So there I was, sitting at a silly café, holding a cup of hot chocolate. Make that two. Because… Oh, I don't know. I didn't know what the hell I was doing.

I just knew one thing: I didn't want to be why Hidan was unemployed this winter. He'd deserve it, but, really, I would feel guilty. Probably. Neji would certainly approve, and that should have been a bigger influence on my decision more than anything else. 'Anything else' being this stupid image of white shoulders that would not leave my brain no matter what I tried to shove it out with (the Internet has failed me).

Physically, the pale bastard was a looker. If that were my only issue, I think I would be ashamed of myself a whole lot more, but I would also understand my thinking too. But no, it wasn't just looks. It was… Ugh! How do I explain? It's like what Father said, Hidan was interesting.

And I was tempted to curse my father into the next century, because he was the reason why I was considering Hidan. Before, I could safely shove any thoughts of Hidan into a tiny white box and drop it down the mental well. Perhaps even wave as it sunk into the pitch-black waters of forgetfulness. But no, Dad had to put together a friggin' PowerPoint presentation complete with pie charts and comparison tables. Those little white boxes got dredged right back up and examined all over again.

The pizza delivery guy was about as reserved as Naruto on pixie sticks and three times as wicked as Sasuke could ever hope to be. He was loud, obnoxious, crude, lewd, and… had the guts to ask me out on my home ground.

So, I guess if I had to pin the one reason for why I was out here waiting for the foul-mouthed idiot, it was a bad case of morbid curiosity.

There wasn't a chance in hell the albino thought I was as attractive as he was making me out to be. If the man wanted sex, there were clubs and bars where the girls really didn't care whom they went home with. Why the hell did he decide to single out one of the most guarded females in the entire city? Was the man suicidal?

Because the one comfort I had about my situation was that if Hidan even dared to lift a finger against me, he wouldn't survive the week. Naruto and Sasuke might get to him in the first day, but in the end, Father would find him.

With all the red tape binding me to the rigid totems of social propriety, why was he asking me out? It made about as much sense as Sai seducing Naruto.

… Actually, who knew what went on in that artist's head.

Fine. Ino seducing Mr Yamato from the botanical gardens. There. That would be weird. And odd. And… I can kinda see that working.

See? Not a clue in the world. And to make things stupidly worse, I had a cup of white chocolate, and one of dark. In between glancing at the clock—I just had to be twenty minutes early—I was trying to decide which drink was mine. I bought them both. So, I should have an idea, right?

Bloody hell… Dating Sasuke was easier. Hidan wasn't even here yet!

Bah. At least, I knew he was coming.

Father had called the pizza place and asked for his phone number. Gotta hand it to having a big family name, the girl at the restaurant didn't even ask, just rattled the number off as soon the paper was in her hand.

Which was interesting and all, until Dad put the phone number in my hand and pointed at the now silent phone.

'Now?'

'Now.'

And he stood there watching as I called Hidan. If a gun was put to my head, I still wouldn't be able to say which was worse: the smug voice on the phone or the silent scrutiny. I could only assume that the albino had some kind of plan, because when I told him I was free, he said to meet at the Helluva Cup Café at four. No other details, no other demands.

It made the phone call mercifully short.

It may have disappointed some sadistic side of my father, but I wasn't going to ask for confirmation.

White? Dark? I liked both. And thinking of chocolate beverages was easier than contemplating filial motives.

Though… my cousin was going to hit the roof when he found out I went on a date, never mind with whom.

"Fuck me." Eh? "Here I thought you were sexy when you were pissed; you're fucking smokin' when you grin like that."

Was I smiling? "Hi Hidan." Maybe I was.

Speaking of smiles, Whitey was certainly showing off his incisors as he slid into the chair across from me. "Hello Hinata."

One quick look at the clock said he was ten minutes early. There were probably multitudes of translations to that alone, but I was going to leave the frantic analysis for later. Right now, I had a big pain-in-the-ass to deal with.

And for a bastard… he had cleaned up well. Kind of. Black jeans, the same black hoodie, black gloves, black wool coat, and to crown everything off, he actually smelled pretty nice.

Aw shit. I felt my cheeks heat the same time his grin widened. Yes, I had been leaning in a bit. Maybe sniffed. Guys with good matching cologne are a fucking rarity.

"White or dark chocolate?" I mutter, for the first time, breaking the glaring contest and shoving the two cups towards him. Okay, so I was glaring; he was… looking. I don't know.

The fucker chuckled. "Dark."

That was easy. Now which was the dark chocolate? I made some kind of pretense of studying the markings on the sides of the cardboard sleeves. Now that he was here, I was nervous. Nervous!

A hand encased in a common black cotton glove reached out and took one of the cups from me. For a split second, I looked up. Yeah, he was amused. And then, I looked right back down. Huh, he'd taken the right cup.

"So, what are we doing?" Not a single clue remember?

"Drinking hot chocolate."

Twitch. Neji claims that I've developed a bad habit. The twitch wasn't it. The bad habit would be the automatic jab to the solar plexus I just suppressed. Dojos teach strange habits. That's all I'm saying on that.

"After this," I wave at the café, "I mean."

One of his eyebrows has crawled up a little closer to his hairline. Who styles their hair back like that anyway? The smug idiot took one long sip from the cup and I'm treated to a good long look at his pale throat.

… Right, must drink this shit while it was still hot. Though, I really don't think I need the heat from this drink.

I'm starting to swear just as much as he does.

I did not need that thought.

There's a tap from the other side of the table; Hidan has put his cup down. He was also watching me again. Then one shoulder lifted in an approximation of a lazy shrug. "They've got a second horror house built," he said, tilting the cup slightly with one finger on the plastic cover. "Still interested in seeing ghosts?"

He got a blink for that. My mind was busy trying to come to grips with a) he remembered me and Naruto going to the Cave and b) he actually thought up something interesting rather than just the default trip to the theater for a movie.

"Uh, sure."

Fucking hell. For a first date, Sasuke might get outstripped right from the get go.

"Then move that hot ass of yours. Next tour starts in fifteen minutes."

Maybe not. "Would you shut up about my butt?"

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