Rating: K+/T

Pair: SasuHina ft. Ino, Sakura and Naruto.

.

I'm flipping a coin from now on. Heads is SasuHina, tails is InuHime.

Guess we know who won this round.

Enjoy!

.

.

.

.

They said it jokingly because they caught her staring. Sasuke was in and out of the village, and, when he was in, Naruto would be the main one around him.

Really, they thought she was staring because she was slightly jealous by all the attention Naruto gave him, but what they actually said was-

"Hey, Late Bloomer."

Hinata blinked, looking away from the duo, and turned to the trio walking her way. Ino, Tenten, and Sakura were smiling at her, eyes looking past her briefly.

"So, Sasuke's back again, huh?" Tenten said.

"And Hinata was staring again, hm?" Ino grinned, looking at Naruto and Sasuke again. "You know, we all had a crush on him when we were younger, but I guess it hits everyone at some point."

"That's not it," Hinata said, running a hand through her hair. And, really, she didn't know what it was. She thought maybe she didn't trust him and that's why she stared – to see if he was mistreating Naruto. Then she thought she was curious – suspicious – because who WAS Sasuke Uchiha, anyway? What did she know about him and what was he like? What was HER opinion of him? What was he about?

In the back of her mind, she thought she could find out the answers to these questions while also keeping an eye on Naruto, but…

Sometimes she was looking at Sasuke…just because.

"Hey!"

Hinata blinked again, turning to see Naruto and Sasuke walking their way. She was overcome with a wave of nervousness, but she also couldn't stop the slight eye roll she did.

"Hey, heroes," Ino said, crossing her arms.

"See you're back again, Sasuke," Tenten said.

The Uchiha shrugged. No one really knew what it meant.

"I don't understand why you don't stay," Sakura told him. "You keep coming back, and you're never gone for more than a month."

He shrugged again, looking like he might say something, but Naruto beat him to it.

"You know how people are," the blond began. "They don't trust him – still holding grudges and whatever." He jabbed a thumb at the Uchiha. "He said they're looking for any reason to start trouble with him."

Sasuke looked sideways at him. Perhaps that was private information.

As a conversation began, Hinata wondered if Sasuke was always so silent. He didn't appear too uncomfortable with the current situation, but, oddly, she wished he showed some pleasure in it. Naruto and Sakura were ecstatic whenever he was here, and she was sure he liked being around them, too.

So why didn't he show it?

Why didn't he show even a subtle sign of being happy, and… What did he look like when he did feel that way? Did his smile spread the length of his lips or only halfway? Did he show teeth or was it closed and crooked? Did he ever really SMILE or was it smirks and amused huffs?

She wondered if his eyes lit up at all and if anyone could actually TELL when he was showing genuine emotion or…

Hinata mentally shook herself, aware she was staring and hoped it hadn't been for long, but she was surprised to see someone else had been distracted.

Sasuke was staring at her, eyes glinting with a type of interest she had only seen in curious children. However, Sasuke was slightly more indulged than she had been, not noticing she had noticed, and was far more lost with confirming aspects of her she was startled he had.

And then he snapped out of it, blinking, and realized she had caught him. Hinata blinked multiple times, cheeks tinting because WHAT was that just now?

"I have to go," Hinata said, quickly walking away before anyone could question her on it, but now she was questioning herself. Her emotions were flaring in a very familiar fashion, but the usual stimulus hadn't been the cause. Perhaps she was a late bloomer, after all… Perhaps-

"I don't like him," she mumbled with finality. "I - don't - like him."

But, really, she should be shocked she had to say it out loud to convince herself.

.

.

.

.

Hm… I'm always interested in how these things turn out. I never know what comes out of this head o' mine.