Hyuuga Hinata had always wondered something in secret. She never asked him aloud, well, because, it couldn't have been possible, right? Inuzuka Kiba? Sick? No. Way. Not on this earth. But every time he embraced her she dreaded it when he let go, because he felt so warm. It felt so good to be embraced by him that when he let go it felt like a hole had been punctured in her stomach.

She never understood why. In fact, there were many things she didn't understand about him. He was a total jerk to everyone around him, even she could see that; but not to her. He was kind and gentle around her, only saying sweet things and looking out for her. There were the occasional teasing, but she knew he meant no harm.

Another thing she didn't understand was why only her? Whenever he greeted her he would smile at her warmly and wrap his arms around her for a small and quick embrace. He never greeted Ino or Sakura or Tenten like that. It made her feel a little special.

But the heat he gave off bothered her. She felt his forehead one day, and it only led to one awkward conversation to another. "Why are you feeling my forehead?" he asked her. She blushed, and believing he couldn't have been sick, pulled her hand away quickly. "Y-you just...l-look a-a little t-tired. I-I was j-just making sure…you were o-okay. Th-that's all."

Yeah, that was an awkward moment. Never in all her life had she been so embarrassed around him. Usually it was so easy to just be herself; she even grew out of the stuttering habit a little while after Team Kurenai was formed. She was completely comfortable around him.

Now it's three years later, the two of them have gotten older, and she would never say this out loud, or probably never admit it to herself or anyone else, but he was HOT. Now, Hinata would have never noticed this if Ino hadn't gladly pointed it out one day and it was totally by accident.

It was after Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto got back from a mission. Kiba had gotten injured, mainly because of Naruto's terrible timing and aim, and Ino was persistent on making Hinata go visit him in the hospital, which she was already going to do anyway. The two girls arrived a little earlier than they anticipated and walked in when Tsunade was still bandaging the dog-nin's bare stitched chest.

Hinata must have done the perfect impersonation of a squirrel. She squealed audibly in embarrassment and bolted out of the room the second Kiba noticed her, blushing madly. Ino went after her and she finally caught up to her Hinata noticed her cheeks were also a light pink color. "Did you see that!" Ino chirped. "Man, he is hot!"

Hinata felt blood dripping from her nose.

Ever since that incident she felt awkward around him. Whenever he hugged her she wanted so much for him to let go, but at the same time she wanted to stay there. His warmth made her feel like a Popsicle and she distinctly remembered him saying something about dogs being better than a bed heater.

Akamaru usually slept with him, so I guess she'd have to believe him on that statement.

Hinata suddenly stopped. She had just remembered something. It was ten o'clock at night and was standing on the porch, freezing, of the Inuzuka residence.

How long had she been standing there? She heard footsteps coming from behind her, and one of them didn't sound human. They sounded like animal paws, dogs to be specific.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?"

The Hyuuga heiress froze and her hear began to beat twice as fast. She suppressed her blushing as best she could and turned to her warm-blooded teammate. "Oh, K-Kiba-kun… I-I w-was just l-leaving." She said. Akamaru barked happily and ran over to the shy girl, nuzzling her hand affectionately.

"Keep it down, Akamaru. You're gonna wake the hole village." Kiba teased his large companion. Hinata giggled at the exaggeration. She scratched Akamaru behind the ears, because she knew he loved that. "Anyway, you're gonna catch your death out here." Kiba said. "You wanna come inside?"

Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. "Until the color comes back to your face, I mean." Kiba added. "You're looking a little pale. Are you sick?"

She hadn't even noticed. She felt her face and she was completely chilled to the bone. Kiba walked towards her and opened the door, leading her inside. "Come on in, it's much warmer in here."

It was dark inside until Kiba shut the door behind them and flicked the light switch. He was right though, it was much warmer inside. Hinata had been inside Kiba's house before; but never alone. Usually Shino was with them, or even Kiba's sister, Hana. Of course Akamaru was with them, but it still felt weird being in a guy's house alone, especially if that guy is someone you appear to be attracted to.

Realizing her thoughts, Hinata quickly shook her head; but that didn't stop her blushing. "So why'd you come here so late? I mean, it's almost eleven." Kiba said suddenly. It was startling. Hinata hadn't even realized he went upstairs and he was now walking back down them with a blanket in hand. Akamaru was nowhere in sight; he must've stayed in Kiba's room.

Kiba handed her the blanket. "Here, use it when you go back home, okay? It'll be much warmer than that thin jacket you're wearing." He insisted. Hinata stared at him for a moment, her blushing getting the best of her again. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked.

She shook her head and accepted the blanket from him. "Th-thank you." She said.

"So what are you doing here?" Kiba asked again going toward the couch. Crap. Hinata hadn't thought of an excuse yet. She didn't know why she was in front of his house in the middle of the night; but she had to think of something fast. After a moment or two of thinking it finally came to her.

"I couldn't sleep." She said quickly. "And we've worked together for many years, and I knew you wouldn't be asleep yet."

Kiba laughed. "Well, look who's got me pegged. You're right, though. According to my sister my idea of going to bed early is like three thirty in the morning."

