Fences

VII

The Hidden Stone Village sat in a very strategic location in the inner mountain ranges of the Earth Country, this Hinata knew, because she had read in many books and heard from lessons back in her Academy days about the different Hidden Villages and their geography. She knew that it would be cold, and the air a bit thinner here as compared to the Leaf, and so she had somehow come emotionally prepared for the slight light-headedness the atmosphere was causing her because of its high altitude.

Of course, the emotional preparation stopped there. Everything else was just so bigger and grander than what she had expected. For one, everything was literally made out of stone. Cold. Jagged. Menacing. Most of the buildings were practically engraved on the faces of the tall rock formations that towered here and there, some as high as the mountains that were engulfed in the low-hanging clouds within the stronghold. Kiba had said to her that the highest structure in the village was where the Tsuchikage lived.

Hinata felt her stomach lurch as she looked down from one of the rock formations that overlooked the village, her hand clutching the document Naruto had given her, right now rumpled beyond saving from the three-day travel she and Akamaru had taken non-stop just to get there. Of course, she did not look any better. She was tired, weary and very, very dirty. Somehow, for someone who had never really done anything as crazy as leave the Leaf without so much as preparing for it, she was starting to feel that she had made a mistake in coming here.

The first few rays of sunlight were barely beginning to break through the clouds when she and Akamaru finally set foot in Iwa, and if it hadn't been for these circumstances, she might actually have thought that the view spread in front of her to be absolutely breath-taking. If, that is, she weren't about to hyperventilate.

Hinata swallowed hard, whirled around to leave. "I-I can't do this…"

Akamaru suddenly growled, snapped at her heels, making her back away quickly. "Oh, no you don't. I did not carry you on my back majority of the three days we have been traveling only to have you change your mind when my mate is but a stone's throw away."

Hinata brushed her hair back from her face, wincing at the amount of grime that had accumulated for the past three days during their journey. It was at that moment that she had become fully aware of how dirty she was. During their travel, they had not so much as stopped unless they had to have a toilet break, or a drink or a short bite to eat. She had been so desperate to get to Iwa as soon as humanely possible that she didn't care that her clothes were a mess, her bare feet scraped and dirty, and her long hair in complete disarray.

And to top all that, she was starting to wonder what she was ever going to say to Kiba after all that had happened in the Leaf, two and a half months ago. What was there to say that could convince him that the reason why she was there, feet bare and heart bleeding out of her chest, was because she wanted to give what could possibly have been something beautiful between them a chance? During their journey, she had tried to string together a good enough speech. She came up with a speech, all right. She just didn't know if it was good enough.

The day Kiba left the Leaf, he didn't even say goodbye to her, and so all this time she had known that he was angry with her. She could only blame herself. Kiba had all the right to be. She had been indecisive, hurtful and self-absorbed. It took a good talking-to from a dog to make her realize how she had taken for granted so many relationships just because of a boy who had moved on with his life, because he knew he did not deserve any less.

"Wh-what should I do?" Hinata whimpered as she tried to wipe at her face with her free hand. The light-headedness wasn't helping. Right now, the only thing she wanted to do other than take a bath was to run to a place with a lower altitude.

"You ask me that now, little girl? After all that?" Akamaru muttered, tongue lolling in amusement.

He was mocking her. And she couldn't think of a good enough come-back. "It was the h-heat of the moment that drove me here, but now that I am here… I don't… I can't… I don't know what to tell h-him. Do I knock on his door and just tell him I made a m-mistake and want him back? What will he feel about that?"

Akamaru eyed her silently for a moment before slowly circling his place to find a comfortable spot, and he sat on his hind legs facing her. "If you stay here, or worse, if you turn back, you will never find out."

Hinata bit her lower lip, knowing well and good that what Akamaru had just said was the truth.

He jerked his head to the left, gesturing at a general direction. "He lives just beyond that ridge, in a house made of rock and limestone. There are two crabapple trees growing in his garden, so you wouldn't miss it."

Hinata looked over to the direction he had just pointed to, the dread increasing as she followed with her eyes the mountain trail that disappeared behind a thick clump of mountain shrubs. "B-but… what if he wouldn't see me?"

"It doesn't matter. You're here now. He wouldn't have a choice but to see you."

"But what if he drives me away?"

That made Akamaru stare at her in disbelief, his stance changing from confident to wary, and for some reason making Hinata very uncomfortable. "Hinata."

