A Poem for My Darling Flamer
Even if you frown
I will hang upside down
And see your grin despite fighting
Your tiny mind
is no problem of mine
I find you endearing still darling
And when you cry
That I should die
I hear only words of joy
Because for some reason, dear
You're always here!
Just admit it, you love me, I know!
To the reviewer who commented on Itachi being sex on legs. Yes. SO MUCH YES.
Also, I was either a genius or anticlimactic concerning my last chapter- well the thing is that wasn't the climax so... it would have been pretty off putting if I made it climactic. There's a few more chapters left before that. Maybe even another moment of violence (le gasp!)
DAngel7: I snuck it in there good ;) I kind of wanted it to be as subtle as it was for Hinata, ya know cuz she didn't notice it. I dunno, it just did it's thing. But yeah, I thought he might freak out but he didn't! Sasuke surprises me all the time.
This chapter is still pretty chill, so for those of you searching for some drama there's not much, sorry. I like fluff, it just happened this way. It's also a little short, but that's because there's more coming pretty soon. I AM STILL WORKING ON ALL THE OTHER fics. just this one has been doing some down and dirty cage fighting in my head to get writing time, the others are nursing bruises. I will finish this and I think switch my attention to Switch-a-Roo and then hopefully. HOPEFULLY, Meet Cute and Into the Black simultaneously.
To Hime-23: hola querida, no hablo portugues pero te entiendo por que hablo un poco de espanol. Me da mucho gusto que te agrada mi fic. muchas gracias por tus commentarios me haces sonreir. espero que te encuentres bien.
Con mucho amor,
Tinta
Helo Belo: You're adorable and I have this picture of you in chibi form in my head, like small enough to put in my pocket. You sent me this review somewhere about your mom being amazing and the idea of being even remotely like a person as kick ass as her made me blush. I have lost complete track over what reviews I have replied to though, lack of sleep has this way of ruining my cognitive ability. I'm working on it.
Much love
Inky
When she went into her dorm she waved at the door, one little shake of her paw-like hand covered in her bright purple mittens and he felt himself smile, despite his best intentions not to nodding as she disappeared inside.
The snow was coming down with a vengeance that he had thought was over for the winter, but it appeared, as per usual that the weather was playing a game of "just kidding" with the land and already there was a nice thick layer of powder at his feet.
It was falling as thickly as his thoughts, all tumbling to the same place in his mind, as his heart began to race and the panic began to take hold.
She's the girl.
He walked to his dorm room, held on to the handle as if to go in and let go, stepping back into the cold, right back the way he had come, towards her dorm room.
She's... the girl.
And at the sight of the girls dorm with the lights lit along it's smooth face he paused, his chest constricting his breathing like it wasn't sure what the hell his lungs were doing in the cavity of his ribs.
She's the girl.
And he turned right around, marching back the way he had just come, breath leaving puffs like a train through mountains before his face as his breathing took on a frightened anxious pace.
For days he had been wondering, startled to realize that whoever this person was he was starting to care about them, not just care. He was worried. On Friday after the silence that had replied to his messages he had sat in his best friend's bed watching as the girl across the room from him slept, safe for the moment. But he had been worried about the other one, the one that he felt he understood instinctively, her writing speaking to him in ways he had not thought he could be spoken to.
Her reply to his texts the next morning had lifted a weight from his shoulders and he had unceremoniously begun to process of ignoring his attraction, undeniable as it was to Hinata Hyuuga who, judging from the slap to the face that he had received, hated him. Or at least disliked him more strongly than say...everyone else.
But no.
No, no, no they were the same girl.
The. Same. Girl.
At the sight of his dorm he turned again, terrified of meeting Naruto inside the room. His sky blue eyes would see the panic, would linger on the stiffness of his shoulders and the tightness in his chest. Forget the fact that he was practically hyperventilating.
He turned back, making a dark track through the white cotton of the snow cover on the cobblestone of the campus paths, tracing his already wandered trek from her dorm to his like a scar in the landscape.
