Note from the Author: Is it totally pathetic that I know when Neji's birthday is? Yes? I thought so.

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Hinata sighed, kicking at the sidewalk with sandaled toes as she sulked, trudging down the empty street, wishing she wasn't quite as completely pathetic as she was.

"Hinata-san?"

She winced, lifted her eyes.

Sakura tilted her head at her, a smile playing on her face, and almost immediately following, a frown. "What's wrong, Hinata-san?"

A cry welled up in her throat: "I screwed up!"

Sakura blinked. "You screwed up what?"

Hinata buried her face in her hands. "Neji-nii-san probably thinks I'm so stupid."

Sakura sighed. This again. "I'm sure Neji-san doesn't think you're stupid." She led her over to a bench. "What happened?" she asked, sitting cross-legged beside her.

Hinata sniffled, rubbing at her white eyes. "It's his birthday." Her hands twisted in her lap. "I wanted to do something special." She looked over at her friend, exasperated. "I want him to like me!"

Sakura tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Okay. I understand that. But what happened?"

The shy girl's shoulders slumped. "Well, I got him a present. And I made him tea."

"Stop right there." Sakura's green eyes were lit up with amusement. "You spilled tea all over him, didn't you?" The other girl looked about ready to cry and she regretted saying it. "I'm sure he isn't that mad."

"I wouldn't know." Hinata said quietly. "I ran out so fast I have no idea how he reacted."

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Neji looked around, determined to locate his cousin. He didn't understand why she was so upset – it was just tea, it would come out. He had changed his shirt quickly and left the Hyuuga compound as fast as he could, knowing that she knew how to disappear if she wanted to. She was a good ninja, if not very confident.

He heard muffled voices around the corner.

"He's never liked me." It was Hinata's voice. "I've been trying to impress him for so long. He thinks I'm stupid, that I'm not worthy to be the Hyuuga heir."

Sakura's voice came in, soothing: "I'm sure that's not -"

"It is!" Hinata sounded upset and angry. "He's always thought that. And the thing is – he's right. It's why I hate myself so much sometimes. I hate myself because as long as I'm like this, Neji-nii-san won't like me."

Neji's shoulders slumped, his eyes on the ground. She thought he didn't like her? It was really no wonder – he'd made that pretty clear during the Chuunin exams. But it had never been her he hated. He despised her family – what they stood for, how they acted, what they'd done to his father. He let out a breath, fists clenching, and spun on his heel, heading back to the Hyuuga compound. He'd prove to her he didn't hate her.

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Hinata sighed, stepped into her home. She had put off coming back for as long as she could, but eventually Sakura had to go home too, and she couldn't follow her around anymore. She shuffled toward the kitchen, froze in the doorway, yelping in surprise at Neji sitting at the table, then blushed. "N-n-Neji-nii-san. I didn't realize you were still here."

Neji blinked at her in a slow way that drove her crazy – she could never tell what he was thinking. "Hinata-sama, why did you leave? We didn't even finish our tea."

Her mouth fell open. "I – but – I th-thought that you were angry a-and –"

"When did I say I was angry?" he stood, moved toward her until he was standing before her.

She looked up at him, tried to make herself shrink. She wanted to disappear. "Y-you didn't. I just figured that …" she trailed off, averting her eyes.

Neji tilted her head up, forcing her gaze to him. "I'm not angry, Hinata-sama." He said softly.

Her face felt like it was on fire. His fingers were softer than she figured they'd be, considering he was a ninja. The fact that she had thought about how his fingers would feel on her skin made her face even hotter.

"Why are you blushing?" he asked, eyebrow lifted.

Oh, now she really wanted to get away. "I-I-I'm sorry, Neji-nii-san."

"Stop apologizing." He ordered gently, letting his hand drop.

She almost protested the action, realized how stupid it would have been, and said, "Yes, Neji-nii-san." She dug into her pocket. "I-I got you something." She held a small package out to him, smiling shyly. "For your birthday."

He looked at it for a second, then took it from her, studying it, trying to figure out what it was. It was flat, hard – about five inches by eight inches.

"Wh-what's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"I've … never really gotten a gift before." He admitted softly, a small smile playing on his lips. "Thank you, Hinata-sama."

She giggled awkwardly. "You haven't even opened it yet."

He held it up to the light. "Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll leave it wrapped and look at it on all my birthdays. It'll remind me that I have gotten a gift before."

"That doesn't make sense."

His eyes came back to her.

Her face flushed again. "I-I mean, I'll give you a gift every year from now on. I want you to open them."

Now he really did smile. "Alright." He slid his finger under the edge of the wrapping paper, opened it smoothly and quickly. He found himself staring at himself. It was a framed photograph of him, with Hinata at his side. It had been taken when she was three and he was four. They were smiling – his arm was around her.

"I-I don't have any recent pictures of us." She said, looking fondly at the photo upside down. "M-maybe we can have one taken sometime soon."

His white eyes turned to her.

He wouldn't ever really be sure what made him do it – he was sure he'd never know. He kissed her. And she kissed him too, holding onto him like she was afraid he'd change his mind. His arms slid around her waist and held her against him. Her lips were soft – virgin – her fingers warm where they'd settled on his neck. "Neji-nii-san," she whispered, breaking the kiss gently, "this means you don't hate me, right?"

His fingers dug into her hair, pulling her to him again, and against her mouth, he simply said, "Right."