She swallowed hard.

"The Inuzuka are a loyal clan, but they are stubborn, and more than anything very proud. When you rejected him, you should have known that you had wounded his pride." Akamaru slowly got up on all fours, shook out his hackles briskly. "The only way for you to find out if things could get better between the two of you is for you to go to him. Because trust me, once you wound an Inuzuka, he will never, ever come to you. Inuzuka choose their battles well, and when they lose without an ounce of grace, they do the only thing they could think of doing."

Hinata felt her breath get caught in her throat, and, almost fearing the answer to it, she asked, "And what's that?"

"They run. Away, that is." Akamaru turned to leave. "Chase after him. If you can." And without another word, the nin-ken braced himself and made a swift leap down the ravine, disappearing into the thick fog enveloping the steep lower road that led to the path that pierced through the village proper. It was obvious he did not want to have anything to do with her, now that his mate was nearby. Hinata could not blame him. If she could help it, she wouldn't want to have anything to do with her, either.

She turned towards the mountain trail, that trail that supposedly led to Kiba's home, and Hinata felt the cold of the mountains of Iwa seep into her, invading her bones, making her shiver. It was spring in the Leaf, but it didn't look like spring was coming to the mountains anytime soon. She wasn't even sure if spring ever came to these mountains. It was all lonely, jagged peaks of rock, trapped inside more mountains with waterfalls cascading down their faces, and a thick cloak of white clouds and fog and dew.

She felt her feet move by themselves, following the trail through the untamed shrub that hid the turn towards a sloping path leading down the ravine. It was rocky, pebbles prickling her bare feet. They hurt, but just barely, and she slowly made her descent, to her left a high wall stretching high above and vanishing into the clouds overhead, to her right a hundred-foot fall where she could make out tiny rock houses built on neat, straight lines forming the residential area of the village.

Hinata remembered back then, that time during Shino's wedding after Kiba had swept her away to the lake to get away from Naruto and Sakura's announcement of their child. He had offered her his place in Iwa, almost so casually that at first she had thought that he was kidding her. That time, she had declined, but not without genuinely getting curious about how he had lived in this village for two whole years.

She wasn't surprised that he had chosen a house that was isolated from the bulk of the village population. Kiba had always valued his privacy, and so as she continued through the path and ended up standing in front of the small wooden gate of a lonely house made of rock and limestone, she somehow knew deep down that even if Akamaru had not told her about the two crabapple trees growing in the desolate front yard, she still would have known that Kiba lived there. She just knew.

Hinata slowly reached out, pushed the gate open and it creaked loudly as she stepped through, the rough cobblestone path that led straight to the front door of the house cold beneath her feet. She looked up at the house, the two windows with wooden shutters that looked back at her like wide, searching eyes. They did not look too inviting, and neither did the door, also made of wood, with iron hinges and a copper doorknob. A few rays of the sun had penetrated through the thick clouds overhead, making that knob gleam and casting her shadow over the low step that served as the house's threshold.

She considered knocking. She thought that it would be the normal thing to do, but for some reason, Akamaru's words about Kiba running away made her hesitate. She knew that what she had done to him was close to unforgivable, and she was just not an expert when it came to groveling for forgiveness. Will he even listen to her apology? Will he chase her away?

But before that, was he even home?

She looked over her shoulder and examined the front yard, which, aside from the crabapple trees, stood barren and lonely. It didn't look like he was living with Shio and Koshio, as there were no kennels or water bowls that remotely resembled what he had fixed up for them when she had volunteered to take them in. She could only assume that they were with their mother. Somehow, the fact that the only thing that could possibly be separating her and Kiba right now was a wooden door made her queasy.

She looked down at her hand, the one that still held the documents Naruto had given her. She had shown it to a lone sentry at the foot of the mountain trail that led to the inner stronghold, and if it weren't for his simple warning that she was not to use any jutsu, she would have just used her Byakugan to check if Kiba was home.

She guessed the only choice was to just knock.

Hinata slowly raised her hand towards the surface of the door, knuckles ready to rap at the wood, all the while feeling as if she was about to venture into some wild animal's den. The metaphor amused her; she had always considered Kiba to be a wild animal, free and uncaring and living his life the way he wanted it.

And it wasn't until today, at this moment, as she stared at that door, did she realize how badly she wanted to be a part of that life.

She took a deep breath. She was the one who chased him away. It was her job to make things right.

