Chapter 3:
Sushi and Presents
XxXxXx
Hinata stood outside of the Uchiha's home. He was most defiantly late. It was eleven o' clock in the morning. She had given him a time the day before, to make sure he wouldn't arrive while she was dressing or before she even got dressed. Eight. He was supposed to be at her apartment at eight. She had all of her cutlery for cutting the sashimi and had even finished the sticky rice.
Though she was angry with him, she couldn't bring herself to pound on the door with a closed fist. Instead, she meekly took the knocker in her hands and knocked three times, quickly. She knelt and picked up a plastic bag with her left hand. She was going to teach him to make sushi. She was only planning on teaching him how to cook and back, but he asked and she was returning a favor.
…And he was late.
XxXxXx
The Uchiha stood at Hinata's door. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. The box in his other hand was what had made him late. He wasn't sure what to write on the card or what to wrap it in. Newspaper was out of the question. He was cheap, not tacky. When Ino bounded into his home, he had no choice but to explain the feminine robe to the girl. After all, she'd given up on him the day she started dating Naruto.
She decided on a plain white box she found in his father's study and a thank you card that he scrawled 'I'm sorry about your robe' inside. They spent the better part of the morning arguing over what to write as an ending note. Ino thought 'love' was appropriate, but Sasuke knew better. 'Love' was not something you wrote into a card after two, maybe three, days of actually getting to know someone. Instead, he only wrote his name.
He really didn't realize how late he was until he was outside of her home knocking on her door. Usually he wasn't late. Also, he usually wasn't buying gifts for meek women he didn't really like.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She wasn't home?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He
waited a few minutes before Konohagakure's loudmouth walked by and
waved. "You lookin' for Hinata-chan?" he called out.
Sasuke gave Uzumaki Naruto an odd look before nodding. "She's off at your house."
Taking the advice, he started towards home. When he got to his home, he saw her rocking back and forth on her heels. He watched her bite her lower lip and take the knocker in one hand.
Knock. Knock.
She went back to rocking on her heels, and began talking to herself. "Naruto-kun did say that he might still be asleep… But, he could just be on the other side of this estate."
He smirked at her and leaned against a tree about eight meters away from her. He watched her a few more moments, until she turned around. She blushed and turned back towards the door. He walked right beside her and opened the door.
She walked in and, as if she'd been there before, walked to the kitchen. It was three times the size of her own kitchen, but half the size of that at the Hyuuga estate. At once, she pulled a few things out of her bag and then started towards the cupboards.
From the look of his kitchen, he kept it neat and tidy. All of the cutlery and tableware were still in the room, but a lot of the supplies had been thrown out. Most of the things in the cupboards were instant food that was far past the expiration date. If they hadn't been thrown out, Hinata was throwing it out at that moment, making good use of the four trash bins.
He watched her, wondering what the hell she was doing. It only took a few moments, but he saw she'd cleared out his cupboards of all the old things he thought about using, but never did. Once they were clear, he watched her climb down from the counter and towards the other part of the room where she'd set down her stuff.
She picked up the seaweed and walked to the sink, washing her own hands with soap before rinsing the leaves. She looked over her shoulder, through her dark hair at him.
He picked up a towel and set it beside her, laying it out flat. At once, she began untangling the wet seaweed and laying it down. Catching on, Sasuke washed his hands and began helping untangle the leaves as well. He winced when one piece ripped, but she told him it was all right. He lay it down anyway. They finished the first part and Hinata sent him to get another towel.
He lay it on top of the other towel, sandwiching the seaweed. He glanced over her shoulder. "You brought rice?" he asked. He'd expected her to tell him he had to make it.
She nodded and walked to the closed container of rice. "It's the rice you made. The first batch was what I used to make the sticky rice."
He frowned, making himself look angry. He wanted to make it, as childish as it seemed.
She smiled comfortably back at him. "It's easy. I'll write it down for you," she promised, pulling the lid off.
He noticed the smell first. It smelled sweeter thank the way it did when it had first been made. She pulled out a weird bamboo mat from a drawer. She'd found it while searching through his kitchen. She set it down and took half a handful of the rice out and handed it to him.
"Roll it in your hands and make it round. We're going to start with something easy."
She pulled out her own handful and began compacting it in her hands. He spent his time watching her and trying to copy her movements. Instead of being soft like her riceball, it was hard and much too small. She looked at his then at hers.
She giggled behind the back of her hand. Not thinking anything of it, she slipped under one of his arms and stood in front of him, knowing he could see right over her head. She took out another half-handful of rice. She placed it in his hands and pressed her hands against his. He was glad she wasn't looking his way. The Uchiha Avenger was blushing as brightly as a cherry tomato.
