That same night Naruto & Sasuke cleaned up their messes & snuggled in bed in their usual position. Naruto had both hands behind his head and Sasuke had both arms wrapped around his mid-back.
"We have to talk about it." Sasuke broke the still silence between them and Naruto continued staring up at the ceiling which made Sasuke look up at him. "Naruto..."
He knew how serious this was because he never gets called by his 1st name but what could he say? How could he respond??
"You could've died." Sasuke's tears strolled down his face, the thought of Naruto not being in his life permanently frightened him.
"I know..." He understood why it hurt him so badly but in all honesty, he felt that was all he could turn to since he didn't have Hina.
"Why do you make it sound so casual?" His voice broke and his breath grew shaky before he sniffled. "Heroin? Naruto, you're better than that." The blond began silently crying as well because that wasn't true...
If it was, then why'd he jeopardize his relationship with Hinata? Why couldn't he allow himself to have something good?
"Sasuke, I promise I'll never do that shit again. I swear." That small answer and sweeping it under the rug wasn't gonna work this time. "That's not enough for me."
He sighed heavily at that. "What do you want me to say, Sasuke?" The raven sat up and looked at him. "Naruto..."
The blond did the same by also sitting up & looking deeply into his eyes. "You want the truth?" Sasuke's breathing slowed down and his chest mimicked that action as he patiently waited for his answer.
"I'm still in love with Hinata, I wanna get back with her, and I still love her." Sasuke's heart instantly dropped, his lips pouted, and the tears poured down his cheeks.
Naruto stood from the bed and pursed his mouth with both hands on his hips before pinching his nose and shaking his head from side to side. "Look, I'm sorry Sasuke. I really am but my heart will always belong to her." He stretched his arms out and blinked a couple of times before continuing. "I'm always gonna love her, that's just how it is."
Sasuke couldn't even look at him, he was too busy crying with his head buried in his hands as his shoulders bobbed up & down.
But soon he stood and faced him. "Just answer me this." Naruto waited and listened for his question. "If she would've never left, would you have dealt with me at all?" Naruto answered him honestly. "No, but let's not forget I was hurting during that time too."
He took a deep breath. "So you used me? I'm just some toy for you to play with until you think you can get back with her?"
Naruto grunted into his hands before answering him. "Sasuke how many times do I have to explain to you that you're my fucking best friend? You're like a brother to me!" This time it wasn't any yelling or aggression it was just seriousness and honesty. "I don't wanna be your best friend!"
He raised his voice a bit. "I wanna be your boyfriend!" He whined out like a child and Naruto placed both hands on his head before shrieking out to him. "But you're not!"
Sasuke sadly sighed and his lips parted slightly as he stared at him. "Sasuke, we were never gonna be boyfriends, we do better as best friends... that occasionally fuck." The raven swallowed the small lump in his throat and asked another question.
"So if she wasn't here, we'd have a chance to be together? No hiding or no secrets?" Naruto gave him another honest answer. "Maybe." It wasn't a straight-out yes but it also wasn't a big no either, which meant they still had a chance to live out his dream.
-
"Sasuke-" Ino stopped her tracks in the doorway of his room when she saw him and his best friend in their boxers. Her light blue eyes observed the tangled sheets of his bed and then back to those 2 and she instantly threw out an insult at them. "So where's the whore you both just ran a train on?" Naruto ran a hand down his face and put on 1 of his sweats & shirts that hung in the closet. "I'm the 1 who just fucked him."
He spat at her before grabbing his phone and walking out of the room to leave the apartment. Ino scoffed at him and furrowed her brows as she turned to look at him with a glare on her face. "Wow, the lengths he'll go through just to protect you..." She crossed her arms and gawked at Sasuke.
"What are you doing here?" He asked and she responded. "I'm here to return your key." He knitted his brows as she removed his key from her keychain. "What?" Ino repeated herself. "Sasuke, you're toxic." She placed the key in his right hand & inhaled deeply before continuing her reasoning of her newfound decision.
"I'm not gonna be the woman you only come to when you need some sex." He'd never thought out of all people she'd be the 1 to hurt him. "I'm about to be 25 and I no longer wanna go through these toxic cycles with you." After some months of deep thinking, she realized that any man or person for that matter, that really loved someone wouldn't continue to hurt them.
The blondie wiped some tears away. "Everybody's gotta move on at some point and this is exactly what I'm doing." He didn't know why that particular part of the speech tugged at his heart but... it was the worst feeling ever. "Goodbye, Sasuke." She turned around and exited his apartment.
Sasuke dropped the key and sat on the bed. He thought he'd be happy with her out of the picture but he wasn't, because without her then he practically has nobody.
xxx
The month was finally April. Flowers started to bloom, the sun began shining brighter, the leaves on the tree finally grew to a vibrant green and the outside got warmer.
Hinata thought it was the perfect time to paint outside on campus. She took some culinary classes in Paris and also took classes in herbalism and plant science.
Those professors thought it would've been easier to start anew at the beginning of May. So for the time being she could create some new art, organize her website, and regroup & refocus on her goals for the year.
