Note from the Author: I have always wanted to write one of those characters-are-in-another-time-and-place-and-only-keep-the-names-and-personalities-they-have-in-the-show stories. SO … I am. And I'm using my favorite pairing.

Oh. And all work scenes are written with EXPERIENCE behind them. --

The bluest summer skies cloudless in your eyes ...

Hyuuga Hinata didn't work in a fast food restaurant.

At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Right now, she didn't care what the stupid place was called – she hated it.

Her boss, Gai, for some reason, had decided to take out his overzealous need to improve today's youth on her and had given her the bathrooms today. Disgusting wasn't a strong enough word to describe the men's bathroom. It was rancid in there, and she swore a roach that she saw in the last stall had pulled a knife on her.

She had just finished the last toilet and was taking the bleach back to its spot in the backroom, when Gai told her he wanted to speak with her. She rolled her eyes, throwing the bleach in the corner of the backroom and taking the garbage bags out to the dumpster. No doubt he wanted to tell her that her performance was not living up to his expectations of today's youthfulness (meaning You don't work as hard as Rock Lee does, because he's a perfect replica of me).

And she probably wasn't living up to his expectations – or anyone's, for that matter. She couldn't even meet her own expectations. She was a shy, quiet girl with no particular talents. She was mediocre academically, positively awful at sports and not very artistically-inclined.

Even she found herself pathetic – not so much because she was useless, but because that's how her father saw her. If she could be functional for him, her world would be better. All she had ever wanted was his approval – and he shunned her time and again. She was a disappointment to him; his eldest daughter that was supposed to take over the family company couldn't even make president of her class. She was pitiful.

Trudging back to the front of the diner, she leaned on the counter, pouring some coffee into a Styrofoam cup, waiting for him to speak. One of the few perks of working in this god-awful place: free coffee.

"Hinata-chan!" Gai all but shouted in her ear and startled her into spilling her coffee. Pausing in his line of thought, he said, "You need to work on your jumpiness. It's not very efficient."

Hinata stared down into the black coffee, not wanting to put creamer in it because she knew it was out-dated. Efficiency is a concept Hyuuga Hinata does not understand.

"Anyway," Gai continued, realizing she'd completely ignored whatever he'd just said. "I wanted to tell you that we have a new employee starting today."

Since he had finally succeeded in catching her interest, she blinked up at him. New blood? That might be fun. Working with Kiba and Shino all the time was nice because they were familiar, but it'd be cool to be able to hang out with someone else on their few and far between breaks. "Really? Girl or boy?"

"Boy!" Gai's perfect teeth glimmered and she averted her eyes to keep from going blind.

She was vaguely disappointed. She, TenTen, and, their manager, Kurenai, were the only girls on the staff. They were outnumbered four to three as it was, and now there were going to be five teenaged – wait. "How old is he?" she thought to ask.

Mistaking her interested in his age for an interest in dating him, he gave a mischievous smirk. "Ah, Hinata-chan. I knew somewhere in there, a tiger was thrashing to get out." At her lifted eyebrow, he said, "He's seventeen."

Hinata gave a "Hn" and shrugged. He was the same age as TenTen and Lee then. She sighed, rolled her neck. "When does he start?"

"Any minute!" Gai shouted, freaking out some of the eating customers, and scaring the person who had just walked in so much that he turned and walked back out without ordering.

Hinata's shoulders slumped. He was just an embarrassing boss, she told herself. At least he wasn't an embarrassing father. "What's his name?" she asked, trying to get his attention so that he'd stop yelling.

"Neji-san!" It didn't work. He just decided to yell the name too.

Hinata blinked, feeling like the name was very familiar to her, but she couldn't really put her finger on why. Shrugging, she sipped her coffee, closing her eyes and momentarily forgetting she was at work.

"Neji-san!" she sputtered and choked on her coffee. When the hell had Gai gotten close enough that it hurt her ears to hear his always-loud voice?

She covered her mouth, coughing into it so that whoever this new guy was, he didn't think this place was totally gross. Looking up, she stared into a pair of round white eyes that were opening and closing with the slow easy blinking that came with confidence.

If there had been any coffee left, it would have splattered all over the floor since the cup she was holding slipped out of her hand in her surprise.

So that was why his name had seemed so familiar. This was Hyuuga Neji. She stared at him and he stared back. This was her cousin. She hadn't seen him since they were three or four, not since their families – their fathers were twin brothers – had had a falling-out over the title and ownership of the company.

"Neji-nii-san!" she exclaimed, picking up the name she'd called him when they were young, then blushed. "I didn't … I didn't know … when did you get back in town?"

"We moved back. I guess Hiashi-sama called my father – something about making up." Neji looked around the restaurant with only mild interest and a slight distaste tainted his flawless face. He looked good. His face was long and well-angled, reminding her of a Roman statue, his opaque eyes were surrounded by soft, dark lashes that seemed to compliment him instead of making him look effeminate. His raven hair fell down his back and was tied near the end, loose strands that didn't seem to fit into the ponytail hanging in his face.

Gai was looking from one to the other, and he slapped a hand to his face. "How did I not see it before, Hinata-chan! You're related!"

Hinata blushed, looking at her feet. "Neji-ni …." She cut herself off, blinking. "Neji-san," she gazed up at him, forcing a smile. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad your family came back."

Gai, who had just looked at the clock, gasped melodramatically and set his hands on her shoulders, surprising her. "Hinata-chan! Your shift ended five minutes ago! Go! Now! Go do activities filled with the beauty of youthfulness!"

