Chapter 4: Insecure
"Please stop talking or I'll die." Sasuke said flatly.
Naruto rolled his eyes, grinning in spite of their current situation.
"Aren't you being a tad overdramatic? I mean you act like you walked in on us going at it or something."
"Weren't you about to?" He blandly replied.
Naruto rapidly shook his head, face heating. "What?! No, we weren't! I mean I did sort of start thinking about it err, but that doesn't mean I was going to act on those thoughts!"
Sasuke shook his head, casually staring down into his cup of coffee. He had gone straight to the kitchen and made himself a cup after interrupting them to distract his mind. "Anyways, I really will die of disgust if we continue with this conversation."
Naruto pats his back leading to Sasuke shrugging him off. "Aw, come on Sasuke! It's not every day we have a guest over."
"Your 'guest' is a call girl. I didn't think you would bring her to the apartment of all places. That's what love hotels are for." He grunts.
Hinata frowned, curling at her toes as she gazed down at the tiles. This had been her idea in the first place and now it was all backfiring right in her face.
'What was I thinking? This was a mistake to go to his place so fast.'
But hearing this finally triggered Naruto's annoyance, smile twisting into a scowl. "Don't be an ass to her when you know nothing about her! She wanted to get to know me better and I thought it was okay for her to come over."
Sasuke simply sighed and she peeked up through her bangs to see his dark eyes now studying her.
How did Naruto live with someone so completely opposite of him?
"Do you think you can handle Naruto?" He questioned.
She paused, twisting at her lips to find the right words. That was the last question she expected out of the man.
Whatever exactly this was happening between her and Naruto certainly wasn't normal in the sense of regular couples though.
And she had no experience when it came to dating beyond a few friendly outings with guys during high school or setups with men her father deemed suitable only to lead to it going nowhere.
This was slowly becoming her first serious one.
"I…I think so." She murmured softly.
It doesn't sound very confident and Sasuke clearly knows this, arching a brow silently.
Naruto moves to plop down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to bring her close. He doesn't notice her stiffen briefly before relaxing, flustering at the idea of being affectionate in front of somebody.
"I'll ask you the same question Naruto. Do you think she can handle you?"
Naruto nods, cobalt eyes bright as he looks down at Hinata. "Of course! She's already seen me with my fox ears and tail and didn't freak. You're the one being moody asking 20 questions here; always so serious."
Sasuke scoffed, moving to stand. "You've said this same story to me before idiot. Rushing into relationships when you get the slightest bit of attention and then getting hurt when the girl is eventually afraid of you, cheats, or-"
"It's different this time; okay?! Geez, the one time I actually take your advice and then you get all annoying when I actually attempt to follow through with it." Naruto hissed, interrupting him.
'Is there a back window I can escape through?' Hinata wonders, this tension is making her fidget despite Naruto's squeezing at her shoulder to try and keep her calm.
A quick side glance shows he looks ready to punch out his friend, hand not around her wound in a tight fist.
"I-I don't plan to take advantage of Naruto if that's what you're thinking. I really do like him and I came here with the intention of trying to find a way to help with his…um well you know 'problem'." Hinata spoke up.
They both looked at her then and she felt her face grow hotter. Naruto quickly smirked confidently though giving Sasuke an 'I told you so' look while Sasuke's expression remained neutral before a small smile cracked through.
"How were you going to help him? Have sex and hope his fox features didn't come out in the process?"
"N-No!" Hinata sputtered frantically. Goodness, why did everyone assume that was the only way to keep Naruto's 'excitement' under control?!
Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well now, let's not be so quick to throw out that option…"
"We weren't going to do that; you just walked in at the wrong moment!" Hinata cut him off, reddening as she abruptly stood up.
Time for a not so smooth exit!
She could hear Naruto calling over her shoulder to wait, but her feet already start moving her back in the direction of the front door.
When she finally does start turning around though Naruto is standing far too close, lightly tugging on her sleeve.
"Don't go yet. Are you leaving because of Sasuke's dumb questions or me? Because if it's Sasuke I can go deck his face in for you!" He asks hurriedly.
