I was not mad at you

I was not trying to tear you down

The words that I could've used

I was too scared to say out loud

Hinata runs into Naruto while he's canvassing by complete chance. She's just arriving to lunch with Ino and Sai at Akimichi's where they would be joined by Choji and his girlfriend, Mei, when she catches her toe on a crack and stumbles.

Directly into someone.

Strong hands catch her shoulders even as papers spill onto the sidewalk. "Oh, shit. Careful, lady-Hina?"

She recognizes the voice even before she rights herself, blowing her bangs out of her eyes."Hi," she says, quietly, a pink blush spreading over her cheeks.

"Hey." His voice is low and slightly rough. He hasn't let go of her shoulders.

He smells good, she thinks. Familiar, but also a little different. Cologne? The warmth of him lures her closer.

Beside them a throat clears.

Hinata blinks, taking a little step back, her blush morphing from pink to near cherry red when she realizes just how close she'd been standing.

The kid from the fight-Ken Sarutobi?-is making a weird face at Naruto, eyebrows wiggling up and down.

"Konohamaru," Naruto growls the name.

Oh. Not Ken. She makes a mental note.

Naruto brushes a hand through his hair glancing around, a little unsure. He looks different, but still good, she thinks, in his button down shirt and khaki pants. He's even wearing a pair of brown loafers.

"Canvassing?" She asks him, despite the obviousness of it, just to break the awkwardness.

He nods. "Uh, yeah. You?"

She gestures to the glass doors just ahead of them. "Lunch with friends."

Just as she says it the doors swing out and Choji steps outside, his warm gaze landing on her. "Oh, good. You're here." There's genuine relief on his face. "I think Mei may be ready to murder Sai. I can use back up."

Hinata shakes her head, repressing a giggle.

"It's not funny." Choji laments.

Hinata nods, schooling her features to mock seriousness. "Of course not. Sorry."

Choji steps forward, only to notice Naruto and Konohamaru lingering nearby. He gives Hinata a look, silently asking if she was being accosted by religious peddlers or if she knew them.

She turns back to Naruto. She feels a little awkward introducing them, but she wasn't going to shy away from it. "Choji, this is Naruto and his partner Konohamaru."

At the name, Choji smiles and holds out his hand. "I can finally put a face to the name," he says. "Hinata's told me a lot about you."

Hinata can see the hesitation and tension in every line of Naruto's body. He's stiff, even as he accepts the handshake and his gaze is borderline hostile. "Weird," he says, tightly. "I can't say the same. Never heard of you before."

That's not entirely true, she just never used Choji's name.

Instead of being offended, Choji just chuckles good-naturedly. "I don't think you and I carry the same significance." There's not an ounce of resentment in the statement because Choji knows how much Naruto means to her. Still, he has never been anything but a good, supportive friend to her even after his own relationship started to take off and Hinata doesn't want to diminish that. "I'll see you inside," he says to Hinata before re-entering the restaurant.

She gives Naruto a slightly reproachful look for his rudeness. Even on her worst days, she had managed to make nice with his friends-even the ones that made her want to crawl under the nearest rock and hide until they went away.

Naruto makes a face-like he swallowed a lemon before he gives an awkward wave. "These flyers won't hand themselves out, so...see ya." He starts to walk away when Hinata grabs his arm.

He's tense beneath her fingers, and a bit startled. He glances at her.

She takes a breath. "Uhm, would you...Do you…?" Okay, spit it out. She looks up into his eyes. "Want to join us?"

Now he is very clearly startled."Uhhh-"

"Hell yeah. This place has the best pork ribs-" Konohamaru starts for the door before being hauled up short by Naruto gripping the back of his collar with his free hand.

"Can't," he tells Hinata. "I'm still on babysitting duty."

She tries not to feel disappointed. She wants Naruto to know that he wasn't excluded from the new things in her life. Her disappointment must show on her face, though, because Naruto shifts on his feet and ruffles the hair at the back of his head. "I'm done around six," he tells her. "If you wanna do something after?"

Hinata perks up. "Yeah?"

"I mean, yeah, if you want." He's still hesitating.

