When Hinata was young her father enrolled her in a 'finishing' summer school.
Her instructor was a polished woman with perfectly straight teeth, thin lips, and silver hair who told her that: "The foremost principle of etiquette for making introductions lies in understanding, reverence, and respect."
"Today, you're going to meet someone very special." Hinata glides the dog brush through Argus's thick fur, making sure to take some extra time along the front of his neck where he liked his 'scritches'. "I know you'll be on your very best behavior, but Naruto can sometimes be a little...energetic, so we're going to wear the vest, just in case, okay?"
Argus tilts his head inquisitively.
She smiles, rubbing his ears. She's simultaneously excited and nervous. Argus has become such an important fixture in her life already that it feels somewhat momentous to be introducing him to Naruto.
She hopes they like one another.
Of course, she's completely biased, and adores them both, so she can't imagine why they wouldn't. But still…
She shakes her head, getting rid of any negative thoughts. It was going to be a good day. She pushes to her feet and reaches for the hand broom and dustpan. She tells Argus to grab his vest. She puts it on him and heads to the bathroom. She'll have time to take a shower and change before Naruto's due to arrive, which is a good thing, because she's covered in German Shepard hair.
She showers and changes into some comfortable clothes, opting to leave her hair down and not bothering with makeup. Argus usually worked it off of her at the park anyway. She figures that a trip out would be better than sitting awkwardly in her apartment. Maybe lunch, but she hasn't planned too much.
She's playing it by ear.
And a little by heart.
She takes a deep breath when she hears her intercom beep. "Uh, Hina? It's me."
"Here goes," she murmurs to herself and buzzes Naruto through.
It takes a few minutes before she hears his knock and she briefly worries that he's changed his mind when Argus decides to bark to let her know they have company. She rolls her eyes at him as she passes but he simply wags his tail.
She takes a steadying breath before she swings open her front door. "Hi." She smiles. She can't help but smile whenever she sees him, but in particular now.
"Hey." He smiles back and her heart flutters like a caged bird.
Clearing her throat, she steps back from the door, allowing him space to come in. He moves forwards slowly-cautiously-like he's expecting a punch to the gut or for her to shove him back out and slam the door in his face. She places her hand on his back, urging him inside.
Argus sits in the entry, head cocked, studying the new arrival. His tongue lolls out of his mouth in lazy pants which is a good sign. Argus can sense her tension like he's part of her, so if she wants this to go well, then she needs to be relaxed.
Naruto glances from Argus to her and back again. "This is the surprise right?"
"His name is Argus." She grins so wide her cheeks ache because she's so excited. She's not even sure why she's this excited, but it feels like she's introducing Naruto into her life-her new(ish) life-and she likes it. Likes that he's here with her and her trusty companion. Likes that he's going to get to know her. The real her.
She's going to stop hiding.
"Dope vest." Naruto tells Argus, almost conversationally. He's still standing back though and a little stiff. He's never objected to dogs before, but she wonders, suddenly, how much experience he's had with them. Until Argus her experience was limited to the few visits she'd had at Fang Over Fang. And Argus was special .
"He has some… anxiety. The vest helps."
Naruto nods like that's a perfectly normal thing about a dog. He still doesn't move from his spot in front of her door.
"You can pet him," she urges. She wants them to get along. "He won't bite." She motions with her hand. "Argus."
Argus immediately moves to her, awaiting her next command. He's such an obedient and smart, "Good boy." She showers him in praises, ruffling his fur. She glances at Naruto, still smiling. "Argus, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Argus."
"Hi." Naruto waves awkwardly, uncertainly.
That just won't do. Reaching out, Hinata gingerly takes Naruto's hand in her own, bringing it down to stroke along Argus's fur. "Like that."
He makes a face at her, still bending at an awkward angle. "I know."
"And don't be scared," she assures him.
"I'm not scared." His lip juts out, sullen.
She can't help but giggle at that. "Course not."
She lets go, leaving him to pet the dog on his own. Argus glances at her and she nods once. He chuffs a little, startling Naruto, but then he pushes closer to the petting hand, content.
Naruto starts to get a little more involved in the petting, scratching a bit. "Not to split hairs or anything… but I feel like this also could've come up in any number of my 'so what've you been up to?' queries."
Hinata feels a little guilty for that, because it's true, but she was kind of protective of Argus. Plus, she hadn't been quite ready to delve into why she got Argus in the first place. "Let me grab my coat," she deflects. They'll have time on the drive to talk.
In her bedroom she takes a few deep breaths. Seeing Naruto with Argus had warmed her up so much that she was now a pool of soft emotions. She grabs her coat and heads back out to join her boys. "Ready to go?"
