He stopped by the student union between classes. Grabbing some food, he took a seat alone at a table. The little dish was passable at food, better than what he had eaten on his travels, but failing to meet the standards Hinata had set with her cooking.

Glancing around the room after he had finished, he noticed Neji sitting with the girl from the other day. She was talking animatedly and he was smiling softly.

He left before they could notice him.

"How was your first day of college?" Hinata didn't even wait until she was in the car before she prodded Sasuke with questions he didn't want to answer. Their schedules had clashed today. She had had to wait an hour before he could pick her up. His backpack was still on the passenger's seat when she got in. Instead of moving it to the back, she settled the annoying thing on her lap.

"It happened." He grabbed the backpack and flung it onto the backseat. She seemed unperturbed by his movements, even as he applied a little too much pressure on the gas, almost as if he thought he could escape her questions if he escaped the parking lot.

"What classes did you have today?"

"Physics and composition."

"Did you enjoy them?"

"No." he extinguished her questions one-by-one, but she persevered.

"Where did you eat?"

"The student union. It was disgusting." This time, he took preemptive action, stomping out her next question before she had the opportunity to ask. She was quiet as they pulled into the parking lot, and they walked to his apartment in silence. He assumed that she was finished bothering him, but as he settled onto his couch, she hovered over him.

"Did anything else exciting happen today?"

He prepared to say no, but looking up at her hopeful face, he felt an odd pull to say something to appease her. He searched his memory. Rambling professors and annoying students, a lack of meaningful content…

"I saw your cousin."

Her face lit up at that. The elation was enough for her to take a seat next to him on the couch as she pressed her hands together.

"That's great! How is he?" she cocked her head to the side, her hair falling over he shoulders as gravity pulled at it. It looked soft.

"I didn't talk to him." Sasuke swallowed hard, turning his gaze away from her.

"Oh, I see." She realized her position now, straightening herself and playing with the fingers in her lap. "Well, I hope you enjoy college, anyway. I really enjoyed it, but I never got to graduate. That's why I'm really proud of Neji. He's working really hard to achieve his dream. I meant to return after I had saved enough money myself, but…"

She drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as she hugged her calves. She seemed to be lost in thought, her eyes growing misty. He shifted awkwardly on the couch next to her, drawing her attention.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she waved her hands in front of her reddened face. A small smirk twisted onto Sasuke's lips. She was cute when she was flustered. The thought penetrated his mind before he could fully process the meaning. But when it had, he pushed himself away from her, grabbing his backpack and heading to the kitchen table. This only flustered her more, but he had to escape whatever had come across him.

Hours passed by as he slowly flipped through his physics textbook, eyes scanning the equations and skimming the words. A pencil twirled in his fingers as he read, every now and then scribbling across an open notebook.

A meal of fish, rice and vegetables was placed before him right as his stomach rumbled. He lifted his eyes to Hinata taking a seat across from him, a pair of chopsticks in her fingers. He placed his work to the side, his pencil replaced with chopsticks as he pulled the plates toward him. This was the quality of food he'd become spoiled by.

"Did he seem happy to you?" Hinata finally broke their silence. His eyes flitted to hers in a moment of confusion before he remembered their earlier conversation.

"Yeah. He was with that girl."

"Oh, TenTen!" Hinata exclaimed. She pulled her hand to her mouth as she thought. "I wonder how she is. I haven't seen them in so long."

"Why do you care?" Sasuke spoke without thinking, irritated at her constant noise.

"Well, we were very close. He's my cousin, but we were raised together, more like siblings. You had a brother, too, right?" her eyes flittered innocently to his, as his eyebrows drew together. Thinking about Itachi made his stomach churn as contradictory emotions flooded into his mind.

"Yeah." He bit, harsher than he intended. He wasn't ready to talk about him. Hinata retracted. They finished their meal in silence. Hinata gathered the plates from the table, washing them in the sink as Sasuke returned to the couch.

He returned to the student union the next day, although this time it was just for the table. Hinata had left a lunch bag in the fridge, with a sticky note attached to it addressed to him. Now he pulled it out, and was greeted with a delicious meal. He ate it slowly, scanning the crowd as he ate, acutely aware that Sakura did go to this school and could pounce on him at any moment.

Instead of Sakura, his eyes caught Neji and TenTen as they sat down at their table, chatting amicably as they set down their food. Hesitantly, Sasuke packed his things and approached them.

Their company was the last thing he wanted, but somehow he felt that he had to make up for yesterday. Hinata would be happy if he could tell her something about Neji. And so he sat, not bothering to ask their permission before he did.

"Hey, Sasuke." TenTen chuckled nervously, her brown eyes squinting slightly.

"Hello."

Neji merely nodded at him for now as he unpacked his lunch again, opening his container and retrieving his chopsticks.

"That looks like what Hinata used to prepare." Neji spoke as Sasuke lifted a bite of rice to his lips. His dark eyes moved to the older boy's lighter ones. A soft smile had spread across his face. Sasuke took a bite, only grunting in reply.

"So, how is campus life treating you, Sasuke?" TenTen inquired, an eyebrow raised at the brooding boy next to her.

"Fine." He grunted. The two lunch companions shared a look.

"Classes look like they'll be slow." He provided, uncomfortable with their apparent discomfort. Naruto and Sakura would have made up for any lack of conversation by now. They would have been thrilled to have him here. They wouldn't have shared a look like that.

"They can be in the beginning." TenTen nodded, grateful for the contribution to the conversation. "I started off as undecided, so my first semester was pretty light. Of course, things got harder as we progressed. Neji never seemed to have problems, though."

"I went to class." Neji reminded her, a soft smirk on his mouth. They gained their stride as they grew more comfortable with his presence, speaking naturally with each other, almost as if he wasn't even there. He preferred that.

From their conversation, Sasuke was able to gather enough information that he reported to Hinata later as he picked her up. As soon as she opened the door, he was able to barrage her with the information she so desperately wanted.

"Neji is getting a master's in engineering. TenTen is getting a doctorate in chemistry. Neji still lives with his uncle, but TenTen lives on her own and works at a hardware store. TenTen is a teaching assistant and Neji works with some professor who he doesn't seem to like."

Hinata giggled as he dumped the information. He stopped abruptly, his gaze moving to her as she spread a hand over her mouth.

"Sorry." She apologized through giggles.

"What is it?" his hands gripped the steering wheel as he clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"No, I'm just so happy that you talked to Neji and TenTen." She gasped, waving her hands in the air again. But her eyes told a different story.

"You already knew all of that, didn't you?"

"Well, I only lost touch with them a few months ago…" Hinata twisted the seatbelt in her hands.

"You tricked me, Hyuga." He bit out, the words bitter in his mouth but a small smirk forming on his mouth. Her face turned beet red again. She scrambled for words as they pulled into his parking spot. A soft chuckle escaped his throat as he watched her.

She calmed at the noise, her hands retreating into her lap and her head tilting to the side. Her eyebrows were knit together in confusion and worry, but a smile was beginning to form on her lips. Her cheeks were still flushed. He glanced down to the hands in her lap. They were still, for once, but placed closely to the hem of her waitress skirt. Had it always been that short?

He had to leave the car.

It was way too damn hot in there.