Friendship, Hinata had come to learn, didn't always mean liking the choices your friend made.

Friendship meant love and patience and sometimes harsh words and 'truth bombs" as Hanabi called them.

Hinata could count on her one hand the amount of people that she considered friend and Kiba was right there at the index. She loved him, and he her, and no one was ever going to change that.

No matter what.

Moving Naruto back into her apartment was more work than she could handle on her own, but luckily for her she had a best friend that could be bribed with pizza and beer. She could tell that Kiba was less than thrilled with the idea when she called, but he came anyway.

Because he always did when she needed him.

Standing in the middle of her and Naruto's old apartment, boxes all around them he had turned to her and looked her dead in the eye. "Are you sure about this?" he had asked.

She had nodded. "I'm sure."

His exhale told her that he had more to say on the matter, but he was biting his tongue. She didn't want to assume his words, so she decided that she would wait until he was ready to talk. Besides, they had much lugging to do and their energy would be better served hefting boxes than bickering, so she had bumped his shoulder with hers and nudged him into motion.

Nearly four hours and two trips later, they were carting the last of Naruto's belongings from his truck into her apartment. Kiba is ahead of her, awkwardly trudging forward with Naruto's standing bag through her door-shifting awkwardly beneath its weight.

"You know, you could've taken the sand out of the bottom." She hears Naruto say.

There's a thumping sound as the base hits her floor and she winces. Kiba is tired-probably as hungry as she is-and has been biting his tongue all morning. She had seen his furtive glances, heard his sharp inhales like he was going to speak, only for him to shake his head and gather another load. Kiba's patience is frayed and she understands that, but knows that Naruto doesn't...or if he does he doesn't care.

With Kiba and Naruto's relationship it was hard to really say. They had both antagonized one another endlessly over the years. Their personalities were similarly 'in your face'. "Alphas" as Kiba's mother called them with an eye roll. Competitive and too stupid to control themselves. And yet, when Naruto had crashed in college it was Kiba that readied her apartment for him while she sat in the hospital, and when Sasuke got too mouthy at parties it had almost always been Kiba to tell him to "shut the fuck up". Honestly, Hinata reflected, the only real strain in their adversarial camaraderie seemed to be her.

Kiba was overprotective and Naruto...well, hadn't always made the best choices.

Just inside her door, she can hear Kiba bite back. "Yeah, you fucking try hauling all this shit around you lazy ass."

"Just trying to help."

Kiba's voice rose an octave. "Help my fuckin'-"

"Okay," Hinata pushes her way through, stepping in the kitchen in hopes to defuse the explosion she senses building. She shifts the box in her hands, voice tight.

Immediately Naruto lets his argument drop and is motioning for the box. "Babe, here."

"Thank you." She breathes, handing it over. She glances around the little fortress of boxes, wiping her hands on her leggings. There wasn't much room left, but there wasn't much more to carry. She takes a few deep breaths, slightly icking at her shirt sticking to her back. She glances over at Kiba, who is still glaring at Naruto. She waits until he catches her eye. When he does, she suggests, "There's a couple more boxes, so-"

"Yeah, okay. Naruto,why don't you wait here," Kiba responds, voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness.

She shakes her head as he strides out the door, feeling even more tired than just a few seconds ago. She turns towards Naruto with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry. About him."

Naruto shrugs. It's not like this is new for them-this bickering. Still, she wishes that things were smoother. Naruto's withdrawn-has been since she started moving him in and she's still wondering if this is a decision he's really on board with, or if she's overstepped and he feels trapped. And Kiba...well, his anger is currently hard to place. She knows it's directed at Naruto, but she's not entirely sure why.

Hinata opts to stop overthinking things. With a quick readjustment of her sweaty bangs, she nods again. "Okay, I'll be right back then."

A few minutes later Kiba walks back in, dropping the boxes he's carrying on the kitchen floor. "How many ratty shirts do you need?" he asks with a grumble.