"Holy god." He whispered, his dark eyes staring at the windows of the girls dorm and wondering which one was hers. She had fascinated him, this creature that he had had no face to sketch. He had been scared before knowing what she was, who she was. He had been scared of continuing the conversation through the anonymity of texts and yet the addiction to someone not caring who he was had driven him on.
Realization dawned as he remembered his advice to her until he was almost laughing, a hand pressed to his mouth to keep the sound that he was sure would ring more hysterical than amused from leaving his lips. He had encouraged her to slap him. Gentle, anxious Hinata Hyuuga had lost it on him and he had deserved it. He had brought on his own demise.
Everything had been turned upside down.
"...what the hell are you doing?"
The sun had set, or perhaps the clouds that were bringing the perpetual fall of snow were hiding it but the darkness had begun to loom and as a result the lamp posts dotting the campus had begun to light, illuminating in spheres of warm yellow light the passing tendrils of ice that fell sleepily from above.
Standing in the halo of one was Naruto, hands in his pockets and scarf tied high at his neck, blue eyes puzzled. "You look insane. Why aren't you inside?"
Sasuke stared at him, just blinking like the person he was speaking to was a mirage he would disappear if he just stood there and closed his eyes over and and over to erase the shape in the stillness.
"Hello?" Naruto frowned at him. "What's wrong? You're panting."
Sasuke pressed a hand to his chest and looked down, watching as the black of his coat lifted and dropped rapidly beneath his palm.
It was terror, he was experiencing terror because...
Because the girl he had been trying not to be attracted to was the one he had been falling for on the phone. Because now that they were one thing in his head he had absolutely no choice.
Because now, standing there watching the snowflakes drift around him he realized why they called it "falling".
Falling in love.
The thing was, if you fell alone, did you suddenly smack to a stop? He had a bad feeling he knew exactly how much that would hurt.
Naruto's eyes watched as emotions flickered over Sasuke's face, his dark eyes rising from his chest to his friend's and slowly the blonde felt his own expression soften.
"Aw... shit." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head hard, squinting at him tiredly. "You just realized didn't you?"
Startled Sasuke stared at him, breathing in the freezing air like needles through his throat. "What?"
"You just realized you're done for. I know that look." The blonde continued shrugging with a sort of resigned smirk as he shoved his hands back into his coat pockets.
Sasuke stared, trying to understand as Naruto walked over to him, giving him a light shove with his shoulder that sent him back a step, still dumbfounded.
"You've the face of a man who just figured out his heart got ripped out of his chest." Smirking still with blue eyes crinkled with genuine mirth he sighed. "It's both hideous and exhilarating huh?"
Trying to follow Sasuke looked on, waiting. If Naruto could say it then it was true. If he could put words to it, then he could perhaps accept his fate, swallow the pride that came with his last name and maybe even... maybe even...
"So, what are you going to do now that you know you love Hinata Hyuuga?" Naruto cocked his head, watching the slow shock like melting ice caps on Sasuke's face.
"Love?" He finally choked out, some of the frantic panic overcoming his mute act and letting the word spill out. He was mostly in a mild form of hysteria because the word fit, things like "interested in" "attracted to" and "like" sounded about as sturdy as fog, as resilient as whipped cream. They had nothing in common with the agony in his chest.
"Pfft." Naruto snorted, giving his shoulder a shake. "You're Sasuke Uchiha." He shook his head and started into the dorm room. "It's all or nothing with you. Don't be stupid."
Wide eyed now and feeling a queer sort of sickness he followed after the blonde, words tumbling in his mouth that he didn't say. None of them were right, there was no retort.
It was all or nothing for him. Naruto was right. It had always been all or nothing for him.
He wasn't going to be stupid.
"Where did she go then?"
