It was nearing the end of July...

"Happy Birthday, Sasuke," Hinata smiled brightly as she placed the bowl of ramen in front of him. "This one's on the house."

Sasuke looked down at the steaming ramen bowl and blinked at the massive amount of naruto lined up to shape the number twenty-one. He looked up at Hinata with a raised brow. "Isn't this a bit... much?"

"Is it?" She blushed lightly and looked at his bowl. "Oh, you're right."

Hinata reached down and began to poke at his bowl, popping a few naruto into her mouth as well. He simply watched her with a steady gaze until she smiled and nodded, her mouth full as she chewed. Looking down he saw them now lined up in a simple smiley face.

"These are for you too," Hinata said a bit shyly. "Kiba's birthday was a few weeks ago and I made him cookies the other day. I figured I might as well make some for you too. I recalled Sakura saying how you didn't like sweets when we were younger, so I made sure they weren't too sweet."

Sasuke looked at the small box tied that she had placed next to his bowl with slight surprise. There was a silky dark blue ribbon tied securely around it. He picked it up and looked at it before putting it away in his pocket.

"Thanks." He said and looked down at his ramen.

It was the first time in the past five years that he recieved anything on his birthday. It's been an even longer time since he last accepted anything as well. His little escapade with Orochimaru and Itachi seemed to rid him of his fan girl problems while time eventually paired Sakura with Lee. He didn't mind the lost fan base too much but it seemed to make one thing stand out.

Hyuuga Hinata.

Now that the female gender seemed to have left him alone, she suddenly stood out to him. The one girl that never seemed to fall for his charm. The only one who never even gave him a second glance. The only girl who has only had eyes for Naruto. The mere thought of it made him snort.

Sasuke had prepared to sit back and watch Naruto fall for Hinata's subtle charm, but after two years he was surprised to see nothing. The one thing he wanted was right under Naruto's nose and he wasn't even aware of it. A real idiot. This year he'd hoped to somehow catch the Hyuuga's attention. And now it seemed he did.

"Sasuke," Hinata ventured a bit worriedly. "Is everything alright?"

He looked up at her and eyed her face for a moment. A small smile slid across his face and Hinata's eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs. As Sasuke began to eat, Hinata began to wonder if she was simply seeing things or The Uchiha Sasuke actually smiled.

At her.