"How many ratty shirts do you need?" Kiba grumbled immediately upon entering back into the apartment, dropping the boxes onto the kitchen floor. "Have you gotten rid of anything since college?" Kiba nudges the box with a striped hoodie on top with his foot. "You had that when we were freshmen."

Naruto shrugs, but Hinata catches the shift in his breathing, the subtle tension around his mouth.

"It's not a big deal." She defends, setting down her own box on the loveseat.

"Not a big deal? Where are you even going to put it?" Kiba retorts, pointedly looking around her small space.

"The pizza should be here any minute." Hinata replies instead, narrowing her eyes in her own pointed look. Kiba chuffs and shrugs, looking away from her. He takes a seat at her table and she decides to join him, hoping to garner some reason for his overt hostility. It's more than usual, and it's worrisome.

Across from them Naruto makes himself busy, taking the box off the loveseat and replacing it with himself so that he can start sorting through his stuff. Hinata's brows furrow a bit at the rigidity of his posture. He was so tense. Part of her wanted to move behind him and run the tension from his shoulders, but she also wanted to try and figure out what was bothering Kiba.

"So when's your court date?" Kiba shifts his posture, one elbow on the table, angled away from her prying eyes.

"Soon." Naruto responds, voice flat.

Hinata presses her lips together. There isn't going to be a court date. She knows this...she wishes she could tell him, but she can't. The case against Naruto had to look real, Shikamaru told her. Like they were going to go after Naruto hard.

She hated that she couldn't put his mind at ease. Hated it so much that she couldn't sleep most nights. Not to mention that she was still being followed. She was trying not to worry about it too much, but it was unnerving. She kept pepper spray in her bag, a baton in her dashboard, and she sometimes skipped lunch at home to go work with Sensei and Lee at Eight Gates. If Naruto thought she had a lunch meeting, or was working, she didn't correct him.

As long as she didn't outright lie to him, she could almost justify it all in her mind.

Almost.

She catches Naruto's glance towards her and tries to offer a reassuring smile. He gives a halfhearted twist of his lips in response, but goes back to his box.

Hinata sighs, turning back to Kiba. He avoids her gaze for a few moments before he gives up and looks at her. "What?" he whispers.

She could go with: "Why are you being an ass?" but she knows he's not doing it intentionally, so she opts for: "Are you okay?"

He blinks at her. "I'm not the one that has to take care of all this," he deflects.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," she counters, voice quiet.

He shrugs, defensive. "Then I don't know what you mean."

"Kiba-"

A knock at the door interrupts the conversation. Naruto, even though he's furthest from the door, stands up first, dropping down the box. "I'll get it," he offers quickly.

"Why? You didn't pay for it." Kiba grumbles, not so under his breath.

Hinata casts him a reproachful glance before she pushes to her feet. As she rises, she places her hand on his arm and gives a soft squeeze. Kiba blinks and clears his throat, turning his attention to Argus and Akamaru in the corner, curled together.

Hinata moves behind Naruto at the door, eager to see his reaction to who she knows is on the other side. It doesn't disappoint. Naruto opens the door and nearly screams like a middle school girl. "Ayame!"

Hinata has to grab his arm before he steps out the door. Yes, the DA has dropped the charges, but that's not official or public knowledge, and the police would respond accordingly, and she doesn't think she can handle seeing Naruto in cuffs again. "Naruto!" she warns.

He dutifully steps back, giving Ayame enough room to enter. He takes the boxes from her and quickly sets them on the counter so that he can wrap Ayame in a hug.

"I missed you too." She snorts with a laugh.

Hinata is amused and a little sad as Naruto quickly launched into snappy, rapid fire questions, one right after the other, about Teuchi, the restaurant, his replacement.

"Poor kid is awful." Ayame replies with a hearty eye roll. "Dad can't wait for you to come back."

He can't wait to go back, Hinata knows. He cared for Teuchi and Ayame like family and she wants that for him. For him to be surrounded by love all of the time.