Hinata shook her head with a laugh, gently entwining the hand holding onto her. "No, no it's just a bit awkward to stay here now. We can…we can meet up again after classes if you want."
It's not the answer he probably wants, but it would be strange to carry on further knowing Sasuke is now within earshot of anything they say or do.
'Another time.'
Naruto continues to mope, pulling her back in for a gentle kiss to the head. She freezes up again before relaxing into his hold, gazing up at him slowly.
"Alright, but our next meet up I'm not going to get let you escape this easily...and I'll make sure we're alone."
He beams at her scarlet face, he could get used to having this effect on her.
Despite it making his fox ears sprout up again at the naughtier thoughts it brings to mind, Hinata gently forcing them back down before she goes.
When he returns back to the kitchen Sasuke has already moved on to washing up his cup, eyeing him with a smirk.
"If you're going to meet up again make sure it's when I'm not going to be here." He asserts, reminding him of his schedule posted by the side cabinets.
Naruto rolled his eyes, grabbing for a bottled water out of the fridge. "Yeah, yeah whatever; I hope you're happy bastard, you scared her off with all your stupid questions!"
Sasuke shrugged, not bothering to look up at him as he washed away soap suds from the cup. "I'm sorry I interrupted you getting laid."
"You're one to talk; besides, like I said we weren't doing that!" He retorts.
"But…just so you know; I am serious about getting to know her." He continues, before chugging down the drink. The coldness numbs his lips and he can forget for a moment how much Lilac's scent and touch is messing with his body.
Sasuke snaps his fingers in front of him to regain his attention, sighing.
'This idiot has it bad.'
"You don't know anything about her."
Naruto waved a finger up in his defense. "Ah ha, and that's where you're wrong! I happen to know that her favorite food is cinnamon rolls and she likes to garden and read in her spare time. She doesn't like shrimp since she pushed it out of her ramen bowl, and she also-"
"Do you even know what her actual name is? Lilac is just a stage name of hers." Sasuke interrupts.
And just like he expects, Naruto pauses in his rambling as his expression goes into deep concentration.
He reaches the perfect answer and comeback within seconds though because of course he doesn't know her real name yet!
"Shut up!"
-X-
'I need advice.' Hinata realizes.
It's early into the night, barely past 10 pm and her mind keeps drifting.
Her last caller had requested the raunchiest of requests she had heard as of late in playing out a scene involving bondage and chains that made her woozy.
"Come on baby, surely you've done this type of thing plenty of times before." The man droned, he sounded no older than some middle schooler or early high schooler with his faux deep voice even if his member ID number matched to that of a 21 year old.
Hinata pursed her lips, he was already beginning to sound agitated with her and a dropped call meant no money.
She was going to have to pretend she knew this subject.
'Bondage is handcuffs and whips, right? I just need to turn this situation around somehow.'
And pray he doesn't notice her nervousness.
"It's not that honey, it's just I don't do this type of thing often. Normally I'm the one doing the punishing, not the other way around." She cooed.
She clenches her nails into her skin with bated breath, waiting for him to believe in her lie.
He does.
His chuckle is annoying, high-pitched and nasally that she pushes the phone away from her ear for a moment before she catches his next words.
"Well my dear, how about I teach you the different ways handcuffs can be used?" He hums.
'Ick, no thank you!'
Though of course she unfortunately can't refuse.
Worse than that, in the middle of his disgusting grunts and pants she began thinking about Naruto. Naruto, who kept gaining fox features and behavior at even the slightest mention of sex or sight of something perverted.
'He didn't get that way looking at other women though really, only with you.' A part of her thoughts suggest.
The thought was immediately buried, frowning at how hot her cheeks were becoming. She really shouldn't be thinking about him outside of their client/work dates...
But thinking about Naruto brought her back to needing advice.
Advice regarding men.
A quick scroll through her phone's contacts though shows she doesn't exactly know many men though. Her father and Neji don't count, especially not for the type of help she's going to need.
