title: cake

genre: romance. humor. fluff... again.

number of words: 2,485

rating: T. they kiss. yay!

headnote: well this little one gave me quite the trouble. i had to rewrite it three times before it turned out decent. it was originally supposed to be smutty, but i decided against it. i'm really in a fluffy mode these days.

omg i love writing sasuke as a tease. *wipes tear* i wish he was like this in the actual manga, too.

this is also sort of a sequel to 'falling stars' since a lot of people liked it and wanted a continuation. there's only one sentence that actually connects this one to it, though, so i think it's readable on its own.

warning1: OOCness.

warning2: AUish? i'm not sure if they have phones either. oops.

disclaimed.

cake

.

.

.

Hinata had always been an early-riser. When she was younger, it was easier to train alone in the woods at the crack of dawn, where she was sure no one would see her. As much as she loved her two teammates, she couldn't stand the pitying looks they sent her way as they observed her training. She didn't need their pity. She had always strived to become stronger.

Now, at age twenty-one, Hinata realized that being a ninja just wasn't what she truly wanted. Telling the news to her father had been hard, but she felt free as a bird once he finally agreed to her plan to quit being a kunoichi and try out something else to find herself in.

This morning, however, Hinata decided to sleep in. Her alarm woke her up as usual, but she slammed her palm on it to shut it up and turned on her stomach, continuing to snore lightly. After almost two years of searching for her muse, she still hadn't found anything. The fear that she might not have a purpose in anything in life, brought her a depression on a whole new level, but she absolutely refused to back down. Her friends have shown great support for what she was doing, especially Kiba and Naruto and… in a way… Sasuke.

They weren't really friends in a common sense. She treated Sasuke like her senpai, because it only seemed appropriate to her. It was different with easy-going, friendly people like Kiba and talkative, hyperactive boys like Naruto. They often invaded her personal space, hugging her, kissing her cheek, grabbing her hand at random times. When she was a teenager, she blushed a lot and her heart raced every time Naruto touched her innocently. But as years passed, she sort of… got used to his touches and it still made her smile, but she found herself rarely stuttering or going beet red whenever he spoke to her.

What she found herself in was, in fact, craving for Sasuke's attention.

Sasuke was anything but a social butterfly. He preferred to keep silent, and when he did choose to speak, it was usually in a teasing manner (directed at her), spurting insults (directed at his best friend) or coated in heavy sarcasm (directed at anyone else). He left his apartment only for training and missions, occasionally accompanying Naruto to Ichiraku's (but only when the blonde was absolutely impossible to ignore).

So how did they even become… dare she say… friends?

Hinata rolled over in her sleep. She grabbed a pillow and rested her chin on it, hugging it with both hands and throwing one of her legs over it. She sighed, her conscious drifting to Sasuke and his pale complexion, messy, raven hair and those deep coal colored eyes boring into her very soul.

It all probably started a few years ago, when they had a brief encounter under a tree one starry night and she ended up sleeping practically on top of him. Thinking back to it, it made Hinata's cheeks color for being so blunt, but she was really tired and Sasuke's side seemed so comfortable…

And after that, they kept bumping into each other. It was accidental at first, like meeting in the woods while training, or when she was picking out vegetables at the supermarket and he happened to pass by, but soon enough Hinata realized that they met far too often for it to be considered a 'coincidence'. She never voiced it aloud though, as the Uchiha was surprisingly a very pleasant company. She stuttered a lot when talking to him, afraid she might say something stupid, and always addressed him as 'Uchiha-san', careful not to offend him by being too informal. She never asked him about his private life, about his past. Their talks were meaningless, small chats and mostly him complaining about the hoard of fangirls following his every step.

And before she knew it, she was smitten.

It made her feel, above everything else, very awkward. Because she was so certain she loved Naruto. And in just a couple of years, his best friend managed to turn her whole world upside down, make her question everything she knew about herself.

It was thanks to him that she realized she will never accomplish what she truly wanted if she stayed a kunoichi. She still remembered how it dawned on her – when he said that it seems like she's training for someone else, not herself.

But he never said what she'd be good in. Hinata knew it was something she had to discover on her own. Sasuke was there simply to give her a push.

A faint buzzing woke Hinata out of her slumber. When she opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep from them, she realized it was her phone. Grabbing the device from her nightstand, she pressed the 'answer' button and grunted a sleepy "Hello?"

