Kiba sighed heavily and took another long sip of his punch, leaning against the wall behind him. While he certainly was one for celebrations the five hour long Christmas party was quickly becoming dull. The same music was playing, the same jokes being cracked, the same dances being danced. He desperately looked around for someone he knew but his friends had long since departed and all that remained were academy students from Neji and Tenten's year, people he had never had occasion to meet, and the older crowd Hinata had been obligated to invite due to her father's insistence. Kiba had a nagging feeling it was simply so that he could inadvertently chaperone he and Hinata. Neji and Tenten, the two who were hosting the party, had slipped away hours ago, no doubt more so for Neji's sake than Tenten's.
He stifled a yawn. It was well past midnight and he was ready to head home for the night. He scanned the crowd for his girlfriend, eyes skimming the faces of people he didn't know until at last his gaze lighted upon her. She looked beautiful underneath the green and red lights, their tint causing the glitter covered sash on her simple gown sparkle as she stood talking to an old friend of her father's.
Hinata's eyes met his and she smiled, excusing herself from the older gentleman, and gracefully walked across the makeshift dance floor in the middle of Tenten's living room towards him.
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked, standing beside him against the wall. Kiba wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"Much more so now…" he whispered in her ear, kissing her on the cheek. Hinata's smile deepened and she too attempted to hide a yawn. She leaned her head on her boyfriends shoulder. Kiba inhaled deeply, absorbing himself in the scent of her. She smelled of gingerbread and peppermint, indications of the season they were now enjoying but he could still pick out the underlying scent of her peony shampoo, a scent he had come to associate with her. It took all his self control not to scoop her up right there and carry her off into the night.
The fast paced tempo of the music he was hearing changed suddenly as "Jingle Bell Rock" turned to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Hinata perked up suddenly beside him and looked eagerly up at his face. She grabbed his hand and without a word dragged him onto the dance floor where only two other couples stood swaying.
Hinata rested her hands on his shoulders, nudging him slightly to put his hands on her waist. He obliged and the two of them began swaying in time with the music, a simple dance, yet intimate. Kiba looked down at her and his heart was full of love. He couldn't fathom how he had ended up with such an amazing woman. Her eyes were closed, her lips moving as she silently sang along to the lyrics. Chaperones be damned, Kiba leaned down and kissed her softly, interrupting her song. Hinata kissed him back, wrapped her arms around his neck.
Then again, Kiba thought as Hinata pulled away and rested her head on his chest, maybe it was worth staying a little longer.