Naruto peers at her and she is absolutely delighted to see some of that familiar sparkle back in his eyes. They aren't flat and listless, but blue (so blue) and happy. She wants to give him that feeling always. Always, always, always.

He smirks at her, casually wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer into him. She smiles in return, wrapping her own arm around his back.

"I can't wait either," he says to Ayame. "Hinata misses my sweet tips."

Behind them, Kiba snorts but that doesn't stop Ayame and Hinata's giggles.

Naruto inclines his head. Yeah, Kiba wishes that pet store tips even came close to my mad tip skills."

"Getting tips isn't a skill." Kiba scoffs.

Naruto's smile is slightly smug. It's good to see him teasing, Hinata thinks, even if she hopes the two of them would stop bickering.

"Don't know whatchya don't have, huh?" Naruto eggs Kiba on.

Ayame rolls her eyes at the banter before she turns to wave politely at Kiba, still seated at the table. "Hey, Kiba."

Hinata watches, a little amused, as Kiba sits up a bit straighter. His gaze is definitely more focused and interested now. "Hey."

"Ayame?" Hinata notices the pizzas on the counter. "I think I only ordered two."

"Oh, don't worry, Hina." Ayame waves her hand. "My dad threw in a cinnamon one for you."

Hinata can feel her cheeks pinken. He smile widens a bit though. "Thank you so much. Here, give me the receipt so I can add a bigger tip for you guys."

Instead of handing over the receipt, Ayame pulls back an inch. "No, receipts. It's on the house. Dad says family eats free."

Hinata's gaze flickers to Naruto. She's held against his side, so she's pretty sure she's the only one that notices the hitch in his breathing and the sheen of his eyes, but it makes something deep inside ache for him.

"Aye, careful, if that's the case, I'll eat your poor dad right outta the store," he jokes. Naruto defense maneuver numero uno.

Ayame makes a sound like a raspberry. "Yeah right. I know that physique wasn't built on pizza."

"Wow, Ayame, you can't be checking me out right in front of my girl." Naruto teases, his hold tightening a fraction on Hinata's shoulders.

Ayame is completely unaffected by the teasing, but Hinata can't help but do a quick side glance, checking out said physique. She blushes a bit more when Naruto catches her.

"You wish," Ayame says, pulling their attention. "It's good to see you, Hinata." Leaning in, Ayame surprises her with a quick hug. Hinata's not much for open displays of affection-aside from with Naruto-so it catches her off guard, but she quickly adjusts, squeezing back.

"You too," she murmurs.

"Get a haircut." Ayame tells Naruto before making her way out.

"Does it look that bad?" Naruto asks, looking at Hinata.

Kiba stands from the table, stepping towards the pizza at the counter. "Yes."

Hinata pushes her lips out, contemplating. Slow, she reaches up and touches the hair near his ears. "It reminds me of when I met you." She thought he was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen-still does. Whisker marks and all. She gets lost in his blue eyes for a moment...she's always so lost in him...

"You were a dork." Kiba supplies, lifting a slice of pizza from the box and breaking the spell.

"Please! You didn't think I was a dork when you were trying to come over to every party we had," Naruto counters.

Kiba shakes his head, chewing his pizza, folding it over so as not to flop around. "If you still think it was me that wanted to come to your stupid parties, you're dumber than I thought."

Hinata snaps her head around, eyes narrowing. She can practically feel the gloating coming from Naruto now.

"Did you wanna come to my parties?" He teases her, his raspy voice a little sing songy.

"They weren't even yours. You just lived there."

They both ignore Kiba's interjection. Hinata focuses on trying not to be humiliated by how pathetically she pursued him. While it's not a secret, she still doesn't necessarily like to revel in the fact that she was lovesick for so long before he ever even noticed her...and she still struggles with the doubt that he ever would have if he hadn't...hadn't…

She swallows against the swelling of her throat.

Best not to think about that.

"You don't even like parties." Naruto presses, following her to the pizza.