So that only leaves her with two options then.
Shino and Kiba.
Her two oldest guy friends going back as far as middle school, the ones she spent a majority of time goofing off with and working on various group projects assigned when they happened to all be in the same class.
Ugh, but did she really want to ask them about this?
Shino as far as she knew, never had dated throughout their days of middle and high school; most girls disgusted by his avid interest in bugs. Prior to graduation, he had stated he would be pursuing a degree in education/teaching and she recalled seeing his name on a faculty list for one of Konoha's private academies.
Kiba on the other hand went off to veterinary school, his love of the animal kingdom making him have something in common with Shino.
Oh, she hadn't talked to the two of them in weeks; the best way to start off the conversation was to see if they were both available for lunch.
Then she could just slowly go from there.
The rain has cooled off the city and despite wearing her favorite navy blue coat, she can still feel goosebumps all along her arms.
'I hope they want to eat inside rather than outside.'
Kiba is already waiting for her at one of the patio chairs though, standing up with a wave as she approaches. He's donned one of his typical furry gray coats, the same ones he used to use to hide Akamaru in whenever he brought him to school.
"Hey, long time no see! It's not like you to call us all together for a meetup! You got some big news to share or something? Wait; don't tell me you're getting married?!" He questions, greeting her with a hug.
Hinata laughed, returning the hug and settling down beside him. "No, no; nothing like that! It's just been so long and I figured we could catch up."
"I don't get a hug?" Shino abruptly questions from beside them, startling the pair as he moved away from the shadows.
Kiba sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe if you stopped hiding in the darkness like that we would've noticed you! I swear you're going to scare your students one day if you keep that up."
Shino only adjusted his glasses as he moved to the empty seat in the middle. "My students enjoy me for your information."
Kiba snorted with a small "whatever" while Hinata only smiled, yes at least some things never changed…
Shino turned his attention to Hinata though and her smile began to fade.
"So, what reason did you call us here Hinata? I know you've been busy with your health courses and Kiba as well. It's not like you to say this is something that required us meeting up in person instead of over a group phone call or through texting." He asked.
Kiba nodded along eagerly with each of his points, just as curious as well.
'Well, I knew this was coming.' Hinata reminded herself.
Only that she still hadn't thought of a proper answer to tell them yet!
"Um, well it's just that…I kind of need advice for dealing with this guy." She mumbled quickly.
They were both use to her getting soft spoken over embarrassing subjects by now, but she still didn't expect them to start frowning. (Though Shino already was a man of showing very few emotions in the first place.)
Kiba is the first to break his silence, sly grin forming. "Hinata, so truly are dating now? I didn't know you had it in you to be so bold; college really has changed you!"
She quickly shook her hands up in defense, pouting at his laughter. "N-No, I just kind of need help on how to fix this problem of his! I mean…I guess we kind of have gone on dates, but nothing official!"
"What type of problem is it?" Shino adds in.
The question only makes her fluster even more, shuffling at her feet. "I-It's well, kind of dirty."
Kiba furrowed his brows, grin morphing into a scowl. "Hey, this guy isn't pushing you to do things you're not ready for yet; is he?"
No on the contrary, Naruto didn't last long as soon as he pictured something lewd to him.
"He kind of um, well changes whenever we go out somewhere. Like he got excited when we were in his bedroom after he tickled me and-"
Oh, this coming out very wrong…
Now Kiba and Shino look uncomfortable; faces becoming just as red as hers.
Kiba coughed awkwardly, holding up a hand to stop her. "Hold on Hinata, please don't tell me you and this guy have some kind of weird friends with benefits thing going on?"
"It's not like that!" She sputters, sighing as they both seemed to relax.
"This guy likes you that much you must now if he gets 'excited' as you say whenever you're close to him. The only way you'd be able to help control his behavior is if you don't treat his feelings and behavior as strange, going by if you feel the same as him." Shino points out.
"He might relax a bit if he knows he isn't the only one getting on edge." He finishes.
Kiba nods in agreement, taking a long sip of his iced tea.