"Hinata!" screamed a voice from the other line. She recognized it as Kiba. "Happy birthday to you~!"

As he sang on his part of the receiver, she stared at the calendar pasted on her wall. Is it possible… it was December 27th already?!

"Happy birthday." another voice echoed next to Kiba, Shino, she guessed. She smiled prettily at her two best friends.

"Thank you, guys! Y-you're too kind."

"Hehe, no problem, Hinata-chan! You sound sleepy. Did we wake you?" Kiba's tone turned from goofy to worried in a second.

She knew her friends would feel bad if she told them the truth, so she bit her lower lip and shook her head no. Then, after a millisecond, she realized they couldn't see her, so she reassured them aloud.

"Okay then!" Kiba's voice was hyper again, but she had a feeling he wasn't entirely convinced. "We'll come over in a few, after we get your present ready. Go get decent! See you!" and he hung up. She flushed at his last comment and looked down. What was indecent about a tank top and sweatpants she slept in during winter?

She got up and made her bed, contemplating whether or not she should shower. After a minute she decided there was enough time, because her stomach grumbled rather loudly, demanding attention.

She skipped down the stairs, feeling pretty excited. What did Kiba and Shino buy her? Probably flowers. Or a pony. She smacked herself mentally for being silly. What would a twenty-one year old girl do with a pony?

When she entered the kitchen, nothing could prepare her for the sight that was bestowed upon her. She stopped, frozen, at the entry, her fingers gripping the doorframe.

Sasuke Uchiha was in her kitchen. Moreover, he was wearing an apron. And there was a spatula covered in cake frosting in his hand.

He was turned in a way that made him have to tilt his head to notice her. But, being a skillful ninja as he is, he heard her footsteps since the moment she stepped on the stairs.

"Good morning, Hinata." He smirked at her, turning on his heel and waving the spatula in his hands at her. It was such a comical sight that Hinata couldn't help but stare, torn between breaking down in tears of mortification or giggling until she grew abs.

"U-U-Uchiha-san." The sight of him distracted her so bad that it took her a few moments to compose herself and realize that he was in her house and she hadn't let him in. "H-how did you get in h-here?!"

"Hm?" he quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Oh, I broke the lock."

Now Hinata really felt like crying. "Y-y-you what?!" she practically screamed.

"Shhh, someone might hear you." He walked over to her, putting a finger on her lips. "We don't want the neighbours thinking something inappropriate is going on here, right?"

Hinata's whole face went completely red the second his finger made contact with her lips. She couldn't do anything but nod in agreement and he gave her a satisfying smirk before returning to his previous position.

Hinata had to leave this bizarre sight for a moment to check if what he said was true. And indeed, the lock was broken and the door unlocked for the world to enter. She covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, sighing in defeat, before quickly returning to the kitchen, afraid that she might've imagined the whole thing.

But nope, Sasuke was still there, holding a bowl tightly in his grip and mixing white cake frosting with the infamous spatula. He frowned in concentration, the tip of his tongue peeking from between his lips as he gave the poor cream a severe beating.

"U-Uchiha-san, I d-don't mean t-to sound rude but… w-what are you doing here?" she approached him, ogling in fascination as he flipped the bowl over and it fell with a loud splat on top of what she hoped was a chocolate cake.

"Isn't it obvious?" he answered, taking a knife and evening the frosting over the cake surface. "I'm baking you a cake."

She resisted the urge to facepalm. In all honesty, she felt very frightened. This new Sasuke freaked her out. Who knew what her reactions might make him do? "B-b-but why?!"

He lifted his head and tilted it so he faced her fully. "Well, it's your birthday, isn't it? Don't people eat cakes for birthdays?" he seemed honestly confused by her question and this time Hinata had a hard time suppressing her giggles.

It appeared to be too hard of a mission and she broke down in laughter, covering her mouth. Sasuke's frown deepened. "What's so funny?"

"I-I'm sorry, U-Uchiha-san." She managed to stutter through small fits. "It's just… I'd never even begin to imagine you… baking someone a cake."

His expression turned from slightly annoyed to amused as he asked her "So you think about me?"

Hinata's eyes widened in terror, her face as red as a sack of tomatoes. "E-e-eh?!"