The Hyuuga eyes that were staring at her were so different from the ones she lived with. For one thing, Hinata's gaze was framed by long lashes that she honestly envied and when she looked at you with distaste it reminded her a little of kittens wrinkling their nose at someone taking their milk away.
That was not Neji Hyuuga. Pale gray eyes of the same type gave Tenten a look and unlike the kitten that Hinata conveyed a tiger glared from his face. He dominated the room with the quiet power in his body, broad shouldered and chiseled from stone he seemed unmovable. There were not a lot of things that made Tenten growl with frustration or feel even vaguely intimidated but Neji was one of them.
Maybe even the only one.
Beside her Sakura laughed nervously, green eyes crescents to keep the lie from showing. "She just said she was going out to lunch, she should be back soon. I mean it's almost dinner time. Although it was a late lunch, and I think she's probably just working on homework too. It's been hard to keep tabs on her since she hasn't had a phone. But she's safe I'm sure, it's not like she would do anything you wouldn't approve off, you know. She's Hinata after all. Hahaha." The rambles kept pouring out of her from her place on the couch, a painful word vomit that made Neji frown. Tenten slid her brown eyes towards her, brows raised.
"Sakura." She began, trying to get her to tone it down, but it was too late.
"Whatever you're hiding for her, I'll figure it out." He wasn't talking to Sakura now though, his gray gaze was fixated on Tenten, jaw tight. "You know I will."
Sniffing slightly Tenten raised her chin at him. "She's a grown woman, she went out to lunch and she will be back shortly. Sit your butt and make yourself comfortable." She motioned to the two empty beds. "Want a snack?"
Happy to have something to throw at him she chucked an apple over her shoulder, it landed almost exactly in his open palm. He still could not figure out how she did that.
"Tenten." His warning tone was low and even Sakura buried her face against her raised knees on the couch. She had always carried a torch for Sasuke and Naruto so when Neji Hyuuga had showed up with his pale eyed adorable cousin she had only agreed he was good looking and gone about her merry way.
But even still, when he looked at Tenten with that smoldering "Stop being silly." expression and used the depth of his baritone voice to sound impatient it still made her toes curl tightly.
Feeling awful she scrambled to her feet.
"How did your trip go though?" Sakura threw in before Tenten could reply scathingly to his patronizing tone. "Was it for fun or-?"
"Business, for my Uncle. He has a lot of questions for Hinata, he's never not had contact with her for this long. Which is why I am rather anxious to-"
"I'm back!" Hinata's voice called cheerily from the entrance, the door flinging open and when she stepped into the room her face, already smiling burst into summer time sunshine. "Nii-san!"
It wasn't like Neji, but it was like Hinata so he tolerated it when she dumped her bag on the floor and slammed into him in a hug. "You're back! Hi!"
"Where were you?" He chided, and even from across the room Sakura and Tenten sighed as his grumpy expression softened and he squeezed Hinata back hard. "I thought you'd be here."
"Oh! I-I thought so too, lunch went later than I thought. I had a sort of... study lunch thing... for a project." Hinata's grin was contagious, Sakura was blinking in surprise, glancing at Tenten curiously. Leaving the house the little Hyuuga had looked like she was walking down the length of death row. They had expected a gloomy return but this was practically jovial.
"Hm." Neji commented a little sarcastically. "I guess studies do come before me."
"Never!" Hinata wrinkled her nose. "I rushed here, I promise."
Smiling at her exaggerated frown he extended his hand. "I need to get your cell phone back. Your father is rather anxious that he can't get a hold of you."
"Oh." Hinata shifted suddenly, her face losing some of it's vibrancy. "Ah... sure. Let me just text." She mumbled, rummaging in her bag on the floor. "I'm... sure whoever has it will be anxious to get their things back. I've been limping along without my stuff." She murmured, pulling out the black cell phone.
While she typed Tenten eyed Neji with narrowed eyes, opening her mouth to ask something mundane. Sakura however cut in with. "So, Neji... got a girlfriend yet?"