And she knocked on the door three times, her heart practically jumping out of her throat.

And she waited.

She didn't know how long she stood there, shuffling from one foot to another, but when she finally heard someone moving inside the house, she had to stop herself from fleeing.

She heard him before she saw him. There was no mistaking that Kiba was definitely home. He was complaining loudly as his footsteps got closer and closer from behind that door.

"… stood at my doorstep for ages like a fucking stalker at six in the fucking morning, and now you finally decide to knock, you fucking son-of-a – "

The door burst open so suddenly that Hinata ended up backing away, holding down a gasp that nearly escaped her mouth at the sight of a very, very disheveled Kiba, dark hair standing up in places, face sour and mouth twisted in a very nasty scowl. And he was missing a shirt. He looked like he had just woken up.

For a good three seconds he stared at her with slightly unfocused eyes, leaving Hinata with the impression that he was still too sleepy to register that the girl who had just dumped him because of a memory of a boy had suddenly appeared at his doorstep, looking dirty and travel-worn and missing her shoes.

After a while, it finally kicked in. The realization dawned in on him, and the surprise was evident in his face. And then his mouth opened and he said, "Oh, fuck." He tried to slam the door closed.

Hinata's hand shot out quickly and she pressed the weight of her entire body to keep him from shutting her out. "D-don't! Wait!" she pleaded desperately as she tried her best to keep that door even but an inch or two open. She could see Kiba's broad frame in that open crack, his shoulders slumped, head held down. She swallowed hard, tried to gather the courage to speak. "Hear me out. I beg you."

And it seemed like for a brief moment she had broken through his resolve. The grip he had on the door slackened. Hinata sighed in relief, thinking that he was finally going to let her in. That was why when she finally stepped back, expecting for him to hear her out, she could only yell out in protest when he swiftly tried at slamming the door again.

Hinata jumped forward to stop him, ready to throw her weight against the door once more, and in the process managed to ram her lip against one of the iron bolts that was conveniently jutting out from the old metal strip holding the wood together. She let out a cry, catapulted back, her hands instantly flying to her mouth. She could taste blood. She could smell it, too. It made her nauseated. Luckily, it did the trick. The door almost instantly burst open and a very distraught, shirtless Kiba came barging out.

"Dammit! I'm sorry!" he growled, his hands were gripping her wrists as if to pry her hands away from her mouth. "Let me see. Are you okay?"

And Hinata took this chance to eye him from over her fingers. He had once again gotten a deeper tan, and his hair was a lot longer than when she last saw him. It was now brushing at his shoulders and covering his ears, the tips curling at the base of his neck. It was striking to see his bare chest. She had seen him, many times when they were living together in the Leaf, walk around in her house after a bath with nothing but a pair of loose pants and a towel over his shoulders. She didn't know why seeing him now made her stomach flutter. She was caught off-guard at how beautiful he looked to her, and to think he had just woken up.

His sharp eyes were searching her face once she let him see her wound. He looked very grim at the sight of it, and for a moment Hinata wondered how bad the damage was. She unconsciously ran her tongue over her teeth to check if there were any missing, and she tasted the blood as she did so. There were no missing teeth, no. But now that the rush of seeing Kiba was subsiding, the pain radiating from her lip was starting to get really prominent.

Kiba eyed her up and down, doing a double-take at her dirty feet before looking straight into her eyes. "What on earth are you doing here? You look terrible."

The civility of the question made her heart clench painfully for some unknown reason, and she felt the stinging sensation at the back of her nose, tickling her throat. She held it in. She was not about to cry, not when she finally had him here in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when Kiba suddenly bend over and swooped her into his arms effortlessly.

"I'm… sorry. I was shocked to see you I didn't know what else to do," he muttered, his voice vibrating against his chest.

Hinata leaned her head against his shoulder, and her arms automatically curled around his neck. She buried her nose near his collar bone and inhaled his scent, that familiar smell of pine trees and mint, closed her eyes and allowed him to carry her inside his house. It was when he used his foot to close the door behind them did Hinata finally feel like the tree-day travel was actually worth it. She was very overwhelmed at the sense of peace she felt being held in his arms so gently as if she would shatter at the slightest pressure.

