Unlike Poles | Eight
Even while laughing raucously with a group of his cousins, Kiba somehow finds the time to tear his attention away from their riveting conversation and deliver a withering glare in Naruto's direction.
"Watch where you're putting your hands, friend."
The blonde quails, his blue eyes widening innocently. "We're dancing—I'm supposed to be holding her," he grumbles, "unless you would rather have your wife fall in a heap in the middle of the room."
"Or you could just hand her over before I cut your—" Kiba coughs in response to Hinata's raised brows. "—I mean, do something unpleasant to you." He sidles over to the pair, smoothly easing the petite female out of his friend's grip.
"You look stunning," he says huskily, his voice low as he allows his gaze to trail down the length of her midnight blue gown in a way that makes her shiver. "How are you feeling tonight, Mrs. Inuzuka?" Just saying that title gives him a rush of satisfaction, and his smile looks almost predatory in the orange lighting.
"I feel like the happiest woman on earth," she responds easily, hardly a trace of shyness on her face as she nuzzles into his chest, "although I can't say the same for my family." The smile that hasn't left her face her entire day widens a little in amusement.
Kiba can't help a chuckle at that. Both he and Hinata come from large families, and there seems to be a rather serious case of culture shock occurring on both sides of the in-laws. A few of the Inuzukas have taken to messing around with the wedding cake, and are being eyed by the Hyugas with badly-concealed horror. On the other side of the room, Kiba's mother looks somewhat bewildered—and even a tad disdainful—at the way Hyuga Hiashi is consuming his meal, with tiny bites and refined sips.
"Oh, they'll get used to each other," he says airily, his words full of conviction. "I mean, I did use to think you were some prissy little rich snob, and look where we are now. You probably thought I was some promiscuous manwhore, don't lie." Hinata's eyes widen, but before she can say anything, a scandalized gasp is heard from the Hyuga couple waltzing sedately beside them. Exchanging a glance with each other, the newlyweds immediately burst into snickers that they try and fail to repress.
As the night wears on, Kiba is glad to see some of the tension between the two families begin to dissolve ever so slightly—in the corner of the room, he spots his sister carrying out some intellectual conversation with Hinata's cousin—although they are still far from being chummy with each other. It's not much, but at least it's a start.
After all, it takes equal effort from both parties to get from either end of the spectrum to meet in the middle, on neutral ground. Only then, when they are both still in their comfort zone, can sparks fly and magic occur.
OoOoO
It takes Kiba two weeks to come to the conclusion that married life isn't the bed of roses it's always made out to be. For one thing, the fact that Hinata has now permanently settled herself in his house means some very major changes to his lifestyle and habits.
There are no more beer parties with his pals every month; no more leaving the dishes unwashed for days at a time, with just a touch of insecticide to keep the pests away; no more wearing the same clothes for days on end. There's a new paint job, new curtains, and even new furniture—"Do you know how long I've had that cabinet? Just because it might have mice in it…"
"Kiba!"
He doesn't even look up from the television screen—hey, it's evening, his only leisure time. "What?"
"Can we keep Akamaru out of the bedroom?" The gradual increase in volume tells him she's entered the living room, and he shoots her a glance out of the corner of his eye. "He got into the closet and peed in it."
He grins distractedly. "I've been trying to train him out of doing that for ages, y'know."
"Kiba!" She sounds exasperated. "Just stop leaving the door open all the time, okay?" She moves to stand in front of him, her hands on her hips.
"Hinata!" he mimics unintentionally as he crashes and burns. Game over. Finally, he looks up at her unhappily. No matter how hard she tries, she just doesn't cut a very intimidating figure, and especially not when she's in an oversized tee and slacks. It makes him grin in surrender, and he stands with a shake of his head.
"Did you even hear what I said?" she grumbles, already leaning closer.
"Sure, sure. Leave a post-it on the door so I remember. It'll become habit eventually," he says with a laugh, scooping her up bridal style and ignoring Hinata's squeak of surprise.
He retreats into the bedroom with her in his arms, ignoring her protests that "we haven't even had dinner yet!" The faint bounce of bedsprings sound, and then all that can be heard are their slowly quickening breaths and throaty moans, before—
OoOoO
There are ups and downs because their lives aren't picture-perfect, but they manage somehow, and through it all, they are happy anyway.
They've always been good at that after all—finding common ground amidst their myriad of differences. They are unlike poles, polar opposites that just can't help but be attracted to one another.
OoOoO
"…what's that smell?"
"I told you Akamaru just peed in the closet."
"Goddamn that dog."
A/N: And…that's all, folks! Thanks for sticking around, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this piece!