The two laughed for a moment, and then the awkward silence began filling the air again. Hinata couldn't stand it. She didn't want to be there, but at the same time she didn't want to leave. It felt like butterflies were filling her stomach, making her feel this way.

"You wanna watch TV or something?" the dog-nin suggested awkwardly. There was a pink tint in his cheeks, so Hinata could tell this was just as awkward for him as it was for her. She knew that if she just stood there he'd get suspicious and in her face again, making her blush even harder. "Th-that would be nice." She said managing a small smile.

She walked over and sat beside him, making sure there was still some space between them. "What do you want to watch?" Kiba asked her.

"I-I don't usually watch TV this late." Hinata stated a little shyly. "I don't know what's on."

"Mostly movies." Kiba stated.

"Oh? What kind of movies?"

"All kinds. Horror, comedy, suspense, drama, chick flicks—"

Before she could even think about what she was going to say, this came out of her mouth: "What horror movies are on?" She wanted to slap herself. She sounded like Ino. She remembered one time Ino told her about how she managed to get Shikamaru to go see a horror film with her, just so she could be close to him. REAL close.

Kiba gave her a funny look. "I thought you didn't like scary movies?" he asked.

"What made you think that?" Hinata cursed herself, nearly covering her mouth to prevent her from saying anything. Kiba stared at her, wide eyed with surprise. "Um, 'cause the last time you and I watched a scary movie you didn't come out from behind the couch until the movie ended."

She remembered that. They watched 'The Evil Dead' and she couldn't eat or sleep for a week. She didn't understand how Kiba could just sit there and laugh while the zombie's tried to kill that one survivor guy. It was sick. She hated that movie.

"I just… I want to try it again." Hinata stated. "I want to see if I can sit through a scary movie without being scared." She impressed herself with her boldness and bravery but she continued to curse at herself for her stupidity. Now she was never going to get to sleep.

Kiba still continued to look at her funny. "Um, okay, if you want. If you get scared just let me know and I'll turn it off, 'kay?" he told her in a kind, concerned tone he usually used with her. Hinata smiled warmly and nodded.

"So what are we watching?"

"Um…I think the new 'Halloween' movie is on."

Hinata's hear stopped and her eyes widened. She heard many rumors about the new 'Halloween' movie. She heard about the originals from Neji, and the new one was supposed to be twice as bloody, twice as scary, and over ten times the gore. She swallowed her sanity audibly.

Kiba turned on the TV to the opening credits of the movie. Hinata sitting there like a rock was enough to get his attention. "Want me to find something else to watch? I mean, it's not I'm making you sit down through this. If you don't want to—"

"N-no, it's okay." Hinata said quickly, cursing at herself again mentally. "I'm trying to challenge myself."

He looked unsure, but Kiba had always urged Hinata to challenge herself more. Now he was wishing he could just keep his mouth shut.

About 45 minutes into the movie Hinata was already trembling in fear. Her eyes were wide open like they had been since the beginning of the movie, refusing to look away. It had begun raining outside, thundering and lightning violently. She suggested to Kiba to turn out the lights to give it the full horror affect, and boy was she regretting it.

Screams of terror rattled in Hinata's brain. She looked over and Kiba was just sitting there, staring mindlessly into the TV. Wasn't he scared? Even a little? She heard the sounds of bones cracking and blood spilling, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She looked over at the TV screen and screamed, "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

Within a split second the TV screen went blank and warmth began to flood over Hinata's cold shivering body. When she opened her burning eyes, Kiba's arms were wrapped around her tightly with his head resting gently over hers. "Sorry." He whispered to her. "That's must've been too much for you."

There was that feeling again, the feeling of not wanting him to let go. He was so warm, and due to the situation, she felt safe in his embrace. She wanted so much to wrap her own arms around his waist, which was so close in her reach; but she knew this was something he usually did, whether it was to say hello or it was protecting her from whatever it was that was frightening her.

It wasn't because he liked her or anything…right?

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked not showing any sign of letting go. Unable to answer, Hinata looked up at him and decided to answer his question with another question, er, questions. "Why are you so warm?" she asked shyly. The brunette raised an eyebrow not really understanding the question. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

"I thought it was because you were running a fever the first time." Hinata admitted not answering his questions. "You started hugging me," it was hard to look him in the eye, "and you always feel so warm. Why is that?"

Kiba wasn't sure what she meant. He hadn't noticed his body heat, and then again how could he? Naruto even said it before; he wasn't very good at noticing anything. "I don't know. Guess it's a dog thing?"

"Then why do you hug me?" Hinata continued bombarding with questions. "It's every day, and you never greet the other girls like that. Why me?"

Like he didn't know it at all, Kiba noticed his arms were still wrapped around her, holding her as close to him as he could. His cheeks turned red. He looked away from her and released her. "I don't know." He said simply.

There was more silence between the two when Kiba noticed pressure on his chest. His eyes widened and he looked down at the Hyuuga heiress laying on him. "Um, what do you think you're doing?" he asked her.

"Dogs are better than a bed heater."

Okay, not how I wanted this to end at all. Oh well, might make another one later. I hope you liked it.