She peeked over his broad shoulders, her lips grazing the smooth skin of his clavicle, her eyes silently taking in the place she knew Kiba had lived in for the better part of his adult days. The house was bigger than how it looked on the outside, walls lined with mahogany for insulation, the ceiling high and dotted with small windows to let the natural light in. The place was hardly furnished with nothing but the bare necessities; a rug made out of some animal's dark hide, an uncomfortable-looking wicker chair, a small table.

There were no pictures on the wall, no sign that Kiba had lived here for a couple of years. But whatever lacked in furnishing made up for tiny mementos that Hinata recognized from home. His Hitai Ate hanging from a peg on the wall, along with a couple of animal skin jackets he's always favored since he was young. On the kitchen sink lined a few clay plates and cups that Hinata knew to be from the store outside the Leaf outskirts. On another small, round table in the corner of the kitchen was a stack of papers. Lots of papers that Hinata saw to be letters from home. She could detect the small straightened out scrolls that were set aside, and she recognized them to be the scarce amount of letters she had sent him before she had fallen into her self-inflicted depression.

Kiba lowered her onto the wicker chair gently. He tried to straighten up to stand but Hinata held on, hugging his neck.

"I'm just going to get a basin of water and a first aid kit. We need to wash off your feet. And your lip is split open," Kiba said, pulling at her forearms to free himself.

Hinata shook her head. "No. Don't go. I… I came all this way. It took me three days to get here. I needed to see you."

Kiba relaxed, dropping down on his knees into a squatting position in front of her. He paused before speaking, as if making sure he would say the right thing. "I don't know what it was that brought you here, but you seem… different. For starters, your… your scent has changed. I didn't even recognize it was you at my door."

Hinata nodded, her face still pressed firmly into the crook of his neck. "Akamaru told me the same thing. It was Akamaru who came to visit me. And he told me."

She heard Kiba growl in displeasure, almost as if the sound of Akamaru's name coming up suddenly was no surprise to him. "What did he tell you?" he asked warily.

"Everything."

Another pause, then, "Everything?"

"Everything." Her embrace tightened around his neck. "I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me you had loved me ever since we were sixteen?"

That had his whole body stiffening entirely, the arms he had around her body going rigid. "So he told you even about that."

"I had the right to know. All this time I had thought that you suddenly offering yourself to me was nothing but baseless pity. That you just wanted me to forget about him. All this time you had feelings for me… And I never even knew. When I asked you to tell me you love me, you said you couldn't do it." She did not want to sound like she was accusing him, although admittedly a part of her was.

Kiba was once again tugging at her arms, and she let him push herself away from him at arms' length, and Hinata took in the weary look he was wearing. She took note of the strain at the corner of his eyes, and for once she thought that he looked anything but cocky. There were no smirks today. No toothy grins. "Would it have mattered, Hinata? If I'd told you that my world started revolving around you by the time we turned sixteen, would you have even looked my way?"

He had her there. She knew that she couldn't really answer that. Sixteen had probably been the peak of her admiration for Naruto, and she knew that she had no right to demand Kiba for confessions about things that happened nearly a decade ago. She met his gaze head-on. "It might have sped up the process…" she said.

Kiba blinked at her, a little confused. "The process?" he asked skeptically.

Hinata licked her lip, tasted blood, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Now was the chance. It was the chance to explain to Kiba what she had managed to make out in her head for the past three days she and Akamaru had been traveling. She took a deep breath, then said, "Moving on, letting go… It wasn't a one-time thing for me, Kiba. It was a process of waking up every single morning to remind myself that that day was like any other day that the world that I lived in did not have the love of my life in it. It was a process of going along with what was a pale imitation of life, knowing that you just had to go on without him while wishing that he was happy with the one he chose. Does that make sense?"

Kiba watched her, those eyes full of understanding, and he nodded. "I know that feeling. It's what I've always felt ever since I found out that if I couldn't have you, then I'd rather spend my sorry-ass life alone than have it with someone else. Don't talk to me about unrequited love, Hinata. I'm as much of a veteran with it as you are"

"I hadn't known until three days ago. But that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?"

The answer to that was simple. She had practiced this for the past three days, over and over and over in her head that she was sure she could say it without stuttering. And so she said, "I'm here because I wanted you to know that the process of letting go ended the moment I realized I would give anything and everything I have if it meant having a chance at loving you. That is, if you still want me."

And Kiba was silent, eyes slightly widening as he kept on staring at her. The arms holding her fell limply to his side, and for a moment Hinata felt fear that he was going to ask her to explain. She hoped to the gods that he wouldn't, because she too didn't know if she could explain it elaborately.