'Naruto's transforming can be controlled if I react more to him?' Hinata wondered.
So far whenever he started to gain his fox features, she had immediately tried to ignore it, covered it up in some way, or ran them off to a safe area away from the crowds.
Maybe she could be more open to it?
She reddened, it was just like Sakura and Ino said. Triggering his hormones and helping him learn to relax were the best methods to go with.
Their orders arrive and she takes her time mulling over their words as she eats, that is until Kiba glances out into the street, arching a brow.
"Why is that blonde guy over there growling at us?"
-X-
"Oh, so there your old middle school friends! It all makes sense now!" Naruto proclaimed.
Hinata nods, dull pounding in her head making her wince in returning his smile.
Growling at people is already strange enough, but barking too?
That's considered a sign of craziness!
And Kiba and Shino are quick to question her sanity in choosing to walk home with Naruto, Kiba mouthing if he should call the police or fight Naruto here and now to protect her.
Somehow she persuades them she's fine and Naruto is too, excuses thrown out that Naruto was just clearing his throat and that they definitely just imagined seeing the canines of his teeth enlarge or his pupils dilating…
It's obvious this won't be the last time they question her over the subject, expecting phone calls and plenty of texts from the duo by later on tonight.
"I'm sorry, I know I overreacted without knowing the full story." Naruto mutters gently, his voice becoming stiff and anxious and it's hard to stay mad recognizing that he still doesn't have full control over his emotions or transforming.
This is just as frustrating and embarrassing for him as well.
"It's alright, they'll understand in time…hopefully." Hinata whispers. She shifts her lavender eyes to meet his blue and the tenseness in his expression finally eases up a bit.
"What were you doing out and about anyways? I thought you had afternoon classes at this time?" Hinata questions.
Naruto holds up a plastic bag, grinning again. "Oh well the professor let us out early since it was just an exam day. I went on a shopping run since Sasuke threw out most of the so called 'expired' stuff in the fridge."
Hinata side eyed the bag, most of the essentials he seemed to have gotten were mainly just ingredients to make ramen or other quick meals.
It made her wonder…
"Do you ever think your diet could be the cause of this maybe? I mean, all that salt and fat isn't good for you."
Naruto shifted his attention from his items to her, smirking in a way that made her blush. "Planning to cook for me someday Lilac? And no, ramen does not cause my transformations."
He laughed at her darkening cheeks, poking them with a finger. "I'm just kidding about the cooking! I know that's not a part of your job."
'Yes, that would be overstepping boundaries.'
But that fact didn't and probably wouldn't stop Naruto and she finds herself agreeing to his suggestion for them to catch a movie before they head home.
She doesn't think much of the title 'The Burned Casket' except that it will be some B-list horror/adventure movie to pass the next hour or so.
And oh, was she very wrong.
Because while the movie indeed had elements of horror and mystery as the characters tried to figure out who would kill and burn their friend's body, it had many interspersed scenes of nudity between the leading male and female actors underlying lust for each other…
'Not good.' Hinata takes one look to her side to already see the hairs on Naruto's skin rising up when he catches her gaze. The sound of moaning and soft cries echoes throughout the dark room.
"Hey, down in front!" A man snaps from behind them, kicking at Naruto's chair. Popcorn goes flying as Naruto growls and turns to face him.
There's little time to react as the man's cursing and grumbling switches to a gasp of horror as he takes in the sight of Naruto's crimson eyes and fangs.
Hinata pulls them back down and out one of the back exits amid the growing chaos, frowning at the man's frantic cries of a monster and people running away.
All from them.
Her heartbeat is still loud in her ears even once they've gone at least 3 blocks away from the theater, the screaming and looks of pure terror continue to flash through her mind.
Naruto is quietly staying a few steps behind her, peering downward as he keeps his face obscured within his orange hoodie.
'From how it sounds, it seems like he really likes you; don't treat his behaviors and feelings as weird.' Shino's advice came to mind.
Hinata halted in her walking, making Naruto bump into her.