Naruto was already back at the door, waiting. "Yup."
On the way to the park, Hinata filled him in about Argus, and his issues. She didn't tell him too much about her own need to take care of something, because she didn't want Naruto to feel like Argus was a surrogate, That could only build resentment, and it wasn't entirely accurate.
"Are we going to Patterson's or Clark's?" Naruto asks as they start heading south from her apartment.
She glances at him from the corner of her eye. "You know your way around here?"
"Canvassing," he supplies.
She nods, accepting his response. She thinks about bumping into him the other day. "St. Mary's actually. If you don't mind The other two are too small for Argus to run around at. Unless you mind the walking, then we can-.
"Geesh, Hina. Relax. Besides, walking's become kind of my thing," he smirks at her, puffing his chest. "I'm a total pro at it."
She giggles, shaking her head at his antics.
It doesn't actually take that long to get to the park. Argus has his nose pressed to the window in excitement.
"Hey, can I walk him?" Naruto asks her when she opens the door and lets Argus out.
She gives him a little smile and nods. It was nice seeing how fast he warmed up to Argus. Of course, Argus was hard not to love.
Just like Naruto.
Once they're into the park a bit, Hinata navigates them towards a more open area where there are other dogs. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a canister of tennis balls, waving them back and forth enticingly.
"Fetch?" Naruto asks, his gaze flickering to the spot of Argus's missing leg.
She just nods, opening the can and tossing a ball at Naruto. "He's really fast. You're going to have to throw it far."
He gives her a look, but does as she says, offering a small "Yeet," as he launches the green ball across the park. Argus takes off with a happy bark.
He returns quickly, dropping the ball dutifully into Naruto's waiting hand.
He throws it again.
And again Argus returns.
Argus has never ending pools of energy and Naruto does too. If she's not careful they could be here for hours...not that that would be terrible.
Naruto flashes a grin at Hinata, his face flushed from both wind and spent energy. "He's really smart."
She beams with near maternal pride.
Naruto throws the ball again.
Every time Argus delivers it back Naruto gives him a treat.
"You're going to give him a stomach ache." Hinata scolds half-heartedly.
"They're treats." Naruto argues. "He's a good boy, Hina!"
She can't argue with that, so she starts walking, knowing that they'd follow-still tossing and fetching the balls.
"God, who just leaves their kids out here alone? There's literally a homeless guy passed out in that bush." Naruto laments as they pass by a cluster of shrubs.
"There are a lot of kids here." Hinata notes. There usually are, though, so it's not unusual. She glances at Naruto's profile, sees the straight line of his jaw. He's watching some little boys chase one another around.
A couple of girls approach them and ask to pet Argus. Hinata allows it easily enough. She only says no when they offer to give him a treat. Kiba warned her not only of the dangers of allowing your dog to eat treats from strangers ("Would you let your kids eat of of some dude's white van?") but also in maintaining the alpha status with Argus, so treats were doled out by her, and by those she appointed.
When the girls scurry off, Hinata turns back to Naruto."Have you… ever thought about.. kids?" She winces at the question-because why? Why can't you just have a good day and leave it there? But she really wants to know, so she doesn't retract it.
"Kids?" Naruto blanches, throwing the ball again. The idea seems to be about as appealing as a plate of snakes to him.
Hinata's blush darkens. Oh. She can't help but feel a flair of disappointment.
"Kids. Kids. Kids." He repeats the word a few times-like he's tasting it for the very first. He shakes his head with a shrug. "I haven't thought that much about it." He drums his hands on his thighs, waiting for Argus to retrieve the ball. He adds, unexpectedly, "Then I'd have to move to Jersey."
"What?" Hinata blinks in confusion. .
"If you have kids, you have to move to Jersey. It's the rules."
"No it isn't." Hinata laughs at the absurdity of that logic.
"Is too. Jersey or Long Island. And fuck Long Island." He looks ready to spit.
Argus bounds back, dropping the ball. Naruto stoops down to grab it and gives another long distance throw.
"And I'd need to get a minivan."
"A minivan?" She wrinkles her nose, torn between amusement and confusion still.
"Or a Ford Focus. You know what I'm talking about? So you can drive them to soccer practice, which they will inevitably suck at. But, i know you. You'll tell them they're good anyways, and probably bring rice crispies and Capri suns to their practices."
"Oh my god." She shakes her head, flustered. She had no idea that he had this much rambling thought put into kids. "Haven't thought much about it, have you?" Hinata glances at the little girls, still nearby. "So more than one?"
"Two; obviously." Naruto snorted.
Obviously? "Why obviously?"