Hinata rolled her eyes, going to the backroom to punch out, and shuffled quietly from the restaurant. Sitting in her car, she leaned back against the headrest, and stared at the ceiling. What the hell? Why had Neji's family come back? She didn't know if she was ready to deal with him. He'd been her best friend at one point.

Besides that, he had always been better than her at everything, even at such a young age. He had repeatedly outshined her, and her father always looked upon her with that disappointment in his eyes, killing her inside. Neji hadn't even realized that he had that effect on her – probably because she had never told him. She had never told him that every time he beat her, she died a little.

While she continued to adore him, he had decided to let their families come between them and wouldn't speak to her anymore, not even to say "Goodbye" when his family left.

She sighed, starting her car. He'd been her first heartbreak. Pulling out, she started down the road, driving slowly since she was alone, thinking. She hadn't ever really forgiven him for hurting her feelings. Maybe she could now. At least she didn't have to think about it for a while. She didn't have to work again until Saturday, and she didn't even know if she worked with him then.

Neji had said that his family had come back to make amends. Did that mean she would be seeing a lot of him? Would he be coming to their house often?

She found herself hoping not.

0

Neji frowned, watching through the window as a distinctly Hyuuga car left the parking lot. How many years had it been? Thirteen years? Seeing her again felt strange, meeting her eyes was like a nauseating wave of nostalgia and guilt for leaving her. They had been best friends after all – the only playmate the other had. They should have grown up together, but his pride, even so young, kept him from admitting that to himself – and he knew that even now, it would keep him from becoming close to her again.

When they had met, the first thing he told her was that she was cute – and she had been. He wondered vaguely who had given her permission to become beautiful.

0

Hinata lifted her head at the childish shrieks echoing from the back of the room. A small girl was pointing excitedly out the window, bouncing in her booster seat. She smiled for a moment, before glancing out the window herself, curious. Her mood took a turn for the worse, and she was sure the woman she was taking an order from could see the dark cloud forming about her head.

And she had decided to walk to work today. Glancing at the clock, her mood lightened just a bit again, the black clouds above her head going grey. It was seven o'clock. Three-quarters of her shift was over. She would get to leave in sixty minutes. Humming slightly, a little bit more bounce in her step, she put the ticket in the window between the counter and the kitchen, leaning in and singing, "Order!" to Kurenai, who just gave her a look.

Stepping back, Hinata bumped into someone. "Whoops," she said, turning, "sorry, I didn't -." She cut off when she realized who she was talking to, and then continued quietly, "Sorry, Neji-san."

He blinked round white eyes at her, then shrugged, continuing into the backroom with a bucket full of dirty dishes he would be washing.

He was nothing short of cold to her. She understood that he was probably a little bitter – if his father had been chosen, he would eventually be CEO of one of the biggest corporations in the country. And of course, he would be a much more efficient leader, considering his talents and his intelligence. She would always dim in comparison. Maybe I'll just give the title off to him when I receive it, she thought, listening with one ear to a man's order. It would make more sense, and my father really wouldn't have any say in it, since he'll be dead when I inherit it.

0

Her hour was up. She bounced out the back door, calling a goodbye to Kiba, who was the last person she saw on her way out, and then stopped dead in her tracks, remembering why she had been gloomy earlier.

It was snowing. And she had five blocks to walk. She silently cursed herself for wanting to use the walk to work to stay in shape, even though she was naturally slim. Shoving her hands in the pockets of her coat, she hunched her shoulders against the driving snow, walking as quickly as she could. About a block and a half into the walk, she was wishing she had poured herself some cocoa before she left the diner, and a car pulled up beside her, slowing to her speed. The tinted window rolled down. "Do you need a ride, Hinata-sama?"

She stopped for a moment and leaned to the level of the window, blinking the snow out of her eyes so that she could see who was talking to her. When she did, she stood back up and started walking again. "No. Thank you though. I'll walk."

"You'll freeze." Neji stepped lightly on the accelerator, going a mile an hour up the street beside her. "Hinata-sama, I know you hate me, but let me give you a ride."

She halted. "That isn't fair." She said quietly. "You were the one that didn't like me anymore after our parents started fighting. You hurt my feelings. It wasn't the other way." She stood shivering for a moment, waiting for Neji to reply.

"Then let me make it up to you." He offered quietly. "Let me give you a ride."

Hinata hesitated, hopping from one sneakered foot to the other. "Well … alright." Opening the door, she slid into the front seat and pulled the seatbelt around her small form, buckling it. Her hands fidgeted nervously in her lap. "Th-thank you." Her cheeks tinged pink. "I a-appreciate the ride."

Neji shrugged, pressing the accelerator harder, so that they sped up to thirty-five. There was silence in the car, except for the soft hum of the engine. He watched the road, she watched the houses go by in a blur of color, and she winced at how dull they were. They reminded her of herself and she hated that.

The car stopped, engine rumbling, and she heard Neji shifting the gear into park and settling his hands on his thighs. She sighed, looking up at the Hyuuga manor – a monster of a house that she would be hers someday. She had always detested it. "Th-thank you." She murmured, opening the door.

Neji grabbed her wrist and she sat back, looking at her hand on the door handle as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Hinata-sama -"

"Please don't call me that." Hinata requested quietly. "I never liked being called that."

Neji was quiet and took his hand off her arm, setting it to putting his car into reverse.

"Neji-san?" He looked over at her. Feeling his eyes on her, she continued, "We aren't family anymore, you know." She turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "So let's work together, and maybe someday, we can be friends again."

Neji just said, "Have a good night" and she got out and closed the door.