Hinata rolled her chair up to her desk. She sighed comfortably, looking at the massive stack of paperwork that needed her attention. She really liked her job. She did all of the low-priority mission paperwork for the Hokage office, writing summaries, making corrections, rejecting incomplete paperwork, and suggesting who the paperwork should go to next. It was constant, it could never be finished, and it was consuming.
And she loved it.
It was hours out of her day where no one would bother her, and she didn't have time to think about what she was outside of this room. She thrived off this paperwork. She would stay late just so she didn't have to go home.
At this desk, she was useful, and no one cared what she used to be able to do.
Occasionally someone would come in yell at her for their paperwork not being done yet. It felt good to not be treated like glass. Behind the desk, few could see her wheelchair.
"Hinata." A coworker peaked their heads into her office just as she picked up her first folder. "The Hokage asked for you to see him when you came in."
She rolled her chair back out of her desk with a frown. "Do you know what for?"
The person shook their head. "He just wanted to make sure that you were told."
"Do you think that it was urgent?" Hinata knew it wasn't, but she really didn't want the unneeded attention that came with the Hokage calling for her and her disobeying orders.
The coworker shrugged. "He came down himself. I was surprised to see him."
Too late. Hinata sighed, wheeling her chair out toward the door. "Thank you, would you mind sending a message that I will head to the meeting room on this floor when he is ready."
The coworker nodded, and she headed to the meeting room. She had to be on the ground floor. There was no way for her to get to the upper floor. Permanent injuries in nin we're so rarely permanent enough to make walking impossible, and when they were retired, there was no need to put in accommodations for them. She was the only current exception as far as she knew.
Naruto beat her to the meeting room, she guessed in an attempt to make sure she didn't leave saying she had too much work to wait, or maybe he had been waiting for her senses he asked for her.
"Hinata." He perked up.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah. I have a teaching position I thought that you might be interested in. Civilian children ages 10-14."
Hinata pinched her eyes closed for a moment to resist the urge to sigh outwardly. "Hokage-sama, is there something wrong with my current performance?"
"No, no, you do more than nearly anyone we have ever had at that desk." He waved his hands.
"Then please stop trying to find my new employment." She stated plainly, hoping this time he would hear her.
He scratched the back of his head with no explanation that wasn't going to be 'I feel bad that you're crippled and want to make myself feel better by giving you something I think would be more fulfilling.'
"Was that all?" She asked, putting her hands back on her wheels.
"Oh, uhm, I wanted to invite you out for dinner tonight." He blurted.
She stared at him blankly.
"You know with uh, Sasuke, we go a few nights a week, not like a date… or" He started to turn red as he realized how it had sounded.
Hinata felt herself cringe at the idea of her love confession. It felt so long ago, even though she had held the crush most of her life. Like many other things, she had lost her admiration for him with her legs. If he couldn't get around it, then there was no relationship that could be had.
Hinata wanted to say no, but maybe she could turn this in her favor. "If you will stop looking for work for me, I will go."
Hinata headed into the agreed place. To her surprise, it was not Naruto's favorite ramen shop. If she had to guess, that was because her chair was too short for the bar. Naruto got up when he saw her at the door. He tossed a chair to the side and proceeded to move her into it.
She stiffened as she lost control of the chair. She resisted the urge to slam her hands down to break.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow from across the table, catching her usually well-hidden scowl of annoyance. She suppressed her frown and adjusted her chair as Naruto went to get a waiter.
"Hello again." Sasuke nodded his head at her, interested in her reaction.
"Hello." She greeted sheepishly, looking down at the menu.
"You know, I think you screwed up my shoulder with that cart leaning recommendation." Hinata looked up in question.
He wasn't taking his attention off of her. He actually wanted to talk.
"It's not a very natural position. Maybe a crossbody shopping bag would be better." She suggested.
He seemed to accept the answer, but he looked surprised.
She frowned. "What?"
He shook his head. "I was expecting an apology."
Her face scrunched in confusion, not sure what he meant by that, just as Naruto came back with a waiter.
Sasuke was impressed. She had definitely changed. She had grown confident over the years though she didn't seem to want to seek out pleasantries.
A few years before, she apologized for everything, even just making eye contact. On top of that, he didn't expect her to continue reaching out for helpful suggestions.
From Naruto's description of her, he would have assumed she would revert back to her shy, mousy ways, but it seemed she became bolder with the addition of a set of wheels. He doubted the two weren't connected.
Naruto started rambling on about how it was so nice to see her out and how glad he was that she had agreed.
She didn't smile at him, but she did look at him respectfully and nod to his appreciation.
"So, are you collecting cripples then?" Sasuke asked Naruto jokingly.
Now, if it had been just him, Naruto would have laughed, but because she was here, he turned red.
"Sasuke!" He snapped, staring at him in disbelief.
Naruto opened his mouth to rant further, but the damage was already done. She was laughing.
Hinata covered her mouth to more politely giggle into her hand. Sasuke grinned triumphantly.
"That was rude," Naruto complained as his anger was overridden by confusion.
"It's alright." Hinata waved her hand, giving Sasuke a small smile as a reward for his efforts.
"I think the lady that lives under me is deaf, and we can invite her as well," Sasuke added.
Hinata covered her smile. "Okay, that one was mean." She said despite her continued giggling.
Naruto looked at him then with complete confusion.
Their food came, and dinner went on. Naruto tried to change the subject, but Sasuke made a point to undercut it with whatever disabled joke he could just to see how much he could make her laugh. By the end of the night, Naruto went from confused to dazed.
She refused a walk home with an 'I'm not walking' and a giggle. She gave Sasuke a small wave and smiled as she left.
"I haven't seen her smile like that in a long time," Naruto said quietly. "I don't think I have seen her smile since before her accident, at... anyone."
"Think it might be because no one thinks she can take a joke?" Sasuke asked, putting his hand in his pocket, leaning back. "When is the last time anyone told her a joke? Or didn't start a conversation with 'how are you feeling'?" He didn't get that. People knew he could handle it. The only person who asked was Sakura, and that was a different issue entirely. He would go insane if no one could have a conversation with him without mentioning his arm. He couldn't imagine how it would take the polite out of someone who was actually polite.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I never really thought of it. I've always been so worried. When she got out of the hospital. I asked her out. You know she has this thing for me, apparently. She said she couldn't. I'm worried that she is going to cut herself off so much that she's just going to stop taking care of herself."
"Well, I don't think pestering her is going to help." Sasuke offered.
Naruto sighed.
"And maybe don't touch her chair." Naruto looked up curiously. "She looked ready to kill you when you pushed her in."
"I was just trying to help," Naruto mumbled.
"I don't think she wants help," Sasuke told him.
Hinata sighed content, setting her keys on the counter. She had a nice time, the first time in a long time. It was nice to be joked with, and Sasuke seemed to make a point of it to raise Naruto's blood pressure. She couldn't help it. She had to laugh. She hadn't in so long. Her chest hurt from doing so much of it in such a short time.
She appreciated it.
From what she knew about little Sasuke, he did not like female company. So she especially appreciated his willingness to make her smile.
Maybe it was because he knew that she had no interest in him in school.
Maybe he had changed a lot.
Maybe he was willing to sacrifice some of his pride to get a rise out of Naruto.
Whatever the reason, she did really appreciate the night. It was just sad that it would likely not happen again.