy, but..."

I'm crying, sobbing at this point, barely able to get my words out, but Kiba doesn't seem to care. His hands are in his pocket, and he looks at me with this puzzled expression. Like he thinks I'm crazy. Which, right now, I think I was. I still am, for carrying on this charade.

"I'll rent my part of the house out. I'll be out by Monday."

And then he's gone.

Chapter 22 (?)

Tenten has sent out a limousine to pick me up to take me to her engagement shower. While extravagant, the limo is actually quite thoughtful, because I don't really wish to wear my brand new silk dress while taking the bus.

Then again, I don't really want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to wait for Kiba. That is, if he ever comes back.

Outside, the rain pours down in nearly horizontal sheets as I try to stay dry beneath my tiny umbrella and rush to the limo.

The driver is quiet, a polite hello is all I receive. He drives through the streets, at quite a fast speed considering the near blinding rain washing over the front window relentlessly. He stops near a grand hotel, pulling next to a large, elegant building surrounded by flowers that are getting crushed by the heavy rain. The driver informs me that he'll be waiting just around the corner in case I want to leave early.

"I won't want to leave early," I say through the pounding rain.

He shrugs and drives off.

"You should ask him to stay," says the doorman. "That's what he's paid for. Next time, if he comes back, I'll make him stick around. You never know when you'll need to go home."

There is no home without Kiba.

Tenten is wearing heels and a gorgeous Chinese-style silk print dress. Her hair is actually down instead of in her traditional buns (or the single, slightly messy bun she sometimes has to look more "professional" at work) and it nearly reaches her waist. Despite the length, it was surprisingly healthy and silky.

She's much more refined than I'm used to, and I just stare at her for a moment before I can snap out of it and hand her my engagement gift. The happy atmosphere lifts my spirits just a bit.

"Hey, where's Kiba? I invited him too, you know."

And just like that, they crash back down.

"We had a falling out," I say, trying to leave out details. This is her big night, after all.

"A little falling or a big falling out?"

"Like I jumped out of an airplane without a parachute." I take a deep breath and explain what happened. "It doesn't matter though, because I don't think he believed me. He said he'll be gone by Monday."

She's looks at me with sympathy and a bit of guilt. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I made you wait."

I shrug, trying to seem unaffected. "Well. We'll see if true love can actually conquer all."

"It will," she says firmly as we enter the lavish room. One wall has a large window that would probably have a fantastic view of the ocean if it hadn't been raining.

The men are in tuxes, and women in glittering designer dresses. There's a band, and waiters serving appetizers and champagne. The air is scented with Chanel and other perfume.

"It's perfect. All that's missing is a fiancé."

"Not anymore. There he is." She points to two men engaged in conversation.

I start in surprise, then check again just to be sure. That can't be.

"...Naruto?"

"Naruto?" she repeats. She takes another look. "Not Naruto. Though...shit. Is that Naruto?"

As if he had sensors that picked up when someone spoke his name, he turned towards us, despite being across the room, and I can sense an air of triumph around him, and a cocky smile to his face.

"Who let him in?"

"Neji," I say, finally catching sight of his conversation partner. "I should go, Tenten. Naruto probably just told Neji the truth and I don't want to be here for what's going to happen. Sorry."

I turn to leave, only to be yanked back harshly by my upper arm. "You can't go. It's my shower," she pleads.

It's too late anyway. Neji and Naruto are headed towards us. Neji is smiling, while Naruto is focused on me. I can't say that I'm not frightened.

"Hinata," he coos, taking my hand and kissing it, his whole being oozing with the falseness he uses in front of press. A true (fake) gentleman. "I thought you'd never come." Before I can react, he plants a soft kiss on my lips.

Several people spot us, and recognizing Naruto, they applaud. Some people have actually taken out their phones and are taking a picture of us.

He pulls away from the kiss, but keeps his arm around me, pulling me against him. "I need to be alone with you. There's so much I have to say."

All I can think is that I need to keep breathing.

"I was beginning to wonder whether you two were really engaged or if you just made it all up," Neji says.

My brain nearly shuts down, and I can practically feel it fire off panicked sparks.

"Because that's what Tenten did, you know. She faked it."

"I never fake it," Tenten retorts. "What I want, I get." But there's a playful edge to her voice. She's smiling at Neji like he's her hero. Like he's her...No. Neji would never in a million years go along with a prank like this.