"What?" He blinked at the pink haired girl, brow scrunching in confusion.
"Just figured you would. It's been a while since I last talked to you." Sakura continued, ignoring the lasers coming from Tenten's eyes boring into her head. "You'd think you would. What's up with that? Waiting for someone special?"
Neji frowned full out then, staring at her and then turning to Tenten who shrugged her shoulders. "Sakura is a gossip. What can I say?"
"Hey!"
"Oh..." Hinata sighed, frowning at the cell. "Um... he says he can't meet today."
"Well tough." Neji grumbled, reaching for the phone. "I can meet him wherever."
"I...I said that. He just says he can't but that he will let me know when he's free." Slowly Hinata pressed the phone to her chest, negating his access. "I...I don't want to push."
Neji stared at her a moment then. "Hinata."
"If he can't- he can't."
"He was being annoying last week demanding you meet with him and now- does he know it will be me coming by? See, I knew there was something fishy..." He began, tone getting steadily less pleased as the words tumbled out of him.
"It's not like that. He doesn't care it's you, but he can't today." Hinata's cheeks reddened as she grew more flustered. "It's okay though. I'll tell you as soon as it's set up. You're not leaving again right? So probably tomorrow."
"Hinata, just give me the phone." Neji followed her as she walked around to her bed and growing more and more red Hinata shifted uncomfortably on the other side of the room, eyes flickering to Tenten and Sakura who were watching this exchange with confusion.
Seeing the panic on her face for a moment Sakura opened her mouth and blurt out. "Tenten don't you have a date tonight?"
It was surprising how quickly Neji Hyuuga straightened and turned around. Tenten stared slack jawed at the fibbing Sakura first and then with growing surprise turned to Neji who was studying them with sudden interest.
"...I..." Tenten began slowly, trying to think. A slow smile was crawling over Sakura's mouth at Neji's suddenly placid pale face. "With what's his name...?" She pressed, as though trying to remember.
Floundering Tenten stared at her. Behind them both Hinata was beet red, trying to think of a way to get out of showing Neji her phone and feeling frantic she gasped. "That's why you got all that lingerie right?"
The moment her little voice whispered out she slammed her hand over her mouth and stared at Tenten who was blinking at everyone, eyebrows raised very high, cheeks just the barest pink. Neji shifted as though he had been shoved, gray eyes magnetized to Tenten's face.
Slowly she stood, licking her lips in the silence as she adjusted her t-shirt. "All right. So everyone's gone crazy. I'm going out until some form of sanity returns." Brow furrowed she moved towards the door, grabbing her shoes and jacket as she went.
"Wait a second." Neji was suddenly after her, following in hot pursuit. "Tenten." And then they were out in the hallway while Sakura and Hinata stared at each other, Hinata's ears blazing so hard she could feel the sweat start to slide down the side of her neck.
"...He just went after Tenten." Sakura whispered, green eyes glued to the door.
Hinata blinked, if only to make sure her eyeballs didn't shrivel to raisins. "H-he did."
"Good call on the lingerie." her friend grinned wickedly then. "I did not know you had that in you!"
"Me neither." And with a flop Hinata slammed onto her bed, exhausted, sneakily shoving the cell phone between the mattress and the box spring in case her cousin came back.
There was no way he could give her the phone back. He was staring at it now and wondering if it would be theft if he just disappeared with it into the night.
My cousin is back and would like to meet with you to get my things back, if that's possible tonight.
But no pressure.
Dazedly he had lain in bed, watching the snow flurries outside his window lit against the backdrop of the black sky by the lamp post, illuminated in a soft orb of yellow light.
The thought of standing in front of Neji Hyuuga and handing over the only way to speak with her that she didn't automatically associate with the idiot he had been all week made him want to throw up. Her cousin would return and tell her who it was and he could just imagine her confusion, the way her ears would turn red, her cheeks would follow, her eyes would be twin moons of discontent.
I'm sorry, but I can't today
Oh that's okay.