She opts to ignore him and shoves some cinnamon goodness in her mouth so as not to have to explain anything.

"So... is Ayame single?" Kiba asks, switching the subject.

Hinata lifts a brow at that, but doesn't say anything-especially since her mouth is full.

Naruto shrugs off the question, piling some Pizza on a plate and retaking his seat. "Dunno."

Kiba reaches for another piece. "How long did you work for them?"

"A long time."

"You ever date her?"

"What?" Naruto glances over at Kiba. "Ayame? No, never."

That's not true. "Yes you did." Hinata reminds him. It doesn't sting anymore...not since he talked to her. Not since she understood.

"Huh? No I didn't. I've never dated - Oh my god! Are you kidding me?" Naruto stares at her incredulously. "I told you! I only asked her on a friend date, because I lied to you when I said I dated people all the time and I didn't date anyone."

"You lied and said you dated people all the time?" Kiba asks around a mouthful. "That's pathetic."

Naruto glances from Hinata to Kiba and back again and Hinata lets a little smirk slip out. Naruto shakes his head at her, amused by her teasing.

"Is she single?" Kiba repeats his earlier query.

"She's too nice for you though, nice try, slick."

"I can be nice." Kiba answers, his voice dipping suggestively.

"I thought you were seeing someone?" Hinata interjects. Granted, Kiba dated more frequently than many of her friends, but he had been seeing the same woman for a little while, last she knew.

Kiba shrugs, but Hinata caught the brief flare of sadness on his expression. "Didn't work out," he mutters.

"Oh." Hinata lets out a breath. She didn't know that and not knowing makes her feel like a shitty friend. She resumes her seat across from him. "You okay?"

He shrugs again. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," she says. "I just...wanted to check."

"All good. No worries here." He flashes her a toothy grin and it's so fake that it hurts.

"Kiba…"

"Oi, Naruto, you gonna eat this last slice?" Kiba asks, cutting her off.

On the loveseat, Naruto doesn't respond. Which causes both Hinata and Kiba to sit up a bit straighter.

"Naruto?" Hinata repeats his name a few times.

There's a moment, and then, "What?"

"You were veggin' out." Kiba informs him.

Naruto glances back down at the box at his feet. "Have you heard of the Konmari method?"

"What?" Kiba frowns, looking at Hinata for clarification. She shrugs. That's a pretty random question for her too.

"Marie Kondo? The 'this sparks joy' lady. Know what I'm talking about? She's got a special folding method." Naruto tries to demonstrate a fold on one of his shirts.

Kiba shakes his head, clearly confused. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"She helps people get rid of clothes. Other stuff too. But I don't really have a lot of other stuff."

"Yeah that pile of junk over there says otherwise." Kiba nods towards his workout equipment.

"Naruto needs that for training." Hinata points out, pushing from the table to clear the counter.

"Well, it only needs to be here for a little while I guess." Kiba mutters.

That brings Hinata up short. She tilts her head, questioning. There's something underneath all of Kiba's comments and digs and she feels like it's about to come to the surface."Why a little while?"

Kiba turns away from Naruto to look back at her. "Well, like it's one of two options, right? Like, he's going away for a while or he can get his own place again."

She shakes her head in the negative. "He'll stay here. Until we can get a bigger place."

Kiba pauses, looking Hinata over for a moment, weighing what he was going to say next. "Moving in together for real? That's pretty permanent."

"Getting married is pretty permanent, too." Naruto supplies, offhand.

Everything stops. Or at least it feels that way to Hinata. Kiba stares at her, wide eyed and unblinking for several long seconds. He finally does blink-slowly-and swallows. "What?"

Hinata inhales slowly. She had planned on telling him-actually on telling everyone-once things had settled. She was even entertaining the idea of an engagement party to celebrate. Naruto would like that. Still, she could feel the hurt radiating off of Kiba as he stared her down, his gaze accusatory.

"What are you doing?" he asks, sharp and abrupt. Each syllable bitten out.