"Are you saying that this shower was a scam?" Naruto's voice startles me. It's so close to my ear, I can almost feel his breath.

"Payback is more like it," Tenten says nonchalantly.

Neji shrugs. "Why not? Let's face it. Tenten's never going to get married. I'm never going to get married. This is a once in a lifetime chance to experience what it's all about, like you and Hinata."

Wait, so he thinks we are getting married?

"You agreed to be her fake fiancé?" I ask.

They laugh for some strange reason, and then suddenly Tenten reaches over to kiss Neji, right on the lips. It's supposed to be a fun, playful kiss, but they stay like that. I have a feeling it's one of those kisses where the whole world melts away and it's just the two of them.

Like what I felt with Kiba.

Naruto grabs my hand and tugs me away as I gape at my brother. He dives in for another kiss while I'm still frozen, but I snap out of it in time.

"Quit it!" I shove him back slightly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Doing? I'm treating you like I should've so many years ago. I'm treating you like my lover."

The statement shocks me, and I'm tempted to dash out to the limousine, but Naruto is still holding onto me tightly.

"I know what's going on," he says in a low, quiet voice. "I know what you've been up to."

"What have I been up to?" I ask cautiously.

"Sarutobi called me last week. Said that Sasame showed up with that email I had sent you saying that we weren't really engaged."

I gasp in surprise. "That is so illegal for her to snoop in my personal email," I cry.

"Not important." His lips brush against my cheek slightly and, to my discomfort, I can see flashes in the distance. They're taking picture of us. "It made me realize what an idiot I was."

"You mean, thinking Sarutobi and I were engaged." Because, honestly, that was pretty foolish.

"No, I mean letting you go." Some more flashes go off. "Do you think there's somewhere we can go and get away from the press?"

"Why do we need to be alone?" I ask.

He agrees to sign a few autographs for his fans, and I quickly scan the room for an exit. Nope, Tenten's at that one, and...shoot, Neji's at the other.

He pulls me to the big window, out onto the balcony. The rain has stopped, but the sky is still gloomy with gray clouds. In an unexpected act of chivalry, he takes off his jacket and places it around my shoulders.

"Would you mind telling me what you're doing? There's no press out here. You don't have to put on a show." He just smiles and tries to kiss me again, but I pull away. "You're freaking me out. One minute I'm your clingy girlfriend that you're not sexually attracted to, and the next I'm..." I gesture widely, at a loss for words.

He sighs. "Hinata, I love you. I have always loved you and always will. I didn't realize that until I came back expecting the same shy, mousy girl but discovered a strong woman. Honestly, I was relieved at first. We were through. I was free."

I narrow my eyes. What kind of love confession is this? But at least it sounded more like him.

"But I kept thinking back to you and Sarutobi. It wasn't right for you to be stuck with that old geezer. I kept thinking of you and him making..." He pauses, looking uncomfortable. "...babies."

A snort escapes me unwillingly.

"I should be the only one you do that with," he continues.

"So...in other words, you want to get back together."

He closes his eyes, as if this is a huge life or death decision. "Yeah. I want to start over."

"What about your lack of sexual attraction an all that?" I snap.

"A lie. You put me on the spot, and I couldn't think of any good reason."

I laugh triumphantly in my head, shocking myself. But really, I deserve it. Of course he couldn't think of anything bad!

"Then what about the other woman?" I ask.

"I made her up. Here was my chance to appeal to all my female fans, but I didn't want to get married yet. So I just made it up."

He kneels suddenly, and I feel something cold slip onto my finger. Even under the dark sky, it glitters. It's surrounded by two sapphires on either side.

"Please, Hinata, will you marry me?"

My heart leaps into my throat.

It's a real proposal. It's everything I ever dreamed of.

But it was from the wrong man.

The rain has started back up again, a heavy drenching rain. The doorman tries to get me to stay inside, but I trudge out, heading for the top of the hill.

I have this strange desire to just be out, alone, on a hill in a storm.

How ironic. Because I'm terrified of being alone.

I've been learning that anything worth having requires taking a risk. Of course, you could live your life out safely, but ironically, it brings us closer to suffering and death.

"Hinata!"