Of course it was. Knowing her she wouldn't want to inconvenience someone who had been kind to her up until now.
"I so fucked up." Sasuke sighed, pressing both hands to his face as he dropped the phone to the bed beside him.
Naruto sitting at his desk buried in work he should have done several weeks ago and was only now putting any effort into grunted from his place among the stacks of textbooks. "I keep telling you you're a screw up."
Scoffing in reply the Uchiha stared some more out the window, watching the patterns of the snow as it drifted in the stillness of the freezing night. Her eyes had lit up like starlight at the sight of it, her mouth pink and supple turning to smile at the heavens, hands outstretched.
There were dozens of poems in her journals about snow or ice, about the sky in the clear blue days and on rainy nights.
"You worried about talking to Hinata now?" Naruto inquired when he didn't throw anything awful back at him in reply to his jab. Sasuke breathed in deep, pressing a hand to his forehead tiredly.
It felt like digging around for his own kidney and pulling it out to hand over but after a long agonized moment he sighed. "Yes."
"Hn." Naruto's little sound was amused, blue eyes turning to him finally. "So you are human. Shikamaru owes me 20." Then after a pause where the Uchiha didn't reply he sighed.
"Well, first of all if you've decided you're not going to leave Konoha U and head out of town for the rest of your life to avoid her that's a good step." Naruto's smirk was wide. "Proves you're no coward."
Sasuke just stared at him, desperate enough in the moment to hope for something actually useful to come out of the blonde's mouth.
"Second of all, are you going to actually say something to her about it?" Naruto tapped on his desk, staring at the textbook in front of him. "Sometimes it's the right time. Other times..." he shrugged. "I'm an expert at confession bloopers. You were after all present for all of the Sakura confession fiascoes of the last two decades."
Sasuke stared. "You mean, does Hinata like someone else right now?"
Naruto smirked. "Exactly. You were always in my way, smug bastard."
"Not on purpose." the brunette grumbled flipping onto his stomach and stuffing his face into his pillow. He had never quite felt this... raw. It was like walking around with his ribcage open and the beating heart inside it exposed to air. It didn't sting it burned.
"Well, does she though? Any ideas? Or do you have to do some recon?" Naruto continued, leaning back in his chair before lacing his fingers behind his head. "Maybe Sakura can find out for you."
"No." Sasuke's reply was tired, the kind of bone tired of already having lost the bliss of ignorance. "I think... I think I might know already."
"You sound like a country song, someone ran over your dog, ran away with your woman and stole your car. She's into someone, huh?" The blonde cocked his head then waiting.
Within the confines of his pillow Sasuke squinted his eyes shut so tight they hurt, mulling over the predicament he now found himself in. The thing was of course that he was fairly sure Hinata Hyuuga was interested in someone.
Oddly enough, it was a faceless nebulous Sasuke Uchiha.
Now, he was going to have to compete... with himself.
"This... is a nightmare." He growled, sitting up to punch the pillow hard.
Naruto twisted his mouth thoughtfully. "I should be feeling kind of sorry for you, I think. But all I can think of right now is how happy I am that you're screwed like the rest of us in this department. Seriously."
Rubbing his forehead tiredly Sasuke shot him a look. "Don't make me practice on Sakura."
"Don't even joke." Naruto's frown was instant and he pointed at him with a pencil. "Low blow."
Smirking with his victory Sasuke went to sit at his desk, attacking this problem like he would anything else: with pen, paper and pencil.
"Have I ever seen you giddy?" Ino eyed Tenten up as they walked together through the freezing cold of the campus, dodging other similarly bundled students braving the cold for the sake of knowledge. Tenten's hair was down, a rare occurrence in the first place, her eyes a little dreamy. Grinning over her scarf she winked. "Only after a lot of tequila."
"I see no tequila." Ino retorted. "Did the boy finally say something? You showed him all that lingerie you bought with Sakura didn't you?" She grinned a tell tale smile and Tenten gave her a little shove on the shoulder. "Ino. No."