Hinata didn't answer. Instead she met Kiba's hot gaze with a level one of her own. To Kiba she had always been his frail 'kid sister' that couldn't take care of herself, and needed him to fight her battles for her. He had need to be the shoulder to cry on, the support to take her to parties that made her uncomfortable, to be her protector, and he had filled that role so well, and she would love him forever for it. But things were different now. She was different now.

"I'm fucking serious, Hinata. What are you doing? Are you just pretending that all the shit that happened just doesn't exist? Like that night didn't happen-"

Oh.

Okay.

Now, it was making sense.

"That was not Naruto's fault." Hinata cut him off. She hadn't explained that night to Naruto, and she wasn't about to hash it out now, but she knew better than anyone how a moment like that could scar. She understood Kiba's pain, but she needed him to lay the blame for that on the right person.

Her.

Kiba nods, tossing his hands up. "Right, right. Because nothing is Naruto's fault? Huh, Hinata?" He's pushing for a fight.

"You said that you respect my decisions. You told me that you knew we were going to get back together." Hinata snaps back.

"Yeah, because I thought that you were going to be smart!" Kiba argues. " You know, take your time, maybe think things through. I did not think you were going to just jump back into the same exact position that you were in before."

"You're being rude."

"You're being stupid!"

From the love seat, Naruto stands up immediately.

Hinata's eyes snap open wide, her hands up and placating. "Naruto…" She's stepped between their fights enough times for her to be wary.

"Shit," Kiba scoots his chair back, leaning away from him, and the impending fight.

Naruto for his part looks like he's the one that took a hit. He gestures jerkily over his shoulder towards the bedroom. He leaves them quickly.

Hinata's heart hurts as she watches him go. She turns back to Kiba and he's staring down the hall as well. Eventually, he blinks, turning back towards her. "Kinda thought he was gonna hit me," he says, rubbing his thighs.

She did too, truthfully.

Hinata sighs, rubbing her temples. "Kiba-what...what's this really about?" She looks over at him.

He looks like he's going to rebuff her again, but then Akamaru is at the table, nudging his head into Kiba's stomach and Kiba lets out a long breath. "I...I'm scared," he tells her.

Hinata nods, pulling the chair back and sitting. If he's ready to talk, she's ready to listen. "Of Naruto?"

Kiba scoffs. "Fuck no, not of him." He lifts his eyes to her and they glint at her. "I'm scared for you...because of what being with him does to you." He rubs Akamaru's head. "It was always there, you know...that fear. You were so...obsessed. It was like all that matters is him and everyone comes after. Everyone...including you."

She nods, because really, what's to say to that? "I'm sorry."

He nods in return. "I know that. I just...I can't find you like that again."

"You won't." She promises hastily.

He chuckles but it's without humor.

"Really," she assures him, reaching out to take his hand. "Kiba, I promise. It's different this time."

He looks around her apartment, at the boxes. The reason Naruto is moving in isn't exactly romantic. "Doesn't look that different to me."

Again, she has no argument to that. She simply knows what she feels. "I won't try and convince you. I just...please don't take your anger at me out on Naruto."

Kiba frowns. "You're so fucking special and smart and he ruins that, and you refuse to see it...and I can't watch this again. I won't."

"If I'm the way I am, it's not because of him, it's because of me."

"Maybe," he concedes, "but you've never seen Naruto for anything other than perfect, so I don't know why I expect you to now."

"He's not perfect. I know that. None of us are. I'm not. Kiba, I'm not some fragile thing that he tarnishes, okay?"

"No. He just breaks you. Over and over again."

"That's not-"

"What? True? It fucking is, Hinata. And the worst part is that you know it."

"We're different now."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true. I know that it may not seem like it, but look at me. I'm serious. Okay? What happened before wasn't just him. I was as much to blame as he was. So...Yell at me. Get mad. But don't...don't push me away or pretend I'm some innocent, when we both know that I was the one who p-pushed. I was...I was the one that took the pills. Okay? If you need to be mad, that's okay. But be mad at me."

