Secret Lovers

Chapter 5: The Flip-Side

"Come on, give it up Naruto! You're going to have to come down eventually."

"No I'm not, and you can't make me!"

"So you're just going to hang from the second floor of Hinata's house all day? Fine, we don't have to do this the easy way. We can wait."

Hinata stumbled out her back door, panic-stricken, as she heard the two young men's booming voices, carrying from outside. As soon as Shino had mentioned Naruto's… whereabouts, she hadn't had a moment to explain herself, let alone stop Kiba from racing downstairs.

Right now, he was perched one floor beneath the window to Hinata's room, where Naruto hung helplessly. Hinata, upon reaching them, bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to collect her breath. The blond smiled sheepishly when he noticed her.

"Sorry Hinata. It looks like our escape plan didn't go so well."

"Escape plan? What are you talking about?!" Kiba demanded, jumping up and swatting at the man with his hands. Despite Naruto's height and long limbs dangling from the second floor, he was still just out of Kiba's reach.

Sighing, Hinata stood to her full height, watching the absurd scene before her in disbelief.

Kiba and Shino were two of Hinata's closest, oldest friends, almost like members of her own family. Since she and Naruto had come to terms with their relationship, they were among the first people she had planned on telling.

This, however, was definitely the last way she wanted them to find out.

She had planned on inviting them over, maybe even meeting somewhere, just the three of them. Just like old times. She'd sit down with them and take the time to explain how things had developed between her and Naruto, how much they cared for each other and how truly happy the time they had spent together made her feel. Having known of the years she'd spent admiring and pining over Naruto, she was certain that Shino and Kiba would be thrilled for her.

Finding him half-naked, dishevelled and hanging from her bedroom window however, definitely did not elicit the same response.

Kiba was fiercely protective of her. Shino was as well, though he was the much calmer and more rational of the two. Kiba, on the other hand, was hot-headed like Naruto, often lashing out at those he thought did her wrong. While they were friends, she was worried that the heated words being exchange by the two may escalate into something further. She knew she had to try and reason with him.

"Kiba-kun! Shino-kun! It's not what you think!" She protested, taking Kiba's arm and trying to pull him back.

"Come on, Hinata. What do you take me for?" Kiba replied, spinning around wildly to face her. "It's obvious what was going on. Even from down here, I can smell you all over him!"

"What does that even mean? You think you're a dog now or something?"

Naruto just couldn't be mature, could he? He had to goad Kiba.

"What was that, asshole?! Why don't you come down here and say that?!"

Hinata rolled her eyes as Kiba clenched his fist at Naruto again, moving over to one of the columns that lead up the side of her house. He wrapped his hands around it and tried to begin pulling himself up to Naruto's level. There was, however, nothing for him to grip onto firmly, and he slid down helplessly.

"Kiba, perhaps we should listen to what Hinata has to say and give them a chance to explain themselves." Shino said, stepping in and a placing a firm, restraining hand upon his friend's shoulder. His tone was flat, devoid of any obvious emotion, though he spoke more softly than normal. Shino knew raising his voice would only cause the situation to escalate further, not that he was one to yell anyway. Instead, he chose his words carefully. His glasses and hood obscured most of his face, concealing his expression, but the gesture alone served as a subtle warning for Kiba to calm down. One, he apparently did not pick up on.

"What's there to explain?!" Kiba exclaimed, his arm flailing wildly, pointing in between Naruto and Hinata. "Look at Naruto! I'm not an idiot. They were in bed... together! Naruto was sleeping with Hinata!"

"We were sleeping together, Kiba-kun. I had just as much as to do with it as he did." Hinata interjected, stepping between him and Shino.

Kiba faltered, the reply dying on his lips. Upon processing Hinata's words, his anger gave way to confusion. He glanced at Hinata, sceptically, his voice lowering.

"What are you talking about, Hinata?"

She took a slow, steady breath, collecting herself.

"Naruto-kun and I-" She cursed silently for stumbling. The words she had rehearsed to herself so eloquently before, spilling out in awkward bursts. "We're kind of... together now."

Shino and Kiba exchanged looks briefly, disbelief crossing their features.