-
"Wow, you look so different." She looked up to see who it was & when she saw who it was her face went blank. "Don't remember me? Has it been that long?" Hinata sat the paintbrush down & forced herself to speak.
"Hi..." Kakashi slowly sat down and she gave him a weird look. "I know that look but can I explain myself?" He was more respectful than she remembered, does 1 year away from someone miraculously stop people from being assholes? Because she didn't notice this side of him but then again he was only her professor.
"Sure... I guess." He gave her a tender gaze and began explaining himself. "I was wrong to fail you on certain assignments and... I had no right threatening you." Hinata agreed with him on something for once. "Damn straight." He smirked at her smart mouth and even slightly blushed at it. Kakashi certainly missed her pretty face.
"I know it's inappropriate for a professor to sexually want their students but I was attracted to you." Hinata snapped her head at him and got a little stiff from the sudden confession. "You are attractive, Hyuga." She corrected him. "That's not my last name."
He threw his hands up in defense. "Sorry." She relaxed a bit and spoke again. "This doesn't change anything. Besides, I'm glad I dropped your class. It brought me bigger and better things." She didn't want to sound harsh but it was the truth, and if she had stayed then she would've been stagnated & unhappy.
"And I'm also jealous." He admitted to her. "Your professors get to see you all the time and I don't." His eyes kept trailing down to the fitted blue t-shirt she wore that snugged her upper body to the gods.
But he averted them back to her quickly. "But I am sorry for everything, Hina, really I am." She appreciated the apology but since healing, she didn't need much from him. "And I forgive you, it's no hard feelings, Mr. Hatake." He then corrected her. "Kakashi." He took her hands into his and softly traced the top of them. "It's Kakashi now, I'm not your professor anymore." He smoothly said to her.
She didn't feel any discomfort so she gazed into his eyes and repeated herself. "Kakashi, I forgive you." A genuine smile made its way to his face and then he kissed both of her hands. "Thank you, Hina."
Once everything was settled they both chatted for a few more minutes & then he left again. He had to, Hinata has gotten better looking from last year and he was too turned on to continue conversing with her.
-
A certain pair of eyes watched the whole thing & thought it was a weird exchange for the 2 of them to be all buddy, buddy. But they'd keep it quiet and continue to watch their target before they executed their plan.
xxx
"So what have you been doing with yourself now that you're not in college anymore." The air was thick between Minato and Naruto when he finally decided to speak.
"Do you always have to bring that up?" Naruto spoke low and Minato took a sip of his cognac as he looked at his son with disappointment.
"As a matter of fact, I do." He finished his drink and sat the glass down. "What the fuck are you doing with your life, boy?" Naruto was slouched in his seat. "Sit up! We're in a restaurant." Minato scanned around the place before placing his eyes back on Naruto.
"You can't speak to me like that, I'm not a child anymore." Minato clenched his fist and replied to him. "Then stop acting like it!" Naruto didn't say anything as he leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his Hennessy.
Minato sighed and slightly shook his head. "Still can't believe you're dating that girl. She's just a young girl and for god's sake, she's Hinata's baby sister."
Naruto opened his mouth and closed it before opening it again & speaking. "Dad, I know I fucked up but I'm getting things back on track. My life is gonna get better."
The good-looking mature blond couldn't help but snicker at him. "That's bullshit son." His son always had a knick to fuck things up. "I had a lovely conversation with her about a month ago and it's safe to say-"
Naruto's eyes lit up and his heart skipped a beat. "You did?" He interrupted his father.
"Did she mention me?" This was the 1st time Minato saw him look interested in anything and he didn't like it. Hinata wasn't his source of happiness but everybody else seemed to know except him.
"Hinata is over you, son." Just like that, Naruto got irritated and the bitterness showed on his face. "I'm sick of everyone telling me this." Minato gave him a grave look. "You need help. Get into rehab, get a therapist, a psychiatrist, move away, and start again."
Naruto bit his bottom lip and popped up from his seat. "Thanks for visiting me dad, you can leave." He then walked away from him & left.
-
Minato knows for a fact now that he failed Naruto as a father. Maybe if he had taken his behavior more seriously back then, there would've been a good chance that he didn't turn out this way.
He should've spent more time listening to his wife and less time ignoring & disrespecting her. But as a man, he thought he had all the answers, especially as a father. He called for the waiter and asked for another drink as he began reflecting on the past with his family.
Minato was guilty of enabling his son and bailing him out of fucked up situations whenever he got in serious trouble, but it could never be too late to change someone, right?
A person couldn't be permanently damaged, could they? He owed it to his son to give him another chance at life, a clean slate.
xxx
"No offense, Tony." Gaara snorted a line. "But I don't trust her ass, I just know she's plotting on breaking me and my baby up."
Toneri gave him an annoying look. "Maybe she's over her too." When Gaara began jeering, Toneri batted an eye at him. "What's so funny?" He questioned him. "If it wasn't for Naruto then I would've been convinced that she was into Tenny more than a bestie."