Her eyes slid to Hinata who was trying to not be part of the conversation if at all possible.
"But maybe I will sometime." She finally allowed herself, quickly adding. "Sorry, Hina."
"I'm not listening." Hinata replied primly, although her face was pink and she was glaring at her phone.
I'm re-evaluating my room mate.
Are you? You always seemed kind of annoyed with him.
I am but I'm thinking I may have been under appreciating the poor fool.
That's... almost nice.
One step at a time
I said no to someone yesterday so I guess you're right. Two steps forward one step back.
Who'd you say no to?
They had never asked each other these sorts of questions. The whats whens and whos had all been nebulous things outside of the safety ring that had invisibly come up around their conversations. Nervously she fiddled with the device in her hand while following her friend's and their cheery banter to their respective faculties for the last class of the morning.
After that it would be time for meeting Sasuke at the library, and she knew she wasn't going to get much time to reply.
Fidgeting she stopped, letting Tenten and Ino wander off ahead of her a few steps while she glared at the phone, unsure of why this was making her so nervous. Shifting inside her jacket until it was hugging her more closely she finally typed out.
Someone I don't usually say no to.
Neji had been confused by her refusal to hand over the phone, and Tenten's puzzled expression had thankfully been a small blip in the evening when Neji finally left. Too distracted by the fact that her cousin had finally stated he needed Tenten to not go on dates with anyone neither of her friends had questioned her refusal to hand over the cell phone. Wanting to keep it that way she had crawled into bed soon after, texting under the covers while they giggled at Neji's frantic panic over the possibility of Tenten dating. Even though she had assured him Sakura was teasing he had seemed flustered and unsure.
Enough to say not to do it. Enough to blush the way his cousin did, a thing no one knew he was capable of. A thing which had Tenten grinning from ear to ear.
Hinata had fallen asleep smiling, partly because her friend was apologizing for not being able to give her things back, but also because her cousin had finally been scared into action. About time.
Poor soul.
Smiling broadly again she continued after her friends who were shouting for her to catch up.
Why? I was nice about it.
Of course you were.
She actually pouted at the sight of Neji standing there at the door of her classroom when Professor Jiraya was finally done gushing over the file she presented as an example of what their storybook would look like.
He attracted attention from most of the class as they passed by, especially of the female sort, leaning languidly against he wall, arms crossed unconsciously showing off the muscles beneath his long sleeved dark gray shirt. Whenever he wore dark gray his eyes became lanterns in his face, captivating and overwhelming. Hinata had seen those eyes render Tenten mute... for a few seconds at least. More than anyone else had ever managed.
Now those orbs were fixated at the doorway and there was no avoiding him. Hunching her shoulders Hinata double checked that the cell phone which had become a bone of contention was in her pocket before stepping out into the hall, arms wrapped tight around her books.
"I have to meet with my partner for a project meeting, Nii-san." she began, trying and mostly succeeding in not whining.
"I need to get that phone back, Hime." He replied tartly, and the use of her nickname on his lips would usually have unearthed her complete inability to say no.
Except for this time she simply couldn't.
"I asked if today worked and they said no this morning." Hinata sighed, trying to look disappointed. "Perhaps they aren't on campus right now?"
Her cousin frowned, pushing himself off the wall to follow her careful steps towards the exit glowing with the noon day sun on the freshly fallen snow of the night before. "Hinata."
"Yes?"
"What are you hiding?" His tone was almost amused, and with eyes owlish in their innocence she turned to him. "N-nothing, Nii-san!"
"Hm." His disbelief was light and sighing he bumped her with his shoulder very gently. "Where are you going right now?"
"To... um... to meet Sasuke at the library." Sliding her eyes sideways the Hyuuga shifted uncomfortably and Neji let his eyes linger on her, catching the bite of her lip and the way her hair moved to cover her from sight as her shoulders tightened.