Hinata had longed to be with Naruto for years, yet had never had to courage to act on her feelings. Though, while they had always supported her and hoped that one day Naruto would return her feelings, Shino and Kiba had their doubts, too. Naruto, while he cared for Hinata, had always seemed oblivious to her feelings for him.

"Naruto-kun and I have been seeing each other… For quite some time now." Hinata clarified, more confidently this time.

"So, that's why-" Kiba began, pointing up towards Naruto's dangling body.

"Yes," she answered, not needing to hear the rest of his question.

"And you guys aren't just sleeping around?"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata replied indignantly, crossing her arms. "Who do you take me for?"

"Sorry, sorry," Kiba replied, grimacing. "Well, I guess that's all in order then."

He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, awkwardly, as Shino sighed. She couldn't tell due to the glasses obscuring his face, but Hinata could feel him rolling his eyes.

"So, Kiba's not going to try and kill me anymore? It's safe? 'Cause I'd really like to get down now." Naruto called, his arms starting to tremble.

"Shino-kun," Hinata said softly. "Would you mind helping Naruto-kun get down?" She still wasn't entirely sure she trusted Kiba yet.

"By all means." Shino replied, making his way back inside.

Now that there was no longer in any point in trying to leave undetected, Naruto, with Shino's assistance, opted to climb back in through Hinata's window, where he had left. He had been wary of Shino initially, not entirely sure if the man was silently concealing a desire to kill him similar to Kiba's for sleeping with Hinata, but knew that there weren't many other options. He didn't particularly want to risk losing his grip and falling climbing down the drain pipe.

Once there were back inside, Naruto and Hinata took the time to straighten themselves up, fixing their clothes and bedheads, before heading once more, Kiba and Shino awaiting them.

"So, any chance you guys will be able to fill us in on all this?" Kiba asked, his hands in his pockets. "How did it happen? When did it happen?"

"Really? You guys too? We'll okay, I guess." Naruto said, scratching at the back of his head. He didn't actually feel particularly comfortable speaking so openly about his private life. Hinata calmly placed a hand onto his back, leading him to glance over his shoulder at her.

"Actually, Naruto-kun." She said, softly. Taking her hand and holding it between her own, she stroked his fingers gently. "Could you let me explain this to them, please?"

"Okay, okay. They're your friends, you can explain it." Naruto said, taking his hand and moving it to cup the side of her face, framing it. He bent down and kissed her softly on her forehead, his lips catching on the bangs that fell above her eyes.

The gesture was fairly chaste compared to how intimately the two had explored each other before. Yet it was the first time Naruto had acted openly romantic with her, not only in public but in the presence of their friends. It was then that Hinata knew one thing with absolutely certainly; one thing that, in hindsight, she couldn't believe she had ever doubted before. Last night, Naruto had given her his word and, as always, it was resolute. They weren't hiding anymore.

"This isn't over," Kiba said as Naruto passed him. Moving his fingers from his eyes and pointing them at Naruto, he mouthed the words "I'm watching you."

"Whatever, Kiba." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes and waving lazily over his shoulder. "I'll see you guys later."

"So…" Hinata began, turning to her friends sheepishly. "Anyone for coffee?"

.

"A couple of months?!"

Hinata flinched, her eyes clenching shut at the volume of Kiba's voice. He really was being too loud, she didn't want to draw any more unwanted attention to herself. More than enough of their friends had become acquainted with the intimate details of her and Naruto's love life over the past few days, she didn't want to bring the strangers around them in on it as well.

"Are you telling that this has been happening between you guys for months now, and no one knows about it? You didn't tell anyone?!"

The cutlery clattered on their table as Shino kicked Kiba in the shin, an action that went unnoticed by Hinata, who was still processing the barrage of questions that had been thrown at her.

"No, I mean- Some people know. Shikamaru and Ino... and Chouji."

"How could you tell those guys before us, aren't we old friends?"

A slight pang of guilt overcame Hinata at Kiba's words. He sounded genuinely hurt by the fact that she had kept this frown them. She trusted Kiba and Shino more than anything, yet it hadn't been her choice for

"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun. I would you told you two before anyone, honest. They just found out on their own, completely accident. It's not like we planned for things to go that way. We just too, well… and things just... got out of hand."