Unfortunately, Kiba did not ask for her to explain things. Instead, he ended up doubting her. He shook his head. "No. Oh, no. You're not doing this to me. Not now. I won't let you."

Hinata furrowed her brow, unsure of what he was saying. "Won't let me what?"

"I won't let you settle for me just because your fucking 'process' is over, dammit," he snapped, and he gestured at her wildly with a hand. "I offered you my heart on a goddamned silver platter, and you chewed it up and spit it out like some fucking – "

"I'm sorry!" she blurted loudly, desperately. "I made a mistake! I wasn't ready enough!"

"What makes you think you're ready now?" he demanded, finally pushing himself up on a standing position, did a full turn with a hand covering his face while hissing loudly. "And what makes you think I can handle more of your emotional torture, Hinata? I left the Leaf because I knew that if I didn't, I would die of heartache. I would just die. I spent majority of my years growing up, longing for you! I accepted the mission to Iwa because it meant having an excuse to get away from you, but in the end, it always ended back to you. Everything was about you!

"But you see, I think it's virtually impossible for me to get my heart ripped out of my chest over and over again when I see you sighing, because I would always end up thinking that you'd be sighing about him. Because I can smell your scent, and I can hear your heartbeat quicken at anything that remotely resembled him. And I die every time that happens. But I don't want to anymore! I thought I did, but I don't! I'm fucking twenty-five years old! I need to move on with my life! And I've decided that moving on without you is the best option here, because I'm tired, and I'm weary, and I just want to forget about you!"

Hinata listened to him, because she knew that she owed him this much. She knew she had hurt him. She deserved the hate, and this speech. This, however, did not mean that she was going to give up on him. Not when she had finally realized how much he meant to her.

"I won't let you! I'm never going to let you forget about me! You promised me! You said that you would make me happy, and I'm going to hold that against you if I have to." She stood up from her wicker chair, taking a step towards him. "Because I finally came this far because of you. Before I came here, I was able to talk to Naruto. It was brief, and awkward, and I nearly lost against myself, but I told him that I had loved him. I had loved him. I just wanted him to know, and me being able to say it out loud may not mean much to you, but it took all that I had to say it, and you don't know how the universe fell into perfect balance after I was able to do that."

Kiba's eyes widened at her as she took another step towards him. "You talked to him? And you were alright?"

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, and she felt tears suddenly threaten her eyes. "I did. And it was the hardest thing to do, but I did it. And I'm here right now telling you that I'm very much fine, but everything would be a lot better if I got the chance to say that I," she took another breath, then said, "That I would love to love you, Inuzuka Kiba. And I did not travel three days with no footwear just for you to tell me that you're ending your 'process'."

It seemed like things were finally sinking in for him, because the hard expression he had on his face softened to a degree, and he was now looking at her with a slight blush on his cheeks. "So you… you're not doing this out of guilt? Or pity? Or – "

Hinata grabbed the band of those loose pants he was wearing and jerked him towards her. He let out a small yelp as she pressed her body flush against his, craning her head just to make sure that she saw his face. "I'm doing this because even though my 'process' took two years to finally end, I've realized that there was absolutely nothing I can complain about when you told me the consequences I would be facing if you made me yours. You said that once you take me, I'll be yours forever. That there wouldn't be a force in nature that you would let come between us. Because I would be bound to you, because Inuzuka mate for life. That even when I grow tired of you, you will never get tired of me. That if I run away from you, you would come after me and bring me back. And even when I hate you, you will always care for me. You said those words to me. And I'm willing to place all my bets on your words. Make me yours, and I'll submit to you forever."

And that was when he finally started to panic. His nostrils flared, probably from the scent Hinata was emitting that was unfamiliar to him. She didn't know if he was liking what his nose was telling him, but it was a very refreshing feeling, seeing him a bit flustered like he was right now. "You don't get it. When I told you those consequences, I meant them as warnings. That once I…" he swallowed hard, nervous, "Once I make love to you, there's no turning back…"

Hinata looked down at her hands holding the band of his pants. She slowly let them creep up his muscled torso, up to his chest, stopping at his shoulders. She could see clearly the small scars that had accumulated over time, smooth at some places, rough at others. Beautiful all the same. "Don't give me a choice to turn back, Kiba. There's nothing to turn back to. Not the past. Nothing. Everything's just right ahead of us. I've realized that Naruto would always be my past, but I have the power to choose my future, and I choose you. So I'm asking you right now, begging you, to please choose me."

