A/N: Aaaand we're back with some more Team 8! This chapter basically wrote itself, I had so much fun with it!

I dedicate it to one of my biggest supporters and Kiba fans, the lovely KilJoius.

As usual, I appreciated every comment you guys left a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter too! ;D

Team 8 has always been special. Yes, definitely not as flashy as Team 7, not as legendary as the InoShikaCho trio and thank Kami not as youthful as Team Guy. But if you'd ask Kiba, he'd tell you in a heartbeat that Team 8 was the real deal.

Even now as he took first watch over his teammates and really had to focus, he couldn't quite shake off the warmth in his chest. You see, there were no secrets in Team 8. The trust went as deep as it got. No crushes, no silly fights nor failures had managed to cause cracks between them.

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The air was crisp and the moon shone beautifully through the bare crowns of the trees. It was early winter, nearly Hinata's birthday, and strangely they hadn't made plans yet. Said woman seemed disturbed in her sleep. Her eyebrows came together in a deep frown. Ah, see, Kiba could wake her up now to spare her the nightmare she was probably having. But he had a secret of his own.

There was something Hinata did which tickled his pack leader feeling like nothing else: Hinata would always call hisname during a nightmare. Since their Genin days, it had never been father, nor Shino, heck, not even Kurenai. No, not Naruto, because the dude had frankly never been around enough. It had been him. She had always relied on him for his support, knowing he'd rescue her in a heartbeat. It's always been like that.

He looked guiltily down at her again. If she wouldn't find peace in a few minutes, he'd wake her. He'd just wait a little longer. But the guilt built up over the next half an hour, as she seemed to be getting more and more distressed. That was it. Kiba jumped down from the tree. Just as he reached out to shake her awake–

"Sasukeeee!"

She grabbed his arm seeing it as a possible danger and threw him on the ground with all her might. Ufff. And then he was kicked right in the nuts. Man. Yep, he had taught her that. But the physical pain he was in didn't hold a candle to the emotional one. The hurt was probably written on his face, because she immediately started going full medic nin mode.

Shino rose as well. He didn't have his shades on yet, a sign he had come as soon as possible.

"Sasuke? Uchiha Sasuke…? What is that all about?!" His breaths were coming out as clouds of condensation and for a second he felt like a dragon spitting fire. Like a monster. He lowered his voice. "Right, Shino?"

There was this one thing about Shino – he relied too fucking much on those shades. As soon as you looked him in the eyes, you'd read him like an open book. Pheromones of guilt. But the olfactory cues were redundant, Shino's eyes had told him everything. He had known about this!

Back to Hinata, he bared his teeth. "How come everyone knows but me?!"

"S-Shino-kun doesn't know ei–"

"Fucking hell. Look at him." He waved aggressively towards Shino, who slightly turned away. "He does, 'nata!"

She looked shocked between him and Shino as understanding seemed to dawn on her. Akamaru pushed him back with his muzzle. Had he crossed a line?

Kiba just left to clear up his head. The anger was consuming him from inside. He had always been a hot head. If he'd stay, he'd say something hurtful. He needed space. Akamaru silently followed.
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Fuck that, fuck his team, fuck everything. He always got the short end of the stick. The snow and frozen rubble cracked under his weight, as he paced around. Akamaru was more silent than normal – tail between his legs and head downturned. Right. Him being angry must look scary. He crouched and extended his hand to his companion.

"I'm sorry boy. I'm sorry." As Akamaru approached him and nuzzled against his neck he could finally exhale a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

He felt betrayed. It wasn't the first time his team had kept him out of the loop. Often they assumed he knew would catch up tacitly because he was a sensory type ninja. Yeah, but he would never use his skills on his friends. He wouldn't sniff around to intrude. It just felt wrong. It was their business what they did privately and he was certain that the things which were important enough to know would at some point be shared.

He started hearing voices – Shino and Hinata. He could make out what they said if he wanted. Should he? Why not at this point.

"–you find out? I… I have only spoken to sensei about this." Oh. So she really hadn't told Shino.

"Why? Because during the summer, when I got my summons from the Uchiha... He looked at you in a way…"

"T-That long ago?"

"Weren't you–"

"Shino-kun, I'll tell you the story when we're all together. He's… Just a few walking minutes further in this direction and… He's got chakra infused in his ears, spying on us anyways." Hinata giggled. Shino remained silent. Kiba smiled despite himself.
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"That's romantic," Kiba said, rolling his eyes. "Always the charmer."

Hinata smiled. "We really care for each other now. It started off a little… unconventional, I agree."

"Does the clan know?" Shino always asked the right questions. A freely chosen relationship would never be a problem in his clan. The Hyuugas were different.

She nodded. "Father hasn't said much. I think he may have been against it, but he's actively trying to change his old ways. Hanabi… Is making it hard for me to move out. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Hi–na–ta! Just tell her the truth." Shino nodded, supporting his claim. "You'd just move into the Uchiha compound anyway and be within walking distance, heck, maybe even Byakugan range of each other. So you know, pay attention to the premarital stuff." Kiba winked for good measure. Shino looked at him disapprovingly, but smirked. Hinata went red and pouted.

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They ate together around the fire and it was warm and pleasant despite the harsh temperature. Maybe time and growing up will make these moments more scarce, but for sure will not alter the closeness they shared.

He looked at Hinata, who's profile was highlighted by the orange light of the fire. She must have been retelling a story about Hanabi. He knew that not because he was listening, but because nothing else could make her smile that way. Maybe from now on it won't be his name which would be on top of her lips during nightmares, but their little talk afterwards made it clear to him – they'll always be together, no matter how many years might pass or what challenges and events they might bring. Which reminded him of one matter…

"What about your birthday, 'nata?"

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, always taken aback that people cared about her, despite years of friendship. It was as if she was surprised they remembered her birthday. These moments tugged at his heartstrings the most.

"Moving out will be stressful I suppose." She licked her lips. "Maybe I'll postpone the celebration this year."

Shino clicked his tongue.

"Over our dead bodies! We're taking a detour."

"B-But I…"

"There is a new thermal resort two days away from Konoha," Shino intervened, crossing his arms. They won't take a 'no'. And they also happened to be close enough to her to know, she could never refuse an onsen.

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Up next: Instead of revealing the next POV as I usually do, I will just tell you that someone (lovely PianoCoat) convinced me to take on the prompt for day 20 - "Sharing a bed". I will just say that this story stays T rated! :P

See you soon!