"Have you considering perhaps investing in a lock?" Shino dead-panned.

"I know!" Kiba exclaimed suddenly, standing up from his seat as if to emphasise his point. The table across from them were looking on, concerned. "Maybe getting caught is part of some weird kink Naruto has! Now he's trying to corrupt Hinata too. I always knew there had to be something off about that guy! His godfather does write all those smut novels, after all!"

"Kiba. Sit down, please." Hinata sighed in exasperation, her face in her hands.

"Oh, right." Kiba said, glancing around the rest of the room, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone. "Sorry."

"So, why did you feel the need to keep this to yourself?" Shino asked, speaking at a more appropriate volume. "Everyone has always supported you confessing your feelings to Naruto. I'm sure they would have been thrilled to learn that he reciprocated them."

"We- we didn't really want anyone to make a big deal out of it."

"It is a big deal!" Kiba exclaimed again, only to be shushed by Shino, as people from the booth opposite theirs looked over, growing even more wary of his outbursts. Shino motioned for Hinata to continue.

"I was nervous, we both were, in a way..." Hinata began. "I hadn't been in a relationship like this before and Naruto-kun had just broken up with Sakura-san. He thought that things might be more awkward if she knew we were dating. We just wanted to keep it quiet as we worked things out for ourselves, what we wanted and where this was going."

"You know we only ask because we care, right?" Kiba said, reaching out and touching her hand, reassuringly, the warmth and sincerity of his words radiating through the gesture. "All we want is for you to be happy. So… Are you really happy with him, Hinata?"

"Yes," Hinata answered, a smile pulling at her lips, lighting up her eyes. "I really am. I love him, Kiba-kun, you know that."

"Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order." Shino said, allowing a soft, almost imperceptible smile to cross his features.

"Yeah, right on Hinata! It took the knucklehead long enough. But, seriously though, you guys have got to stop with this secrecy bullshit, okay? You should make it official, let everyone else know."

"We're going to," she answered. "But in our own time."

.

In hindsight, he could kind of see where she was coming from. There was a slight possibly that he'd maybe been a bit of a dick. Just a slight one.

There, see? He could admit it. He wasn't always stubborn, he could compromise.

He still thought he was right, though. There was definitely something weird going on with Naruto. Something he was keeping from the rest of them. He didn't know what it was, but he was going to find out.

Still, at least he was starting to see things from her perspective.

Somewhat.

Sasuke sighed as he lowered his clenched fist from the door. For the third time he caught himself and hesitated, freezing up. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke's fingers clawed at tufts of his hair, cursing his indecision. He'd been standing in front of Sakura's place for at least ten minutes now just trying to summon the courage to knock. He was lucky she hadn't passed by her door and seen him already.

Surely this shouldn't be so difficult, right? This was his Sakura's home, completely familiar territory to him. Over the years they'd known each other he'd been in her apartment countless times... Granted, it was always with at least one other person in tow (Naruto, usually), but still. He couldn't understand why he was so hesitant about speaking with her alone. They were friends, after all!

Weren't they?

He exhaled again, leaning his forehead against the wooden surface. He wasn't even sure why they had been fighting, or why she had suddenly decided to start ignoring him, but for whatever reason he felt like things might work out if he apologised. Maybe not everything, and maybe not immediately, but it was a starting point, at least.

He was still right, though. He might be a dick, but at least he had his pride.

Dear god, he would never admit out loud, but for once, he wished he were more like Naruto. He wanted to be able to storm in, unprepared, letting his instincts guide him and handing everything as it came to him. It was just like him to over analyse and fret over every single, petty detail. Why did he have to do that? What was he afraid of? Acting naturally?

"Sasuke-kun?" He heard a confused voice call softly from behind him.

Sasuke froze, noting the unmistakeable flash of pink hair in his peripheral. That distinctive shade that he'd only ever seen on one person. Shit, this wasn't part of the plan.

"Sakura," he answered and turned around coolly, despite the panic overwhelming him.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura huffed, folding her arms.