"How about I tag along?"
Wide eyed now Hinata turned to him. "Uh... I... don't you have class? I thought you-"
"In fifteen minutes." Neji continued calmly, listening to the crunch of the snow beneath their feet as they stepped out into the campus maze and began threading through bodies packed with jackets to buffer against the cold. Shivering Hinata moved to pull her hood up, only to find Neji had already pulled it over her head.
"I... I don't think you have to, um... he's-he's okay. It was a little hard at first but he's..." Hinata struggled for a moment and Neji continued to follow, his one long step eating up the space of two of her rapid steadily more panicked trots.
"I'll just introduce myself." Her cousin continued as she tried to gather her words together.
"But..." Hinata began and then stopped looking up as the library appeared to find Sasuke at the steps, leaning on the railing watching them approach with narrowed dark eyes.
Beside her she felt the animosity burst to flame like a match struck and letting out a breath through pursed lips she tried to smile. "Sasuke, h-hello."
"Hinata." Sasuke's calm tone was as icy as the snow and his eyes didn't deviate from Neji's pale gaze.
"Uh... this... this is my cousin, Neji-nii-san, this is Sasuke-"
"Right. You're the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha." Neji commented and he stretched out his hand much the same way a man would wave a knife at a robbery.
Slowly, eyes careful Sasuke's gaze widened with understanding and then a shaky smirk rose to his lips. "That would be correct. I suppose you might have had occasion to speak with him."
The sudden ice in his voice cracked and Hinata watched in confusion as the two men shook hands in front of her, stepping back a bit, although Neji was admittedly almost between her and the Uchiha.
"Only a handful of times. I doubt he would remember." Neji allowed carefully, watching Sasuke's gaze drift from him to Hinata who was twisting the ends of her sleeve in her fingers in front of her clasped books.
More thinly Neji added. "It seems the partnership on the project had a bit of a rocky start, from what I understand."
Sasuke gaze snapped back to him like a magnet and although there was a stillness about his mouth his eyes narrowed just a fraction. "Perhaps a bit, yes. Creative minds tend to have disagreements."
"I highly doubt Hinata was a source of disagreement." Neji frowned back and to his surprise Hinata let out a soft "Excuse me?"
Turning to her his cousin frowned. "I've never seen you deal with anyone with a lack of diplomacy."
"You don't give her enough credit." Sasuke's smirk was evident in his tone even as Hinata went to defend herself. "She's no push over."
Startled Hinata stared at him, eyes wide in her face with surprise. Beside her Neji's frown was deepening as the Uchiha ignored him, dark eyes focused on his little cousin to his right who he was noting with alarm was heating up like a kettle on high.
"I have never believed Hinata to be a push over." Her Nii-san said softly then, putting a hand to Hinata's shoulder. "Never."
Suddenly under the scrutiny of two tall handsome young men Hinata shrunk deeper into her hood and jacket.
"A...ah, I... I'm cold... I have to... um..." she motioned to the library, although the lie about being cold was brazen considering the redness of her face and the heat from her body surely melting the snow around her.
"Well, I won't keep you." Neji sighed, turning his eyes back to Sasuke who moved to follow as Hinata headed up the stairs to the library in a hurry. "I just hope there will be no more... disagreements in the future." He threw in, making Sasuke pause and turn to look at him with a decidedly relaxed stance, hands in his pockets shoulders back. It was infuriating and impressive that nothing he had said so far seemed to alarm the young man before him.
Even more infuriating was the smile that had flickered on his lips as Hinata's cheeks had reddened.
"I hope that as well, Hyuuga." Sasuke said simply, turning to follow Hinata up the stairs and missing the frown that Neji shot at him as they disappeared into the building.
Standing just inside the door way Hinata peered at Sasuke over the edge of her books, pale eyes scrunched shut against her awkwardness. "I'm sorry."