And that was when he started to really fumble. It was endearing in a way, because Kiba had always been quite sure with himself, and seeing his hands tremble as he reached up to touch her cheeks made Hinata's courage flare even more.

And so she kissed him. She had to stand on tiptoe even after reaching up to pull his face towards hers. And he responded eagerly. His mouth was hungry against hers, his sharp canines nipping at her bleeding lip, licking it gently, sucking it dry. His hands, unstill, hovered over her shoulders, slowly pushing her thin jacket off and pulling it down her arms. It dropped on the floor in a heap around her feet and she kicked it away.

Kiba pulled back from their kiss, plunging his right hand through her tangled hair while his other hand thickly plucked at the buttons of her dress. "You know that it's the mating season during spring," he breathed against her ear before proceeding to lick at her neck. "If you're going to change your mind, now's your chance. Because once I really get started with you, I'm not holding back, and nothing you would do could stop me."

Hinata rolled her head back as Kiba slowly made his way down her throat. "I… I could wash myself first, I think you would prefer me clean. I have three days' worth of grime and sweat and – ahh!"

"Don't be cruel to me," Kiba growled once again into her ear before taking it into his mouth as he succeeded in gently unbuttoning her dress. "You can't possibly think I would let a bit of dirt stop me from finally having you throw yourself at me and tell me – finally – after nine freaking years, that you're going to look my way and see me as more than just a friend, but as a man."

Hinata's eyes fluttered close as those big, calloused hands slipped into her dress, tugging at it impatiently. After a bit of coaxing, it joined her jacket on the floor. She didn't know what to expect after that, but feeling his bare skin against hers was sending signals into her brain from where they were touching and making places she never knew could be stimulated churn in a very uncomfortable sensation, making her face, her body, her insides hot.

This was going to be her first time. She had imagined it to be scary, and that she would be a nervous wreck. It surprised her to know that she was holding up quite well. So far, she was still very much conscious. She was not hyperventilating, and she was not throwing up all over the place. And in the back of her mind, she didn't know why of all things, the memory of her mother started to nag at her.

It wasn't a strong memory; very few of her mother's were. But she could remember her saying to her. "Hinata, never underestimate a woman in love. They are the scariest creatures in the world. They would rationalize that whatever they do for love is forgivable because it is for love. And because it is forlove, they would always do everything to the extremes."

She had always believed this to be true, because she had seen herself going all the way out to drop everything she had going for her if it meant keeping that love alive for Uzumaki Naruto. She had cut off her friends, her family and built fences around herself to preserve that love that she knew wouldn't amount to anything, but did anyway, however irrational it was, because she thought that it was okay to be irrational, because she was in love and she had a right to be selfish.

She did not know she was capable of thinking this, but now that she looked back at it, as she stood there in the middle of that little house in a foreign land, in the arms of the person who had stood by her side when everyone else had forsaken her, she now realized that her mother had been wrong. Women in love were not the scariest creatures in the world. Kiba had taught her that women who had the wrong perception of love were the ones to actually be feared.

And looking back at everything, as she surrendered her lips to Kiba's once more, his hands ghosting all over her body in places she never had thought would ever be touched by a man, she had been one of the scariest women she had ever known. And for having held onto the twisted perception of the emotion and stepping on hearts and feelings of people around her sounded like a horror story that would haunt her forever, if it hadn't been for the man she had in her arms right now.

Kiba pulled back from their kiss, panting breathlessly as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Oh, god… I can't believe this is happening…"

Hinata, equally as breathless, rubbed the tip of her nose against his. "I'm here… We're here…"

His hands slid down the length of her arm, stopping at the dip of her waist. His fingers tickled her bare skin, and she shuddered slightly. "I'd have imagined our first time to more romantic. Inuzuka make an effort when it comes to finding their mate, and making love for the first time once we find them is kind of a ritual for us. Before I ran off like an idiot, I had everything planned in my head. It would be beautiful. It would be night time, under the stars, on a blanket with rose petals and all that. Wine, maybe. And bread and cheese. That's where I'll take you as mine, and you'll be my mate for as long as we live, and we'll have the heavens as our witness." He blushed suddenly, as if realizing how un-Kiba-like he was starting to sound. "Yeah, I kept on seeing that in my head. Over and over. It was really sexually frustrating. You were always so elusive."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Would you rather we wait, then?"