My heart jumps. Kiba is coming up the hill. His tie is undone and his shirt is open. He is absolutely drenched, and has probably been out in the rain all night.

"I've been looking for you all night. I went to the party, but no one knew where you had gone."

"You came to find me?" I let a little hope leak through. Maybe, just maybe, he was looking for me, and not just to tell me that the basement was leaking or something.

"The doorman said you left, but you weren't home. Then I tried Naruto's house." He pants, out of breath. "I'm so glad I found you. I thought I lost you."

And then I realized it. "You did know, didn't you. You figured it out from the beginning."

He is silent. He takes off his jacket, which is dry inside, and drapes it across my shoulders. A vicious wind makes me stumble and fall against him, but he doesn't push me away.

"Why didn't you say something?" I demand.

"Why were you lying?" he retorts back. "I could never figure it out. There were so many times I just wanted to ask you, but I decided to let you decide to tell me the truth. But you weren't ready, not until I said I was going to leave."

"I'm such an idiot," I murmur. "And now you're going for real."

"Only because Naruto proposed to you already. He showed me the ring this afternoon. Your dream was coming true. I couldn't ruin it."

I hold up my left hand and am instantly confused. My hand is completely ring free.

"It's gone! I lost it." I feel shocked, but also slightly relieved.

"Naruto's ring?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I never took his ring. I meant the fake one that I bought."

Suddenly he bends down and kisses me. The rain is falling harder and harder and the wind is blowing fiercely around us, and there's a chance that we could get struck by lightning. But I don't care, because I couldn't imagine a better way to die, in Kiba's arms.

"So you turned Naruto down?"

"Of course." My mind is still caught in the kiss. "Could you do that again? I love it when you kiss me."

He chuckled, baring his fangs in a grin. "Let's get out of the rain first, okay?"

"So let me get this straight. You fell in love with me when Tenten and I first went to look at the house?"

"Yup. Love at first sight. I thought that only happened in sappy romance movies, but I saw you, and I just knew it."

"Before we even argued about Naruto?"

"I think that was when it really struck me. I love it when you're angry. You were so set on defending him. Like that time when Sasuke spilled about what Naruto said about you not being sexually attractive, which, by the way, is a total lie."

"I told you to forget that!"

"That's what made me follow you and gave me the urge to kiss you."

"...Do you hate me for lying to you?"

He sighs.

"I don't like lies, but I've done some stupid things in the past that I regret."

I rest my head against his chest. "Tenten says there's no such things as coincidences."

He runs a hand through my hair. I lean towards him; it feels nice. "She's right. There isn't. Everything happens for a reason." He kisses me on my forehead, softly.

I sigh, but smile. I have never felt so content.

My mother is in hysterics, because I just told her Naruto and I broke off the engagement. Which was technically true.

Never mind the fact that we were engaged for all of two minutes, which I sent gawking at the huge ring. You can tell the difference between real and fake.

I have to admit, it was hard to say no. But it was harder to imagine a future with Naruto.

He couldn't believe it when I gently refused. I guess he thought I was still bitter, because he said, "I said I'm sorry. Can we just put it behind us and move on?"

He pleaded and argued and wouldn't take no for an answer until I said, "Sometimes, if you wait too long, it's too late."

My mom's wails bring me out of my memories. "We have to call everyone and cancel!"

"I'll take care of it, don't worry," I say.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Tenten and Neji walking up, holding hands.

"Who died?" Neji asks.

"Naruto!" my mom wails, and he freezes.

"What?"

"She means that she's upset because Naruto and I broke up."

Mom sniffles. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll find a way to pay for it all."

Dad shoots me an incredulous look. "Do you know how much the deposit alone costs?"

Tenten immediately snaps to. "Do you have the contracts? There's still three weeks. I'm sure they can't hold you fully to it."

Mom sniffles again. "Could you get the contracts, honey?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll get them to you on Monday," Dad says to Tenten. My eyes narrow in suspicion. He's the type of person that would sit her right down and not let her go until he got all his money back.

Neji turns to Tenten. "I need to talk to you alone."

"About the contracts?"

He hums in thought. "Kind of."

They step outside, and Mom excuses herself to the bathroom. As soon as the room is cleared, I turn to face my dad.

"You knew. You knew that I made the whole thing up."