Kiba's hand stills on Akamaru's head and his gaze drops. "Yeah. Okay."

Hinata breathes a bit, but then his gaze lifts and it is angry. Probably the angriest she's ever seen him. "I do need to be mad," he tells her. "At you, and that fucking hurts. You know?"

She nods, pressing her lips together.

"I need some time. This new you? New Naruto? I don't see it. I want to, but I don't. Maybe I will when I'm done being mad, but right now-you're right. I need to be mad." He sniffs and wipes at his eyes. "I'm gonna go. Don't...don't call me again, okay? I need space."

A small swell of panic and grief lodge in her throat. She's had Kiba her whole life. "Kiba-"

He senses it and shakes his head. "Not forever. Fuck, never forever. I love you too much for that, but right now, Hinata, I need time."

"Okay." She swallows and nods. "Okay. Whatever you need."

Slow, Kiba moves to his feet. At the door, he turns towards her. "I don't hate him."

"I know."

"But I sure as shit don't like him."

She feels her lips twitch and her eyes sting. "I know that, too."

He nods once and then is gone. It hurts her to know how much she hurt him-not just recently, but over the years. The least she can do is give him some time and maybe...maybe then things will work out. She can only hope. Hinata rests her forehead against the closed door for a minute before she feels composed enough to clean up her kitchen. She puts the leftovers in her fridge and some treats down for Argus before she makes her way down the hall.

When she pushes into her room Naruto is sprawled on the bed, music playing. "Duran Duran?" she questions, moving forward to climb on the bed alongside him.

Naruto shrugs, tense and wary. He's waiting for the fallout, she knows, but the fight was between her and Kiba and that's where it will stay.

"I thought you were a more of an Ozzy fan." She scooches up higher.

"All aboard. Ha. Ha. Ha. Haaa." Naruto replies, half heartedly.

She smiles anyways. "I remember a lot of Guns n' Roses. Scorpions. Bruce Springsteen. Kiss. Van Halen. Pink Floyd."

Naruto wrinkles his nose. "I didn't like Pink Floyd."

"Another Brick In the Wall?" She remembers that being played on repeat at several parties.

Naruto rolls his eyes, smiling a little. It's not much, but it tells her that he's not lingering on the negatives. "That's their only good song."

The edges of Hinata's lips twitch up and she breathes a little easier. "Oh, baby. None of those songs were good." She tries to lighten the mood even more.

"Like your music was any better. Mr. Jones? The Dixie Chicks?" he teases right back.

"I didn't listen to the Dixie Chicks."

"Cowboy, Take Me Away! You're gonna look in my face and tell me that you didn't play Cowboy, Take Me Away on your CD player." Naruto presses. "That 90's trash. The Goo Goo Dolls?"

"You said you liked Iris." Hinata pushes his shoulder, laughing.

Naruto acts like her push has more weight behind it than it did and rolls onto his back. He stares at the ceiling, putting a hand up dramatically. "And I don't want the world to seeeee meeee! Cause I don't think that they'd understand!"

Hinata pushes closer, shifting her head onto his shoulder, still laughing as she shushes him.

Naruto takes her shushing as admonishment and immediately looks for Argus. "Where's Argus?" He shifts to sit up.

Hinata moves so that she more fully over him, pushing him flat down, straddling his waist. Her face ducks down, kissing the side of his jaw. He tastes a little salty. She nips a bit. "I left him out there."

"Oh?" She can hear the active attention in his voice now. His hand trails over her hip then to her backside, cupping.

"Don't worry," she murmurs, tongue touching his pulse. "I gave him a treat."

Naruto hums approvingly, and Hinata takes that as a sign to continue. She shifts her weight, grinding down a bit, moaning when she feels him hardening between her thighs. "Want you," she sighs, pressing again.

"You have me," he groans, pulling her head down to kiss her. "Always."