He swallowed heavily, disarmed by the visible anger that was shining in her eyes. He had never seen Sakura look at him like that before. He must have really fucked up this time. Rubbing at the back of his head, he tried to collect himself.

Don't just stand there, say something! Answer her! How hard could it be? "I wanted to see you?", "I was in the neighbourhood and figured I should apologise for being such a reclusive prick all the time?" Think! Come on, use your words!

"I... Well, see- I," he mumbled. Sasuke flushed at his stumbling, having trouble finding the right way to express himself.

Sakura rose an eyebrow, curious as to what had Sasuke so flustered. The Uchiha usually only spoke when it was necessary, his words calculated and deliberate. It was strange to see him struggling with them. She had been annoyed to see him standing outside her door, initially, but now she was intrigued.

Even if just for the prospect of seeing him squirm.

"I was just-" Sasuke tried again in vain, his words failing to get any kind of point across.

"Yeah?" Sakura prodded, barely concealing a smirk.

"I... I just wanted to say that... I'm sorry." He blurted out eventually, his eyes caught on his shoe.

There.

He'd said it.

It was out there now.

Maybe it wasn't the most heartfelt, grandiose statement, the words didn't roll smoothly off of his tongue. It was to the blunt and to the point, something so very typical of him. But maybe, for once, that would be okay.

This was Sakura, after all. He didn't want to dance around and bullshit her. He didn't want to make over-dramatic promises to bring her the moon and the stars and to stay with her for eternity. All he had to offer her was his word.

Sakura, all of people, Sasuke hoped, would be able to appreciate that.

He finally decided to look up, albeit hesitantly. Her hair fell into her face slightly, almost obscuring it from him, but he could make out her smile. Soft, and shy. She was warming to him.

"You're sorry?"

"Yeah," he affirmed. "For what I said earlier, I didn't mean to act like an ass. I guess lately I've just"

"Do you... Want to come inside?" Sakura offered, gesturing towards her still closed door. "Maybe we can talk about it some more."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

.

This was much better than pride, or being right, or any of that other petty bullshit. This was what truly mattered to him. He didn't have to be cold and stubborn and distant all the time. He could enjoy this. This made sense to him.

It wasn't complicated. He didn't have to break it down and over analysis his approach, he didn't even have to completely understand it. It was a feeling. It was just... right.

Her head resting against his chest, her arms moving to wrap around his waist. He could feel her breathing softly, evenly, in tandem with the soft palpation of his heart. Leaning down to rest his head against her, his lips ghosted over her hair and she sighed softly. The sound, the gentle pleasure emanating from her…

So long as he didn't fuck up, so long as he didn't have to stumble and trip through another apology, so long as they could be together like this and things could remain simple, maybe he could be happy.

"I'm sorry." He murmured against her forehead.

"You said that already." She giggled, her breath caressing the bare skin on his neck.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't say it enough." He reiterated, his eyes suddenly piercing her own solemnly.

"You might be right." She looked up to teasingly flick him on the forehead, a gesture intimately familiar to him. "But at least you're working on it."

"Hn." He answered, catching the finger poking him and lacing it between his own again.

"You know, it kind of killed me to see you and Naruto together." Sasuke said suddenly, breaking the silence between them once more.

Sakura opened her eyes at Sasuke's words, glancing at him hesitantly.

"Eh? Naruto and I? Why?"

"It was hard for me," Sasuke answered, his voice low. He couldn't help but feel self-conscious admitting this. "It took a while, but I realised I was jealous of him... I liked you, and I still do. I didn't want you two to be together… I felt bad for feeling that way about my best friends."

"Well, I- That is to say, Naruto and I-"

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, looking down at her.

"We're not together anymore." She stated simply.

Sasuke smirked, his hands moving to cover her shoulders as he wordlessly positioned her against the matress beneath them. Sakura, gasped, taken aback by the gesture, but made no move to stop him. Slowly, painstakingly, he positioned his body over the top of hers, Sakura shuddered lowly. His lips found her neck, leisurely trailing upwards to the shell of her ear to whisper.

"No, I guess you're not."

.