His face shows no reaction, but I spot his hands shaking slightly.

"Does Mom...?"

"Oh, god no. And don't let her know either. It would break her heart. I never sent out the invitations and convinced her to let me handle the bills. I just called them and said my daughter was experimenting something and if they could be patient."

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"I tried. Remember, I said I saw Naruto on your porch? I didn't know you would push it so far. I couldn't figure out why you felt the need to lie to you family, but I trusted you. You were the good child, and you would've had a valid reason as to why you did that."

Tears pricked my eyes, and my chest tightens. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine. As long as you've figured everything out, then it was worth it."

I hug him. He is absolutely the best father in the world.

"Good news!" Neji yells, interrupting us. "We've solved the problem of the called-off wedding."

Mom rushes back excitedly. "I just knew you'd find a way, Neji. How?"

He squeezes Tenten's hand, and she smiles shyly at him. "Instead of Naruto and Hinata, it'll be Tenten and me. I've already asked her and she said yes. And she already has a dress, so we're good to go."

The whole house is silent.

Epilogue:

Neji and Tenten got married in our backyard under the big oak tree. It was quite nice, and all of Tenten's extended family came. (I never knew she had so many relatives.)

She wore the dress she fell in love with weeks before when we were at the store.

"One time. One time!" she cried between her spouts of morning sickness. "Just one time and I get knocked up." But I knew that she was secretly pleased.

For the record, I returned every gift I received. The money gifts were donated to charity, with receipts going to the people who sent it to me.

The best part?

Well...It was a fall evening, and Kiba and I are walking along a trail towards the hill near Tenten's engagement party. The leaves were changing to their maple orange color and the air was developing that nice biting chill.

"Summer's over." Kiba says.

"Yeah. It was a great summer. Hot, though. And busy."

"Hot and busy." He smirks, his eyes twinkling naughtily.

I poke him in his side, and then I notice something in the grass, twinkling.

"Oh, my god. My ring!" And there in the grass is my fake cubic zirconium that I had lost weeks ago. "How is it still here? The lawnmowers would have wrangled it."

"Maybe you should keep it. It could be a sign." He's up to something.

I looked at it nostalgically, holding it up to the sun. It sparkled, giving off rays of pinks and yellows.

"You know what? I'm not going to keep this ring."

"What? Why not?"

"Because I don't need it. I lived my whole life thinking I wouldn't find happiness without it, but I was wrong. I've already found it."

And with that, I toss the ring as hard as I can away from me.

Kiba stares at me. "Hinata! I can't believe you did that!"

"It felt good. Are you proud of me?"

But he's not proud. He's in shock.

"That was real!" he's shouting.

"Real?" I laugh. "It wasn't real. It cost, like, thirty dollars."

"No, it didn't." He's searching desperately through the grass. "I made it for you."

"Platinum?"

"Yes," he said sadly.

"...Diamond?"

He nods.

"...And you made it yourself?"

Finally, he sighs. "It's gone."

"Maybe we can find it in the morning."

"And if we do," he asks slowly, "would you wear it?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's lovely."

"You know what I mean."

"No. What do you mean?"

He laughs slightly. "Now I'm kind of afraid to ask. After seeing what you did to the ring, I'm kind of scared you'll do the same to me."

"Life is all about risks," I reply. "So I may toss you across the field. I may not. You won't know unless you try."

He takes a deep breath. "Would you like to get married?"

"Someday," I say.

He raises an eyebrow. "I mean to me."

"To you? Well...any man who doesn't get mad when his bride-to-be throws away his handmade ring is bound to be the best husband ever, wouldn't you say?"

"Is that a yes?"

I take his hand and place a ring onto his palm.

"After all this, I've learned how to tell a real from a fake," I murmur as he slides it onto my finger.

Like they say, good things come to those who wait.

But I think better things come to those who don't.

A/N: I just wanted to say that the heavy rain in the beginning is supposed to reflect Hinata's mood, in case you didn't understand why I described it so much. Well, that and it was just a fun visual image to imagine.

And I bet you were all like, "What? The other woman was imaginary? How boring." Yeah...well...Eh.

It would have been longer, but I decided to cut out some stuff to get to the point so you wouldn't have to read my rambling descriptions and pointless. And the Epilogue wasn't long enough for me to want to make it a separate chapter.