For once it's not her hedging.

She nods.

They make plans to meet up at a cafe near Teuchi's around seven.

That will give her enough time to go home and see Argus for a bit before meeting up, so that works. She watches him walk off with Konohamaru in tow, the younger man clearly giving Naruto a hard time about not taking the invite.

Inside the restaurant Mei does look a bit like she wants to strangle Sai, but since Ino is leaning back and unconcerned Hinata doesn't think it's too big of an issue.

"Choji says Naruto was outside." Ino wastes no time saying as Hinata pulls out her chair.

"He was." She confirms.

"And?"

"And what?" Hinata shrugs. "I invited him in, but he's working."

"Hm." Ino nods. "Priorities. That's good, right?"

Hinata nods because yes, it was good. In the past Naruto was all too eager and willing to put responsibility on the backburner in favor of something he wanted. "Yeah."

"If I declined an invitation from Ino I'd probably not get sex for quite awhile." Sai feels the need to inform the table.

Hinata blinks at him and shakes her head. "Good to know."

"Is it? What other things about our sex life would be good for you to know?"

Ino narrows her eyes. "Sai."

"Sorry." He places the menu in front of his face.

"If you can shut him up that easily, why didn't you do it earlier?" Mei asks.

"Oh, because I was enjoying myself," Ino says with a laugh.

"Oh, well, of course. Then by all means, amuse yourself at my expense." Mei gives a playful eye roll. She's a bit older than the rest of them, but her affection for Choji was blatant and genuine. Mei had been through a difficult divorce and Choji through his messy break up. They both were taking things slow, but it was clear to those that knew them that they were headed for long-term.

Hinata couldn't be happier for her friend. Choji deserved every bit of happiness that life could throw his way. She caught his eyes and lifted her glass in his direction. The others followed suit.

"To happiness. May we all find it, keep it, and cherish it."

"So...that was the guy, right?"

Hinata had made it through most of a muffin before he posed the question.

She had known it was coming based on the rapid tapping of his fingers against his thighs. Still, knowing it was coming didn't make her answer any easier. She swallows the too dry crumbs and takes a drink from her hot cocoa.

"I recognized his voice." Naruto continues, but he looks away from her. He glances at her and then away again. "He, uh...he seemed nice."

It's the most disingenuous thing he's probably ever said to her. She tilts her head, trying to catch his eyes. "Naruto."

"Hm." He's still not fully looking at her, his gaze locked somewhere over her left shoulder.

"Hey." She touches his arm. "I think I need to clear some things up. About Choji and me."

He's already shaking his head. "No, I'm all good. Not my business, and I don't really want to hear about it." He feigns a stretch. "How about them Knicks, eh?"

She blows out a breath and pokes him. "They forever stink," she says, earning an affronted look from him. "And I never dated Choji. At least, not like...not like most people date."

He looks at her dubiously.

"I'm serious," she tells him. "I met him at an event for Ino's boyfriend. We hit it off, because Choji's a really nice guy and we started hanging out. That was it."

"By nice you mean normal, right? Not a fuck up." He sounds less bitter and more defeated.

She shakes her head. "No. I mean nice. As in he listened to me when I needed a friend. That's all he and I ever were. All we are. He's still my friend."

"Yeah, he seemed friendly."

She gives him a look.

Naruto plays with his straw wrapper. "You don't need to explain," he murmurs.

"I know. But I want to. Because...I think you have this notion that I left and things have just been sunshine and rainbows for me and that's just not true."

He flicks a glance her way. "No?"

"No." She confirms. "I've been too scared to say the things I need to say because I've been worried that if I push too hard, or not enough-"

"That I'll crack. I get it."

"No," she says sharply. "That I will."

He blinks at her, frowning. "You're the most stable person I know."

Her lips twist. "Then you don't know me as well as you think you do, Mr. Uzumaki." He's about to refute it when she adds, "But that's okay. I'd like you to get to know me. This me. Not the Hinata you've always known. The one I am now. The one I will be." She reaches for his hand. "And I want to get to know you. This you."

"Yeah?"

She smiles, squeezing his fingers. "Yes."