Sasuke stopped, surprised to find her there, just a ball of tension waiting for him to appear. He cocked his head watching as she finally opened one eye to peek at him, her face still red. "He's... I didn't say anything, Neji-nii just... he's my big brother and..."
"I have one of those." Sasuke shrugged then, reaching inside his bag as she spoke, rummaging inside. "It's fine. Although he's never quite... interviewed a project partner that way, I must admit."
"Argh." Hinata sighed, rustling her bangs nervously. "I'm sorry."
And he laughed.
She stopped, frozen by the amused sound that left his throat, at once dark and sensual and so surprising in it's lightness that she stared, her hand frozen tangled in her hair.
"I told you." He finally looked up, a little puzzled by her stare. "You don't have to apologize." And without a word of explanation he offered her a card.
It was a palm sized piece of heavy card stock. Still amazed that someone like Sasuke could laugh Hinata took it slowly, wondering what in the world it could be as he shifted his bag onto his shoulder and began scanning the library for an empty table.
Giving her no time to examine the paper he nodded. "There's a table. Come on." And he moved quickly. In the mess of snow and ice everyone was looking for a warm place to study that didn't require rushing out past the faculties to the dorms and the library was packed. Together they snatched at the chairs left behind by another group and Hinata sighed with relief, starting her process of nesting in the space.
"Everyone is so scared of the weather." She mused, settling her books beside her lap top and her pencil on her right side. Like clockwork the lists of words she used frequently came out of the depths of her bag, worn and beaten from use, their titles scribbled several times in different pens as the ink from the first time it was written faded.
Sasuke watched her, awkward now from his place at the table, biting his lip, eyes trained on her long fingers as they typed in the password for her laptop.
His stomach was tight, like right after getting elbowed in the gut by Sakura or punched by Naruto, and his mouth felt strangely dry. For a moment he wondered if that was how his poor best friend had struggled for years in the presence of the pink haired loud mouth and a flash of empathy ripped through him.
"What was it you gave me?" She asked suddenly, and her eyes turned to the cardstock sitting on top of her books innocently. Taking the paper in her hands she stared at it, the one side was so intricately detailed in snowflakes she had thought it was a print, but upon closer inspection she realized that the image was in fact hand drawn in pen ink. The pattern of snowflakes twisted and turned and connected together to create a mosaic of winter. It was as complex as geometric patterns she had seen in books on mosques and yet seemed as organic as the chaos of a forest floor.
"Wow, that's beautiful." She whispered, running a finger over it and glancing up at him. "Did you draw this?"
His dark eyes watched her intently, giving one slow nod.
Flipping it over she blinked at the neat careful writing on the back.
Alpenglow: the reddish glow on snow topped mountains seen at dusk or dawn
Apricity: the warmth of the sun in winter
Slowly she raised her eyes to Sasuke who was staring determinedly at the table, brow furrowed. "I thought they would be words to add to your collection." His voice was quiet, almost too quiet to hear but being in the library helped.
Eyes widening slowly Hinata looked back down at the paper, lips parting in surprise as realization slowly settled on her shoulders.
"You... you found me a new words?" she whispered.
He couldn't say the rest of what he had intended. The sentences derailed in his throat and refused to recount how the alpenglow had reminded him of her cheeks when she blushed. Instead he pulled out his sketches and began to organize them by page, clearing his throat before asking. "Did you want me to read over the last part of the book?"
Raising his gaze back to her he blinked, watching her staring at the cardstock for a moment longer before nodding. "Yes... it's.. um... I printed it out. One second." Hesitantly she ruffled through the papers on her right with one hand, pressing the other with her new word to her chest. After a moment of ruffling through her papers she stopped, looked back down at her words in her hands, cradling the cardstock carefully in her hands before turning her gray eyes to him with a puzzled pink cheeked expression.
He had to bite down on his lip hard to keep his smirk from overpowering him right into a grin.
Freaking Sasuke and his cuteness.
Leave me some love, ne!
Inky