"So, you really want to do this?" Hinata asked, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"Absolutely." Naruto exclaimed. "We've been hiding this for far too long, and to be honest, it's start to becoming more trouble than its worth... The novelty kind of worth of awhile ago."

From the corner of his eye, Naruto could see Hinata nodding in silent agreement.

"Besides," he began, coming to a stop. He placed and a hand on each of her shoulders, gazing directly into her eyes. "I really like you. Sakura's ones of my oldest friends and I want us to get passed this. No more lies, no more hiding, no more pointless drama. Things will just be easier if we let them know."

"Okay, well if you think you're ready." Hinata said, as stopped in front of the door to Sakura's apartment.

"Trust me, I know I am." He answered, before leaning in and chastely kissing her on the lips.

Hinata gasped at the feeling of Naruto's lips against her own, her stomach fluttering at the warm, tender sensation. It wasn't an unfamiliar gesture to her. They had kissed many times before. This however, was different. It was slow and unafraid, every second played out slowly, completely, as they savoured the feeling, the taste, the caresses of each other that had only lasted so fleetingly before. His fingers threading through her hair, he hand cupping the side of his face, their heated breaths mingling as they drew closer.

As Naruto eventually pulled away, she could make out a smile pulling at his lips, a warmth in his eyes that she had not had the pleasure of revelling in before. She could make out exactly the effect her touch had; the happiness it elicited in him; even several moments after it had been broken. Slow chilling pleasure slid up her spine with that knowledge.

"Y'know, I think I saw Sasuke hanging outside here earlier." Naruto said, breaking her from reverie. "Maybe we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone."

His hand grasped the knob and twisted it, surprised to find that he was met with no resistance.

"Huh, look at that, the door's unlocked. That's weird." Naruto said, slowly opening it.

"You're even not going to knock?" Hinata asked, standing a good distance from the now open apartment hesitantly. She really wasn't sure about this.

"With all the time we spent here together?" Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm sure she won't mind. I'm practically an honorary guest."

"You and Kiba-kun are a lot more alike than you think." Hinata said, rolling her eyes.

Naruto didn't appear to hear her, as he continued to make his way into Sakura's apartment. Hinata didn't follow him, choosing instead to remain hovering outside the open door. Despite having also been inside Sakura's place many times before, and the woman's insistence that she was always welcome, she still didn't feel comfortable in entering someone's home invited. It was just in her nature. She was too polite, and didn't want to be a burden to others.

She also supposed that, given the number of times she and Naruto had been walked in on accidentally over the past few weeks, she was even more conscious of other people's privacy than she was before.

Naruto, apparently, had not experienced the same epiphany.

She could make out his voice calling, as he explored the apartment's living area, the echo of his footsteps growing as he made his way further down the hallway.

"Sakura-chan! Where are y- Uh..."

At the slow creak of Naruto pushing open another door, he trailed off mid-sentence. Hinata's ears perked up in confusion.

"Naruto?! Oh my god, get out you baka!"

"Dobe, what the fuck are you doing!?"

Hinata's eyes furrowed in confusion, before she was almost knocked off her feet by a blur of orange and yellow speeding past her. The dull thud of a shoe, ricocheting off of the apartment wall, followed shortly, narrowly missing the retreating Naruto. It still wasn't exactly clear to Hinata what had happened. That is until she glanced behind her to see Naruto, now sitting prone in the foetal position with his hands covering his face, as he moaned to himself over and over.

"Oh god! Sasuke and Sakura-chan! Sasuke and Sakura-chan! Oh god, my eyes!"

A/N: Full disclosure, I'm kind of neutral when it comes to SasuSaku. I don't dislike it, but wouldn't exactly call myself a fan at the same time. A couple of people were asking if I was going to pair them up in this story and in the end I decided to because I thought it would be an interesting idea to explore. So yeah, that's the reason behind the ending to this chapter.

Anyway, I'm probably going to be wrapping this story up in a couple of chapters. We'll just see how things go as I write the next one out. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for my new oneshot series Day After Day that I'm going to be posting soon. It's going to be a series of snippets and headcanons into Naruto and Hinata's day to day life as a couple after The Last. I'd love to hear what you guys think about!