Chapter 41

Hey guys! I am back from my short-term hiatus! 

If I'm being honest, I didn't get much relaxation in, but I said I'd be back by the end of October, and that time has arrived! 

Thank you for the reassuring words and encouragement. As someone who's suffered from a pretty severe anxiety/panic disorder for years, it means a lot to have support, even if it is from strangers on the internet! 

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

~

Many days passed. Hidan healed more quickly than Hinata, but that doesn't mean the Hyuuga woman was unimpressive. To be honest, the pair didn't talk or do much because recuperation made them exhausted. With that, the pain medication, and the stress of not quite knowing how to act around her boyfriend, Hinata slept over twelve hours a day for almost two entire weeks. After that, she was well enough to move around outside of bed, so she returned to helping around the house with chores and cooking. 

"So…." 

Hinata's face warmed the moment she heard Konan's insinuating tone, steeling her gaze down onto the dishes she was washing, "So?" 

"So, what's with you and Hidan? You said you two are back together, but you've barely spoken!" Konan grabbed a dish towel and began drying the clean plates waiting on the drying rack, not bothering to mask her nosiness.

'I mean, she's right,' the Hyuuga mused. 

"I-I guess I feel a little awkward. I don't know how I should act since it's been so long…." 

The blue-haired woman scoffed, both women glancing at the kitchen entrance to verify they were alone before finally meeting one another's gaze, "I know you're nervous, but we both know he's not going to make the first move this time around." 

'Again, she's right. He may have agreed to get back together, but he's still angry with himself over what happened. There's no way he'll break the ice, so it's up to me.' That's why they haven't even slept in the same bed yet. Hinata doesn't know what to do. 'What if I move too fast, and it puts him off? In the past, this wouldn't be a concern, but things aren't the same as they used to be. They're more serious.' 

"What would you do? I need advice." 

Konan smirked, "You're overthinking things, Hina. Just treat him how a girl would her boyfriend. Before you know it, you'll be good as new." 

Hinata nodded slowly, blushing, "Okay. I think I'll do it today, then." 

Her friend's smirk tugged into a grin, "That-a-girl! I have so much to tell you about Yahiko, but I swore to myself not to give you the juicy details until you man up and face Hidan." 

"I-I don't want to-" "Yes, you do. Don't pretend otherwise. All women, and even most men, want to hear gossip, us included." 

So, after dinner, Hinata returned to her room, showered, and changed into pajamas. Then around eleven at night, she paced back and forth in her room, trying to convince herself to go over to her boyfriend's room, 'It's not like I'm going in there to have sex with him. Step one, in my opinion, is sleeping in the same bed.' 

The woman's hands trembled, heart raced, and chest tightened as the panic steadily rose. Being surrounded by loved ones has definitely helped with anxiety, but it still gets bad sometimes when she's alone or has time to let her mind wander. She recalled the times in the past when the disorder became debilitating, and then her eyes darted to the closed door of her bedroom. 

'Anytime Hidan noticed, he knew just what to do to help,' she approached the door, placing a hand on the knob, 'Even when I was sure he'd tease or judge me, he never did.' 

That's right. Hidan's consistently proved himself reliable, even if his manner of comfort is rarely the mainstream choice.

With that thought in mind, the teary-eyed Hyuuga exited the room, walked down the hall, and hesitated only momentarily before entering his bedroom. It was dark, being late at night, so it was difficult to see, but not so much that she couldn't maneuver her way around. 

Hidan appeared asleep. His eyes were closed, face and body relaxed as he lay on his back with one hand beneath the pillow under his head. 

The familiar sight was the catalyst to Hinata's loss of composure, and tears slid prettily down her cheeks. Sniffling, she carefully slid under the covers to lay on her side, back turned to the man because she was worried she'd wake him. She also didn't want to force him into cuddling when he wasn't awake. It wouldn't be fair. 

That being said, her breath hitched when a strong arm slid over her waist, warmth meeting her back as the apparently awake man lay behind her. As though no time had passed where they were apart, Hidan wrapped one arm under her while she grabbed the other and brought it to her mouth, kissing its palm with closed eyes. Then, the room became still and silent of anything but Hinata's slowing sniffles. 

'I knew it. Calming down's much easier with him around.' Something about his warmth, his touch, was comforting to her. No matter how distressed the woman becomes, she knows he'll bring her back. 

Once the tears stopped and her breath was even, the woman still hesitated to fall asleep despite being exhausted because the nightmares had never left. 