Kiba scowled at her, and she squealed loudly when she found herself being tackled onto the floor, on the animal hide rug, knocking the wicker chair over and sending it rolling off towards the kitchen. She was flat on her back, Kiba heavy on top of her, his hands planted on either side of her head, his face looming over hers with an expression she had never seen on his face before.

"I've waited for you," he said huskily. "I couldn't find anyone else, and I couldn't settle for another woman, because I knew I could never love anyone as much as I love you. And I know that you may not feel the same degree for me, but I promise you, I will be a good mate to you. I have money, and property, and it might not be much, but they're yours."

Hinata didn't know what it was that made her heart clench painfully as she looked up into that serious face of his. She reached out to touch his cheek. "All I need is you with me, just like this, just like how it's always been. People came and went, and you were there, and you may not believe it, because it took me quite a while to realize it too, but I might have been in love with you for a time now. I just didn't notice it because I was so set in looking at… something else…"

The serious expression melted from his face, turning into another different expression that could have bordered to… relief? It could possibly be that. His shoulders trembled and he lowered himself to her, once again claiming her mouth into a deep, passionate kiss before pulling back slightly again. "God… I'm shaking like crazy."

Hinata understood what he was feeling. "This isn't the most romantic of places. I know you had it all planned out, but we've waited this long, and we have the future ahead of us. We can make love under the stars of our own village once we get home. Right now, all I'm afraid of is having you run off on me again. This actually works both ways. Once you make me yours, you will also be mine. And just knowing that I can call you my own does wonders to my heart." She gingerly touched the side of his face again, slipping it behind the back of his head, pulling him closer. "Make love to me. Make me yours. And let's be together forever."

There was another rumbling grown from Kiba before he ever so slowly bent down to kiss her again. And this time, it was a familiar kiss. It reminded Hinata of that time in the lake, behind Training Ground Twenty Three. It was the first time their lips had ever touched, their first kiss. It was forceful, yet ironically gentle, tongue slipping into her mouth and exploring curiously while his hands did a bit of exploring of their own.

If people were to ask Hinata to describe how making love for the first time felt, she probably wouldn't have been able to put justice to the act. It was a mixture of pain and pleasure, of fear of the unknown and untried and untested, of excitement of the unknown and untried and untested. Of confusion, and curiosity, and adorable clumsiness on both parties.

Kiba was, as expected gentle with her, making sure to pleasure her with his hands and his tongue, surprisingly skilled for someone who was new to the experience. But she supposed love-making came naturally for human beings. She couldn't really explain it. It all happened in a blur of cold hands on warm bodies, of lips tracing fiery kisses on sweaty skin. Of legs and hips moving in perfect rhythm. Of experiencing an out-of-this-world sensation that felt like this tight knot in her lower abdomen coming undone and having a nerve-wracking sensation wash over her, making her moan in the way that even embarrassed her. And of seeing Kiba, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, almost deliriously, as he finished and crumpling into a heap on top of her.

And it took both of them a while to come back to reality, and the reality was that they had made love for the first time, on a rug on the floor of a barely furnished house in a foreign land, and she had become his, and he had become hers, and nothing – absolutely nothing – felt even more right that this. And as he took her into his arms, Hinata caught sight of what could have been tears in his eyes, and she realized that she, too, was close to crying, and she buried her face into his chest, thinking that nothing could have been more perfect than this.

She had read about love-making many times. It had been the subject of many stories in history. Some were depicted to be passionate, some wild, some bittersweet.

But today, it was something simple, something she would probably describe, if someone were bold enough to ask her, "Hinata, how was your first time?" And she would say, "It was meant to be."

~Fin~

A/N: Oh, wow. It's done. My first ever KibaHina fic is finally finished! You don't know how fun it was to write about these two. Their possibility had always intrigued me, and I was honored to have such a supporting audience. Thank you so much for the reviews and the faves. I wouldn't have been able to manage to finish this if it weren't for your positive response to it. One of these days I might consider writing an epilogue for this story, but that would depend if I have the inspiration. So keep your eyes peeled for that.

Anyway, it's been a fun, fun ride! I'm glad that you stuck to me all the way. So cheers to all you KibaHina fans out there! There might be but a few of you, but know that I am one of you, and this story is a proof of that.

Until next time!

~Yuugiri~