"Because if you have one, they'll be lonely. But if you have more than two then next thing you know, you have like seven kids sharing a room and one always has his dick out, the others hitchhiking upstate for heroin and ones inevitably getting his ass kicked out on the greenway." He speaks as though from experience and her heart clenches tight in her chest.
Hinata clears her throat, watching Argus bound through the grass. "You know, not every child has a sad life."
"Yeah. Duh. Which is why my kids are in Jersey. In a neighborhood with houses that all look the same and have fenced yards. They're mucking up soccer practice and getting treats anyways." He snorts.
"So, you really want kids?" She asks for clarification. Because that would...well, that would be nice.
"No."
...wait, what? She blows out a breath, side-eying him. "What? What about - what you just said?"
"I can't do that shit." He looks at her like she's daft-like she above anyone should know better. "I don't even know how to drive. I don't know how to hold a baby. Look at me, do you think I'd do fine at a PTA meeting?" He pokes himself in the cheek, highlighting the facial tattoos. "I don't have a fucking 'dad' job. I'm not married." He sends her an accusatory look.
She frowns at that. "Oh? Is that somehow my fault?" Last she checked he hadn't asked her, now had he?
"Well it's not my fault." He defends, placing a hand to his chest and giving her a look . The look says 'drop it'.
She doesn't.
"If you wanted to get married, why didn't you ever tell me?" she counters.
"I don't know." He's irritated now. "Because I couldn't pay for it. I couldn't buy you a fat diamond or afford an ugly, poofy dress, or those huge cakes, and flowers and a super ugly hotel ballroom. I was barely working part time."
Is that what he thinks of her? That she would even want that? Her? The person that he practically had to beg to leave their apartment for a night out? The girl that thought getting groceries was about as perfect a 'date night' as you could get because no social interaction? He thought she wanted a big, stupid wedding? "Do you think I care about any of those things?"
"I care." Naruto huffs.
That reigns in her own anger and she blinks up at him. "You do?"
"Yes." He hisses.
She curls her fingers into her palms. Of course he did. Of course he'd want to celebrate marrying someone. Still, she wants to make sure she's understanding him. "You want to have a big, ridiculous wedding?"
He meets her eyes and his are so unexpectedly vulnerable that the heart-bird in the cage flutters again, beating against her breastbone.
"With you," he says, voice low.
She inhales sharply. "So, a big, ridiculous wedding? And two kids? In New Jersey?" Hinata asks, again because she really, very much, wants there to be no misunderstanding here. "That's what you want?"
"No."
Hinata rubs her temples. For the love of-! "Come again?"
"I can't actually want that. I'm not delusional. I know I can't have those things. I don't - deserve them."
"Excuse me?" Her words crack like a whip. Of course he deserved that. He deserved whatever the hell he wanted. She glowers up at him, because she will have words with anyone that has told him different. Even if that person is he, himself.
"It's true. I'm… me. I'll ruin it. Look at everything else." He gave a very pointed look between them.
Oh.
Oh, no.
She told him different.
Maybe not directly...but…
"Naruto…" she whispers.
But he's already talking again. "I mean, my only viable baby momma ditched me to do Kung Fu and replaced me with a dog. Don't worry. It was an upgrade." He jostles his elbow against hers, but she feels kind of numb to it.
She watches him as he squats to rub on Argus, ruffling his fur, working it good.
"Don't rile him up." Hinata says, reflexively. She feels kind of muted now.
"We're at the park." Naruto replies, standing to throw the ball once more.
She watches Argus chase it.
She feels a slow ache growing.
Her bird is quiet.
"Why were you even asking?" The question draws her from her fog. "Planning some envitro? Don't ask me to be your donor, my bullshit is supposed to be genetic, ya'know."
It's meant to be funny but it only digs in deeper, opening up some still healing wounds. She shakes her head, brushing her hair behind her ears. "That isn't funny."
He stops and looks at her, his own blond locks waving in the steady breeze. He wraps his arm around her shoulders, exhaling the cold air in a faint cloud. "I was just giving you shit, Hyuuga."
She blinks away the burn in her eyes. Her throat is tight, but she finds her voice. "No, you weren't."
He sighs, letting his arm fall down. "Hina-"
No, not this time. She turns to face him fully so he can see her face, her entire expression. "You actually think those things about yourself. And it's not fair. You deserve all of those things. You deserve to be happy." Argus is suddenly at her side-ball forgotten-his nose nudging her hand. He licks her fingers appeasingly.
"I'm happy. I'm with you."
"You deserve to have your tacky wedding, and your overpriced house, and your two kids." Hinata insists. She wants him to know it. "Even if you have to move to New Jersey."
Naruto laughs a bit uneasily. "I'd have to gain forty pounds and get a comb over, and get real passionate about the Eagles."