Now that things were calming within her relationship, Hinata's mind began to wander to the torture she'd endured at the hand of Hidan's father. Almost all of her nightmares featured him. 

"Does it still hurt?" 

The hand Hinata wasn't holding to her lips ran down her side to slip beneath her shirt and feel her skin. Someone else might've taken the act as sexual, but she knew better. As "manly" and "unbothered" as Hidan tries to come off, he loves physical and verbal affection. 

'I bet he's missed this just as much as me.' 

He was obviously referring to her bullet wound. A hum of denial left her chest, "Only the muscles, a little bit. Yours?" 

The room became quiet. Hidan's calloused fingers brushed over her abdominals in a self-comforting way as though he was attempting to make himself say something hard. Ultimately, he ignored her question, instead pressing his palm more firmly to her stomach and pulling her closer against him, grumbling sleepily, "You're thin." 

A smile tugged at Hinata's lips as she kissed his palm again, sighing softly as her body relaxed and fell asleep. 

For the first time since being enrolled at that horrible excuse for a school in January, the Hyuuga woman didn't dream. She just rested peacefully. In the morning, she woke feeling refreshed but didn't move a muscle because it'd be a sin to ruin the comfortable aura. Hidan's arm was under her neck, and her hand grasped his near her face, their fingers loosely intertwined. He'd naturally moved away while asleep but was still close enough that Hinata could feel his body heat. 

Her bladder ruined things. Pouting to herself, she carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed into the ensuite to relieve it. While washing her hands, her gaze drifted to the large bathtub. 'I remember showering with him the morning after we slept together for the first time.' The memory brought tears to her eyes and warmth to her chest. 

Feeling a sudden urge to cuddle the man in question, she returned, only to see he'd woken. With one arm behind his head, he looked at his phone with the other, glancing at her with a frown. 

'Still so grumpy in the mornings.' 

Fondness overruled Hinata's bashfulness, and she climbed onto the bed under the covers. Hidan reacted smoothly when she straddled his hips and laid down to cuddle his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and returned to whatever he was doing on the phone. 

Hinata's head rested on his shoulder, her nose brushing his jaw as she snuggled closer, speaking softly, "Is it alright if I sleep in here from now on?" 

"Stupid fuckin' question." 

An amused breath left her. He hasn't really changed. That's a relief. 

Downstairs half an hour later, Deidara waggled his brows at her when Hidan pulled her into the dining room with a loose hold on her wrist. 

"Sit," the silver-haired man spoke quietly, still not fully awake. 

Hinata did, failing to stifle a happy little grin when Sasori smirked at her over his mug of coffee. Neither of the men said a word, but they didn't have to. She knew what they were thinking. Blushing heavily, the shy woman covered the lower half of her face with both hands and squeezed her eyes closed, "S-Stop it!" 

Yahiko and Konan entered before the duo could respond, the former falling into the seat across from the Hyuuga and next to Sasori with a sleepy frown. 

"Everyone be here at six this evening. We need to have a meeting," the Akatsuki leader spoke formally while walking toward the kitchen. 

'I wonder what that's about….' 

Hinata perked up a bit when she saw Hidan coming toward the table, only to suck in a shocked breath when Deidara asked, "You wore the underwear we picked out, didn't you? That's why you guys are normal again."

A mug of coffee was placed in front of her, Hidan sitting with a hateful glare, "What the fuck did you just say?" It was obvious he'd heard clearly what the blonde said. 

Deidara grinned mischievously, "We all went shopping together, didn't we, Hina?" 

Hidan's hard gaze turned onto the uncomfortable woman, whose face paled. 

She stammered, "W-Well, um, yes. I suppose that's true." 

Konan suddenly sat straight, having been falling asleep with her arms folded on the table and head resting on them, "Don't blame her, you bully. She needed new clothes, and we peer-pressured her." 

Sasori chimed in with his usual monotone voice, "You should be thanking us. Now she can wear sexy things for you." 

Hidan bit, fully awake at this point, "If one of you fuckers so much as laid a finger on her, I'll castrate you." 

Hinata should've been concerned for her two friends, but instead, she blushed, feeling a little touched that he still got mad for her sake like he used to. 

"And you stop looking so damn pleased with yourself. Pissing me off." 

The Hyuuga girl shook her head, sipping the coffee without meeting his gaze. This wasn't a conversation she was comfortable having in front of others. 'Maybe if I actually wear the set they're talking about, he'll let it go,' she thought amusedly, trying to imagine his reaction.