"And how'd you figure that?" Gaara cocked his head forward because he thought the answer was obvious, how could he not see it? "Females don't do all that mushy, mushy shit unless they're into each other." His tone turned hateful as he remembered how that bitch acted. "All that worrying, advice, and being close shit is nothing but an act."
Toneri shrugged. "Well, I'm over her now. If I were to see her again I'm gonna look the other way." He was serious this time too! He warned her so many times about how Spike operated but she didn't fucking listen!
And look at how the situation turned out. That prick was dating her baby sister, he humiliated her while she was down, & he went on with his life as if nothing ever happened like the true bum that he is.
But he didn't give a single fuck, none of that was his mess to clean.
xxx
The time actually came when Toneri saw Hinata again & he was fucking speechless.
His heart hammered in his chest as his eyes hungrily feasted upon her.
Seeing that she finally dared to go through and cut her hair looked better than he expected. The hairdo just accentuated her fine features and seeing that she still had her cute bangs gave his body more heat than it needed.
He's already repeated to himself how he was over her and he didn't care about her anymore but the moment he saw her again, he knew that was all a croc of shit and maybe now with Naruto out of the picture they could have a real shot at being together again.
Toneri tilted his head to get a better look at her physique. The simplest clothes on her made his dick the hardest without even trying. She had on red low-rise jeans that hugged her slim waist, a thin red denim jacket with a black t-shirt that hugged the upper half of her body, and a pair of black crocs.
To say she looked good was a total understatement.
All of her groceries were getting bagged when he mustered up the courage to go talk to her. His feet slowly moved toward her and his heart sped by the second. Everything around him seemed to slow down and there was a personal spotlight that shined directly on her.
The huge lump in his throat was swallowed and then he called out her name. "Hinata." She turned her head, deciphering who it was and when she looked up at him beneath her bangs, she stared at him for a minute. She wasn't sure what to say, so she made the best decision for her and didn't say anything at all.
Hinata looked away from him and paid for her things at the cash register & he was about to say something else but she hurriedly walked away with the grocery cart and didn't bother looking back which crushed him like no other.
Sure, they ended things on a pretty bad note with him disrespecting her & calling her some nasty names but he thought a year away from each other that they would eventually get through it. Toneri wasn't a damn fool, no matter how many times he said he was over her, it was all a big fucking lie!
Hinata is always gonna be the center of his world, no fuck that, the center of his universe. He was never able to remove her from his heart and seeing her now just made things worse for him. How could one get another to see things their way? He just needed to show her how much he's changed and how they can have a long-lasting relationship.
Or he'd have to go the dirty route and fuck up all of her relations with other guys until she sees that he's the only option left. Not that he doesn't wanna do it & hurt her but if that's the only way to get her to love him, then so be it.
xxx
*SMALL FLASHBACK*
"Ocean Eyes, why do you always have to do that?" She rolled her eyes at his childish attempt. "Do what?" His arms were firmly wrapped around her waist as they both sat on a picnic blanket, watching the calm water flow across the river. "You know what." She said frowning. His hands slowly crept to her sides. "This?" He began tickling her, making her laugh brightly. "Stoppp!" She cried.
He granted her wish by stopping and kissing her cheek a bunch of times. "You have the best laughs in the world." He squeezed her tightly and inhaled her scent deeply by burying his face in her neck. "I love everything about you." Hinata deeply blushed and melted into his chest. "You're just saying that."
Naruto stuck his head up, gently cupped her chin, and slowly turned her face to his, now locking eyes with hers. "Hinata, I mean every word that I say. You make me the happiest man on this earth." She could feel the waterworks coming on. "I want this forever. We've already been apart and I'm not letting that happen again. I promise I won't fuck up."
*END SMALL FLASHBACK*
xxx
Naruto sat on the hood of his car, in the park's parking lot thinking about how he indeed fucked up with her. He just needed one last chance to make shit right. "God just give me a sign." He only prayed when he was a kid but he was desperate & he was actually shocked when the sign was delivered. There she was!
This was the 1st time he's seen her in 3 months! She was running on the trail, wearing purple activewear. The seamless crop tank showing her mid stomach took his breath away and the seamless leggings with her cute white socks covering the bottom of them, along with her cute sneakers made his heart skip a beat. His baby is the hottest woman to ever exist on the planet, hands down.
He quickly hopped off the hood of his car and swung open the driver seat, popped the trunk open, kicked off his slides, and shoved down his sweats. Then he quickly put on a pair of shorts, chugged off his sweater, put on a t-shirt, and hurriedly put on some black Nikes.
Then he slammed the trunk shut once everything was on and then he rushed back to his driver seat, grabbed the unopened water bottle, unscrewed the lid & quickly splashed some water on his face and chest, shoved his keys in his pocket after locking his car and then he caught up with her, & began running behind her. Oh, today was the fucking day!
xxx
An: Apologies to the late update 😭 I wanna start updating every Sunday or every other Sunday, to have a set schedule ❤️🩹 I'm still getting things in order, so pls don't dawg me out too much lol 🥺