Hinata wrinkles her nose at that one.
He's on a roll now so he adds, "Yeah and you have to get a really short haircut and clip coupons."
"Oh yeah?" She already clips coupons. In fact she has a special wallet and folder for them... but he doesn't need to know that.
"Yeah, and we can only shop at Costco. And you'll have to decorate our house in everything from the Target dollar section."
She thinks about that. "What about Dollar Tree?"
"Fine, but not Michael's okay? My office job ain't gonna pay for shit after my background check."
She tips her head, much like Argus when he's curious. "What about my job?"
He snorts. "You can't work."
What now? Of all the misogynistic-"Excuse me."
"Hinata! Don't make our kids go to daycare! That's not fair."
She frowns. "Daycare isn't bad."
"Yes it is. Our kids will cry all day and have to sleep in… playpens."
He says the word like its a disease. She glances at him."What's wrong with playpens?"
"No playpens."
Hinata rolls her eyes. Fine. No playpens. "Why don't you just watch them, then?"
"Me? I don't know what the fuck I'm doing? Plus, I have to go to my desk job that I hate because I gave up my promising fighting career for family."
"Now you're being ridiculous." Like she'd make him give up something that made him so happy. "You could still fight. You don't have to have a job you don't like." He'd be miserable. She's had about enough of miserable . For both of them.
"You can't do that." Naruto blinked down at her. "Can you?"
"Yes." She laughs, bumping his arm this time. "You could also open up your own gym. You could teach classes. You like kids." She can almost see it in her head. Their life. What it could be. It makes her breath quicken.
Naruto makes a face at her. "I do not."
"Yes you do." Hinata insists, amused. He's always gone out of his way to help kids. "Then the kids don't have to go to daycare, they can just go with you to the gym."
"Your commute time is going to be shit." Naruto points out.
Hinata shrugs. "I'll just take the train. I didn't mind it before. I just did work." In fact it was rather soothing to not have to worry about traffic and getting flipped off five times before her first meeting.
Naruto straightens a little beside her. Slightly tense. "When did you take the train?"
"When I was staying with my sister."
Narruto so abruptly changes the subject that it takes Hinata a moment to catch up. "There's a ton of Mexican restaurants on your side of town. What's your favorite?"
"Uhm...La Morada," she answers, more because it's the first one she thinks of than anything else.
He nods. "You hungry."
"Uh, yeah. Sure." She motions for Argus to stand for his vest and harness.
"How does he know what you want?"
"Hand commands," she tells him, attaching the leash. "It's easier sometimes, especially in loud environments. But also, to keep his brain as active as the rest of him." She gives Argus a good ear scratch.
"He's amazing," Naruto expresses, holding his hand out for the leash.
"He is." Hinata nods. She hands over the leash, but doesn't let go right away. When Naruto gives her a searching look, she smiles at him. "So are you," she says before she lets go of the leash and places her hand in the crook of his elbow, ignoring the way her face burns in embarrassment. "Shall we?" she asks.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah." Naruto nods a bit distractedly, starting forward.
And off they went.
It's not until later, when she's home and stuffed with tortillas and rice milk that she notices the envelope on her counter. She presses her lips together when she sees his familiar scrawl in black sharpie: 'Don't Forget'. She picks it up.
She had forgotten.
Not about the invitation.
But about how good things could be between them.
About how connected she had always felt to him-even before they dated-as friends.
Unconsciously she presses the paper to her lips as she paces her kitchen. Then, making a decision, she grabs her phone.
"Mmph. 'Ello?"
"Ino. Hi. It's me. Hinata."
"Caller ID has been a thing for awhile now, babe."
"Oh, right." She's flustered.
She can almost see Ino straighten up on the other end. Her voice is clipped and worried. "What is it? Are you ok?"
"Yes. No. Yes. Definitely yes. Mostly."
"Hinata." Each syllable is enunciated.
"I have a problem."
"What? What is it?! Whose ass do I have to kick? You know what, never mind, you can tell me when I get there. Sai, move out of the way and put some pants on. No. I mean it. No. I gotta go-"
"Ino!" Hinata can't help the shock of laughter that escapes her. "Ino, it's not that kind of problem."
There's a slight breathless pause. "Care to clarify?"
"I, uhm. I need a dress." Hinata murmurs.
She can practically feel Ino's smile through the phone. "That's my kind of problem. Since it's not an emergency I'm gonna go love on my man, but I'll be over tomorrow. Sai, take those pants off-"
Hinata hangs up.
She sits on her loveseat with Argus beside her wondering what Pandora's box she'd just opened but just like the myth, deep inside, there was hope.