His smirk broke into a grin. "It's alright, I'm just teasing." He laid down the knife, eyeing his creation proudly. "And drop the 'Uchiha-san', it's irritating." He added almost as an after-thought.

"B-but-"

"No buts, Hinata." He smirked again, rising to his full height. "I'm going to have to punish you every time you call me 'Uchiha-san'."

She squeaked at the possible implication of his words and flailed her hands in front of her face. "U-Uchiha-san I don't think this is appropriate-"

"A-ah," he scolded her and promptly smudged some cake frosting on top of her nose. "It's 'Sasuke'".

She froze, staring at the Uchiha boy like he had just grown another head. When she found her voice again, she only managed to stutter a weak, "D-did y-you just…"

"Yes." He cut her off, leaning closer to her. "What'cha gonna do about it?"

Well, Hinata didn't spend the teenage years of her life training as a kunoichi for nothing. She blushed prettily and made sure to keep eye contact with Sasuke to distract him from her hand sneaking behind him on the counter, scooping some frosting left in the bowl on the tips of her fingers. "W-well…"

And then she lifted her hand and dug her fingers into his hair. She massaged his scalp, covering as much of his hair as she could with frosting. "I-I'm gonna d-do this."

Sasuke's eyes widened as his gaze followed her hand up to where it was buried in his hair. "Oh no you did not just do that."

She screamed when he reached out to grab her around the waist, managing to avoid him just in time. Pulling her hand from him, she ran for her dear life, listening for his light footsteps following her closely behind.

For the first time in her life, Hinata felt like swearing. He was so close, he might as well reach out, grab her shirt and pull her back… and then the worst happened.

She tripped.

Her hand flailed behind her, grabbing the first possible thing which happened to be Sasuke, and pulled him with her to the floor. She landed ungracefully on the hard wood and lost her breath when Sasuke landed on top of her back with all his weight.

"M-move! Uchiha-san, I can't breathe!" she squealed and in a second she felt him roll over from her to her side.

"Crap, Hyuuga, you could've killed us." He murmured, touching his scalp and wincing in dread as melted frosting covered his fingers.

"I-I'm sorry." She muttered, embarrassed. While Sasuke was musing over his ruined haircut, she turned around so that she laid on her back. "I-I didn't mean t-to pull you w-with me."

"It's alright." He gave her a teasing look. "But I remember you calling me Uchiha-san again."

She had absolutely no idea what was going on when he was suddenly on top of her again, his face so close that their noses were almost touching. Hers was still covered in frosting. His eyes glinted dangerously and then he did the unthinkable.

His tongue flicked out and he licked the tip of her nose clean. His eyes darkened slightly when they connected with Hinata's. Her cheeks flushed and her lips parted and something in Sasuke crumbled.

He kissed her on the lips. Hinata was surprised because he tasted… sweet. She'd never connect 'Sasuke' and 'sweet' in the same sentence, but it was probably the holiday season and her birthday frenzy. It wasn't just Sasuke who was out of it.

Another thing she noticed was that Sasuke was a really good kisser. Not like she had any other experience to compare it to, but she guessed this was the best there is, because it is Sasuke we're talking about. The boy who's good at everything.

And then it dawned on her, fully. Sasuke Uchiha was kissing her. Quite passionately at that. Their lips meddled together and he licked her lower lip, asking, no, more like demanding entrance. She gladly obliged. He explored the inside of her mouth, their tongues colliding together in a slow, erotic dance.

His hand traveled down to lay at her hip. Her own fingers moved restlessly over his shoulders and finally entwined around his neck, unconsciously pulling him closer.

A loud knock echoed through the room. A second after, someone kicked the front door open with their foot. Sasuke detached himself from Hinata's mouth at both of their displeasure to stare at the figure on the doorway.

"Hinata-chan~! We're here with your present!" Kiba's excited voice died when he noticed the two figures lying on the floor.

Later that day, they had to visit Kiba at the hospital. Apparently he sprained his back while chasing after a certain coal-eyed Uchiha who had a satisfied smirk on his face.

footnote: i have this headcanon for sasuhina, that they were engaged as children but hiashi broke it off when the uchiha massacre happened and sasuke went on his little craze. it'd make sense, since they're both the elite clans, and there's a rumor about the sharingan developing from byakugan. thoughts?