She asked him to get the seaweed, and the red-faced boy obliged quickly, leaving the rice in her hands. He returned and stood on her other side. With trembling hands, he followed her instructions to compress the rice a little, so it was flatter, and to press the sides in so it took on the shape of a triangle.
The both of them reached for the seaweed to wrap around one side of it. Their fingertips brushed and they both pulled their hands away a little, their cheeks carrying a pink hue. Sasuke was the one who took the initiative to pick up a piece of seaweed and hand her a piece. They finished their riceballs and she got her voice back. She took out two more half-handfuls of rice and showed him how to make sushi rolls.
She slipped under his arm again, letting naïvety set in, and showed him how to roll it with the mat she'd found.
When she finished showing and telling him how to make the sushi, she turned around and was greeted with the Uchiha's chest. She looked up at his face and all she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. She whispered his name. He was obviously trying to tell her something; it looked along the lines of 'sorry', but that couldn't happen. He took a few steps away and she was able to hear what he was saying, though her heart still beat fast.
XxXxXx
She was lying on her couch, staring at the back of her hand. Kami, was she confused… He had insisted on walking her home. She hadn't realized how much time they spent in his kitchen. They'd made and eaten the rolls and had what was left of the milk in his refrigerator.
She remembered giggling at his milk moustache; he'd glare back at her, which would only trigger more giggles.
She was lost. She liked Sasuke. He'd helped her two days ago. He was funny, though he didn't admit to it. He was kind; though he told her it was all just an act. She didn't fall for that one, not even for a moment. He was human; he had to be kind underneath his hard Uchiha exterior.
She sighed and looked to the coffee table in front of the sofa. She couldn't get of her mind that she was mere inches away from him, if she'd taken less that a step back, she would have been flush against him. It had all hit her in a wave.
She was so intimate with him, touching his hands softly, standing between his arms close to his chest as she taught him to cook. She wouldn't be surprised if he decided that she was turning into a fan girl and was going to chase after him like a chicken with her head cut off.
She groaned and hit her eyes behind her hand.
XxXxXx
He forgot… He was so caught up in flirting with Hinata that he'd forgotten about giving her the gift. He took a sip of his cool tea and began to decide what to do. After all, it was only ten. She couldn't be asleep.
XxXxXx
Hinata woke up to knocks at the door. She was still on the couch in her 'Juliet' pose. She looked at the clock before calling out a groggy, "Coming!"
She walked to the door and opened it, not bothering to look through the peephole. "Good evening," she smiled weakly. She was a morning person, not a nighttime person. She was still half asleep, and it showed through her half-lidded eyes.
Sasuke nodded with a 'hn'. He walked in past her and sat on the couch. He set the box on the table and leaned into the cushions on the sofa. She sat beside him.
"Wh-what's this?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Eh. It's nothing."
She stared at him, her mouth agape. "Y-you didn't have to d-do that…"
"Hn."
She stared at the box this time and set it in her lap, cautiously. She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat, thinking to herself 'he really is going to kill me'. It was because he thought she was a fan girl, right? Her hands shook with fear that an exploding tag was beneath the lid of the box.
Except, when she pulled off the lid, there wasn't a loud 'BOOM' and she was still alive and breathing. She moved some tissue paper and saw a soft, lavender robe. Her jaw slacked again and she continued to tremble.
"Th-thank you," she breathed, turning to look at him. "I… ano… thank you so much."
Her hand found his and she squeezed it lightly. This simply part sent a surge of electricity through his person. She disengaged her hand from his and set it on the plush robe. His featured softened a little. He nodded a little. "I should be going. I woke you up."
"Ano… N-n- I mean… I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" He nodded at her. Somehow, she had expected him to lean over to hug her, kiss her on the cheek; anything but deciding he had to leave.
They both stood up and she walked him to the door. He stared at her a few moments, causing her to blush. He brushed her bangs from her eyes and tucked a stray strand behind her ear before turning to leave with a simple, "'Bye."
"Good-bye, Uchiha-san," she whispered as he jumped down the steps and towards his home.
XxXxXx
All right. That's chapter three. I've decided to give you a hint on what the next chapter is about, since I won't be near a computer in the next few days. Chapter four is going to be about the two of them going shopping. Expect the unexpected and more character appearances. I think, I might even break the next chapter into two.
Well, anyway! Much Love to all of you, especially my inspiration:
Fire always makes it better
DarkSmile
The anonymous: nothingness
Disneyrulz23
KRaZyChangeoFHeArT
Gaara's Ai
AND EVERYONE ELSE I DIDN'T GET!!
Love to those who read and don't review, and love to those who read and review!
LOTS of Love,
Hotari-chan
