Written for Day 7 of NejiHina Week: Cooking
Hinata rubbed her face sleepily, pushing her hair back as she rose from the futon. Something clattered in the other room, for at least the third time this morning, and this time she was awake enough to register that it was not a weapon. As unlikely as it would have been for Neji to drop any of their weaponry, much less in the house, anyway.
In fact. . .
Hinata rubbed her eyes and frowned slightly, glancing at the door. It sounded like the sound was coming from the kitchen. Neji . . . did not generally do too much in the kitchen. Cooking wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, nor did he possess . . . much talent for it, honestly.
Hinata pulled on a soft robe and wound the sash around herself, tying it lightly as she left the bedroom. She didn't call out a greeting as she made her way towards the kitchen, curious.
Neji was indeed there, and. . .
"Good morning, darling. . ." Hinata said slowly. "What are you doing?"
Neji jumped, shoving something into the sink with a clang and spinning to face her. "Hinata! Good morning, my love." he said with a slightly strained smile. Her brows rose at the strange expression. "Ah, Merry Christmas!" he added, then glanced sideways along the counter, which was dusted with something brown. "Why don't you take a walk in the gardens before breakfast? They look lovely with the snow over everything. . ."
"Alone?" Hinata said, a soft pout tugging at her mouth. "On Christmas morning?" she added.
"I. . ." Neji looked stymied.
"What is the white stuff in your hair?" Hinata asked, taking a step closer.
"What?" Neji said blankly, then ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Snow! I went outside to look at the gardens! They really are lovely."
Hinata raised an eyebrow at him. It was not snow, it was thin and powdery and not melting and- "It's confectioner's sugar."
Neji flushed suddenly, taking a step backwards and banging into the counter.
"Neji, what are you doing with confectioner's sugar and," Hinata stepped forwards again and drew a deep breath, trying to discern if she could smell. . . "cinnamon?" It was half a guess, but from the colour and the way it had dusted over everything in range. . .
"I was- I'm sorry." Neji looked suddenly downcast, and Hinata frowned.
"Darling?" Hinata questioned, moving closer. "Why are you sorry?" she asked. She hadn't meant to upset him.
"It's Christmas and I meant- They're your favourite, and I was going to. . . A surprise, you know?" Neji said, voice low and head bowed.
Hinata blinked rapidly as she processed that and tried to- Oh. Oh. "Neji, did you try to bake me cinnamon rolls?" she asked, a slow smile tugging at her lips.
Neji swallowed, eyes darting up to meet hers. "Ah, I regret that tried may be the operative word here." he admitted. "I don't think I'm doing a very good job. It has not made for a very nice surprise, I'm sorry."
He started as Hinata closed the remaining distance between them and kissed him.
". . .Hinata?" Neji said uncertainly as she sank back down on her heels, breaking the contact but letting her arms settle along his shoulders.
"I love you." Hinata said with a warm smile. "It is a lovely surprise."
"I didn't exactly-" Neji broke off with a vague gesture around them.
"Show me what you've done so far." Hinata instructed. "We can finish them together. I'd like that." she said softly, snuggling closer against him. "Please?"
Neji caved instantly, though she wasn't sure if it was her tone, his obvious guilt and upset over his perceived failure, or because it was Christmas. Hinata smiled and kissed him again, then stepped back, catching his hand and squeezing it gently.
Hinata moved him out of the way with a light nudge and her brows rose again at the extent of the mess, but it was mostly cinnamon and confectioner's sugar, both of which spread with the approximate fervour of wildfire. Hinata guessed that Neji had not known this about either substance - and would in fact have been more confident with a wildfire to handle - and smothered a laugh.
Neji presented the dough to her and Hinata hummed, pressing a fingertip to it and guiding him through the proper steps to revitalise it. Neji smiled, looking surprised and relieved as it began to stick together and knead smoothly. Hinata hugged him around the waist and rested her chin on his shoulder, murmuring instructions for rolling it out flat, and how thin it should be.
Hinata handed him the cinnamon sugar mixture she had made while cleaning up the counter a bit, and he sprinkled it over the melted butter he had already drizzled there.
Hinata retook her place at his back, cuddling up close, and talked him through rolling it up into a spiral, supplying a pair of extra hands when it tried to get away from him a few times. Slicing it into the right size pieces for cinnamon rolls was easy - and if a few would be taller or smaller than the others, that was fine - and they worked together to tuck all of them snugly into a pan together to bake.
"See? Not so bad at all." Hinata praised once they were in the oven, cupping his face in her hands. "You just needed a little help."
Neji hugged her close against him and kissed her. "I'm sorry you had to help with your own surprise." he said quietly, resting his brow against hers.
Hinata smiled. "I'm not. It would have been a lovely surprise if you made them yourself, yes, but I very much enjoyed working on them with you." She kissed him back. "Why don't we take a walk in the gardens together, and when we get back we'll make the glaze and have breakfast together?"
Neji hesitated, glancing around the kitchen at the remaining mess, and Hinata hugged him a little tighter. He looked back down to her. "That sounds lovely." he said, lips quirking, and Hinata grinned, stepping back and catching one of his hands in hers.
Neji twined their fingers and raised her hand to his lips, brushing a feathery kiss to the back.