"Lilac?" Naruto questioned, barely gazing up. "Ah, I know what you're thinking, but I honestly didn't know the movie was going to have sex scenes or anything raunchy like that! I mean I just wanted to see a cheap movie and it ended up-"
Hinata held up her fingers to his face, shushing him with a smile.
And then she pushed his hoodie off, revealing his furry yellow fox ears to the air.
"I know I don't fully understand your 'changes' yet, but I do want to learn…and I don't want you to feel like you have to hide them at least when you're around me." She softly explained, brushing a hand along the tips of his ear.
They twitched in response, slowly going back down to normal as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
He kept her fingers in place by his face, guiding them slowly to brush along his lips. For once, his blue eyes don't look as worried or scared after having another abrupt transformation in a public setting and she reddens at the realization just how much of an affect she's having on him.
And him on her.
"Do any of the girls here ever actually date their callers; I mean like in an official way?" Hinata ventured to ask.
It's getting close to the end of their night shift, the sun's approach giving the sky a sliver of approaching auburn into the dark blues and blacks of the night.
Her curiosity had been starting to get to her, she hadn't yet told Sakura or Ino how Naruto made the effort to call at least once whenever he knew she was working or how much he wanted to be her only 'client'.
Would they take it the wrong way? Assume she was getting too intimate or close to be having such passing thoughts?
Sakura looks perplexed at the question, clearly never having had the thought come to mind. Her green eyes narrow in worry as she shook her head. "Eww, no way! You do realize like 90% of the men who call us are like 50 and over, right?"
Ino nods in quick agreement, scrunching up her face at just the idea. "I know! And when we do actually hear from somebody close to our age, it's always some stuck up arrogant guy who thinks were easy or some nerdy loser who can't wait until we get to the parts where we supposedly 'take our clothes off'" She huffed, mimicking the voice of one of her last calls of the night.
Sakura still looks concerned, putting away the last of her cosmetics bag into her locker and facing her.
"Has that godson of that old guy madam Tsunade mentioned still bothering you? I know you guys went out on one or two paid dates, but I figure that was all." She whispered lowly, keeping them from the privy ears of the other girls flocking into the room to change and put away garments.
She could feel her face becoming red, shaking her head.
"No, he hasn't bugged me. I just wondered if anyone had considered it if they ever really made a connection with someone after going out with them." She murmured back.
Sakura hummed, shrugging. "Madam Tsunade would look down upon it that's for sure, though I wouldn't worry about getting into serious relationships from this job. Tsunade knows how to get rid of callers who can't take no for an answer!"
Hinata breathed out slowly, pushing her trembling hands into her pockets. Sakura and Ino manage to be fooled by her smile as they switch the topic to plans for tomorrow on their day off.
What if she didn't want to say no?
"I'm going to call again on Friday night with a specific request, I'll be up late studying for a history exam that's next week. I know it didn't look like it from seeing me come in late the other day to class, but I do keep my grades within the passing range!" Naruto boasted.
"What's passing range? C's?" Hinata guessed jokingly.
"No, I can easily make A's and B's…especially with the right motivation!" He winked, nudging her as she laughed.
It's becoming harder to ignore his touches, his gentle stare and she swallows the nervous lump in her throat when he reaches out to brush her hair away from her face.
She can feel her phone buzz from within her pocket, startling her as she catches a glimpse of the caller ID.
'Kiba?'
He leaves her with a voicemail and text when she doesn't respond fast enough, anger and upset clearly lacing his words.
'That guy is dangerous Hinata, what are you thinking?!'
"I know." She whispers.
Because she isn't thinking straight and sooner or later all of her friends will slowly start to see it. Naruto slowly reaches and intertwines their hands nervously, wondering if it's okay and grinning when she tightens their hold.
More boundaries had just been crossed.
-x-
I wondered for a while if I was going to have Hinata reveal her actual name to Naruto (because as Sasuke pointed out, he doesn't know it!), but he'll find out another way I thought of lol. I appreciate all of your feedback, it's so much fun to hear from you all!
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