Convictions

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto I own nothing and I make nothing from writing this.

Summary: Naruto is left reeling after Kiba’s confession.

Pairing: One-sided KibaNaru

Rating: PG

Warnings: Yaoi.

A/N: This is a second part to the short Loose Lips.

Aftermath

“I fucking love you, okay?!”

The silence was almost deafening after Kiba’s sudden outburst. The entire room went silent and Naruto took a moment to wonder who the man was talking to until he looked up and saw Kiba’s horrified face. Naruto’s chopsticks stopped halfway to his mouth as his brain stuttered and came to a halt.

What, he thought as Kiba started to turn red.

What, he thought as Kiba stuttered out a few words as he got up from the table. Naruto didn’t realize he’d said anything out loud until Kiba was already gone and the table had burst into action.

“What the hell was that?”

“Was he talking to Naruto?”

“Should one of us go after him?”

“I thought he liked Hinata?”

Naruto was numb to the conversation around him as he set his chopsticks back onto his plate and pushed his chair away from the table. He felt off-kilter. His world had suddenly gone sideways and he wasn’t sure if it was ever going to be the right way again. He knew he’d become dependent on Kiba in the last couple of months. With Sasuke back, surlier than ever, and Sakura busy at the hospital, he hadn’t been able to get either of them to spend time with him. It was easy to admit that he’d been lonely and had maybe taken advantage of Kiba when it came to venting about it.

Hinata quietly got up from the table and followed Kiba’s path outside while everyone else talked amongst themselves. Naruto sat with his head in his hands and let their voices wash over him. He eventually got up from the table but he didn’t have any idea what he was supposed to do. Hinata seemed better suited to comfort Kiba rather than him even though part of him wanted to.

“Hey are you leaving?” Sakura asked from beside him. Naruto nodded without looking at her, although he couldn’t say for sure where he was going. She frowned at his answer but didn’t say anything as he pushed his chair back in and walked away with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed.

Maybe tomorrow he could figure out his next move.