Someone once told her that the greatest opportunities in life come with fear and risk.

She never really understood the expression.

Until now.

Argus immediately works his way into her heart.

She's amazed by how much his presence warms up her home. By how the soft click of his nails on the floor make her feel so much less lonely and how his head on her lap as she knits and randomly scratches behind his ear is more soothing than nearly anything she's tried in weeks .

Kiba comes over to help her with setting up her apartment and establishing some ground rules. "In a human to dog relationship you're the alpha, and that's important because they rely on you for protection and guidance," he tells her. "Argus will defend you. He'll be your companion. Your best friend. But only if he feels like he's part of your pack; only if he feels that goes both ways."

Hinata listens to the instructions and they take Argus to the park to practice commands and do some bonding.

"Patience is the key," Kiba says as Hinata gives Argus non-verbal hand commands. "He's going to want to a purpose and to please you, but mainly he's just going to want your love and affection. As with any change, there's going to be a period of adjustment. Get to know one another, and keep it positive."

It's easy to be positive with Argus. He's such a goofy, loving companion.

He reminds her (just a bit) of her old goofy, loving companion.

"Maybe I'll introduce you two someday," she tells Argus, listening to the ringing on the phone line. "If I can ever get ahold of him," she sighs, hanging up. She'll try him again later. For now… "Wanna go to the park?"

Naruto picks up on Sunday.

She's legitimately surprised when he answers. "Hello?" He sounds irritated.

Her tongue forgets how to tongue for a moment. "Naruto! Hi. I've, uhm, I've been calling you." Well, duh, Hinata. She sighs. She hadn't actually expected him to answer. Which begs the question about why she was still calling at all, but with each day of unanswered calls she had become increasingly concerned.

Old habits and all that.

"Yeah." He sounds downright indifferent. Like he's bothered by her calling. Like she doesn't matter. Which may be true, but he still matters to her, so she swallows the sting and asks, "Um, well, how are you?"

"Fine."

He doesn't sound fine. "Naruto?"

"Did you need something?" He cuts in-harsh and clipped.

"I-I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I haven't heard from you since…" Okay, well, this was slightly awkward. Since the night I almost accidentally offed myself, wasn't something she could very well say.

"Since when? Since you've started seeing other guys?"

Oh. Well. Sure. Let's go with that.

"It's not like that." At her feet Argus lifts his head. He can sense her tension, so she reaches down to stroke his favorite spot.

"You're not seeing someone else?" Naruto pushes. He was always good at pushing.

Here, Hinata falters, because it's kind of hard to explain her situation with Choji. How does one explain going out with someone that you knew-given the right circumstances-you potentially could have a relationship with, but it wasn't like that because you were still hung up on your ex, so it was essentially some odd form of friend-dating that you really enjoyed and were in no hurry to give up…? "It's...it's not serious. It's just casual."

Sure. That sounded so much better.

There's a pause and when he speaks again his words are heavy with simmering anger. "So you are."

She kind of wants to bury her head in the sand somewhere at this point.

"It's really not the big of a deal. I promise. I'm just trying to get out there. Try something new. I'm not looking for a boyfriend or anything. It's just…dating." Seriously, how the heck did she describe how much Choji meant to her without making it sound like something it wasn't?

"Dating?" It sounds nasty when he says it. It hurts and she's so damn tired of hurting.

She sighs, because this is not something that he's going to really understand. At least not in the mood he's currently in. So she opts for the super effective, "Yeah," as her response.

The line goes quiet for a long minute. She's just about to say her farewells and hang up when Naruto's voice comes back-more animated than before.

"Hey. Go on a date with me."

She could not have heard that right. "What?"

"C'mon." He's enthused now. Eager. Ready to convince her. And honestly, Naruto could convince her to do most anything, so she knows before he's finished what her answer is going to be.

"You said. It's not a big deal. It's not serious. It just dating. You said that, right?" His talking was moving faster.

"Yes, but-"

"Just a casual date. No big deal. I get what you're saying; I go on dates all the time y'know. Tons. So many, I barely have free time."

Okay. Ouch.

It's not like Naruto had never dated before. He'd had a few girlfriends in college, plus a slew of bad experiences and one night stands while hanging out with Sasuke. And then of course, his ill-fated crush on Sakura...so she really shouldn't be surprised.

Or be a hypocrite.

But still.

"Tons?" She wants some clarification.

"Believe it." He laughs. That's not much for clarification, but she doesn't press, because she really doesn't want to hear about it.

"I don't know, Naruto." She does want to see him. To ease her mind about the state of his. But more than that she misses him...and Naruto was her friend long before he was anything else, so she could qualify it as a 'friend-date' and it wouldn't have to mean anything more than that.

Except she knows...that's a big fat lie.

Naruto will always mean more.

He's Naruto.

"Just one. Please, Hina?"

She's quiet, trying to control the tempo of her breathing.

He whispers into the mouthpiece. "Go on a date with me."

And she knows she's done for. "...okay."

There's another small pause and she hears him clear his throat. "Ehm, yeah cool." He sniffs. "Sounds good."

"Okay."

When they hang up she looks at Argus with wide eyes. She's giddy and terrified and spinning in her own mind all at once. A date. With Naruto. "Holy crap," she breathes.