-Hinata's POV-

Things went back to normal for a few weeks, or as normal as they could be with Prestige's popularity on a steady rise. Photos and clips of us were constantly trending, whether it be as a group or as individual members. A GIF of Sasuke doing a sexy bodyroll dance move on stage during one of our promotional concerts stands as the most viral one to date, followed closely by a short video clip of one of our dance practices and a cute photo of Sakura with her new shorter hair cut.

Word got out that Sai and Ino were officially dating around the same time that Tenten told us in confidence that Neji had finally agreed to a second-chance date now that months had passed since their terrible first one. Both Ino and Sai immediately advertised on their social media and to the public that they're an item, but Tenten told us if her and Neji work out she isn't sure yet if she'd want to go public.

I could understand her dilemma solely because of the type of person Neji is. If he was bombarded by paparazzi because of a relationship, he'd have to be incredibly serious about Tenten to not dump her as a result of the unwanted attention. She'd pouted when I admitted to not having any advice for her. I can see both sides of the issue and wouldn't want to take sides, not to mention the exact same issue lies in wait for Sasuke and I should we outlast our contracts.

Speaking of Sasuke, our relationship had been renewed after that night of reconciliation. We've made out a few more times since, going slightly further each time, but we're still pretty much testing the waters with physicality. Honestly, I was starting to feel comfortable enough to take things to the next step, but I'm not sure if I should say something to him about it or just take the reins and show him.

Gaara's birthday, January 19th, came and passed, and the lover's holiday was right around the corner. Sakura and I were making the weekly grocery trip as it was her turn to pay and I simply didn't have any plans so I decided to come along. We were dressed in incognito casual clothing and face masks so the chances of fans recognizing us was much lower. Sakura even had a ball cap on so her pink hair didn't stand out so much.

She hummed lightly to herself as her eyes scanned the large variety of sandwich meat. I fiddled with my fingers anxiously after noticing a stand of Valentine's Day chocolates and cards nearby. She turned and tossed a few items into the cart before glancing over at me then following my gaze. Her eyes glowed as she clearly smiled teasingly at me from behind her mask, "Got someone special in mind?" I looked over at her and she waggled her brows at me.

I shook my head at her, face bright red, "I was wondering if we should get the boys some…" She paused for a moment as we both surveyed the pink and red stand of goodies before she let out a noise of distaste, "No, we can't just give them this prepackaged stuff, Hinata. Have you ever made homemade chocolates before?" I shook my head once more, "T-The opportunity never arose." She ruffled my hair with one hand before guiding the cart into the baking aisle and pulling to the side so she could look up the necessary ingredients on her phone, speaking absently as she did so, "I made them with my mom when my parents were still married, so it shouldn't be too bad."

I looked over at her as she skimmed a recipe before turning to start picking up the items we'd need and tossing them into the cart. It must've been hard to have your family break up when you're old enough to understand how serious of a decision it is to do so. Sure, my mother passed away when I was young, but I wasn't able to truly understand what had happened until years had passed. She finished up and soon we'd checked out our items, loaded them into her car, and were headed to get some coffee before heading home.

Once we were served our cups and alone once more, Sakura surprised me by speaking bluntly, "I think I love Gaara." I nearly choked on the sweat drink in my mouth, bringing up a hand to cover my lips as I cleared my throat before swallowing with wide eyes. Her pretty green eyes were staring calmly down into her mug and a soft pink tint dusted her cheeks. I struggled to find the right response, aware of the irony of her confession and choosing to clarify her statement to buy myself some time, "You love him or you…love love him?" Her eyes rose to meet mine and she gave me a bittersweet grin, "I think I love love him, Hinata."

I could hear the emotions shake her voice and reached across the table to touch her hand, "Why do you sound so upset about that?" Her chin quivered slightly and she let out a sigh, "He's done so much for me since we've met and I've done little to nothing to show him my gratitude. Don't you think it's a little selfish of me to expect him to accept my feelings, too?" I searched her face for a few moments before shaking my head and deciding to just give my honest advice, "I think that if you truly love him, the best thing you can do is talk to him about it. Gaara is…kind of hard to read so he may feel the same way about you and just n-not know how to say it."

She nodded at first, but slowly stopped the action, hesitation on her lips, "What if he doesn't, though? Feel the same, I mean. Can we possibly stay friends after that?" I thought hard for a moment, taking a sip of my drink to fill the silence as I pondered her question. "Can you honestly stay just friends with him with how you're feeling now?" Her bright eyes widened and she frowned, "I…I don't know. I haven't really thought about it that way." The guilt of her being such a great friend and coming to me with her emotions while I'm hiding my relationship with Sasuke from her suddenly weighed heavy on my shoulders.

I watched as she took a sip of her drink, lost in her thoughts. She caught my staring and offered a sheepish grin, "Thanks for talking with me about this, Hinata. I think this helped me a bit." I felt my confession rising in my throat and stood up suddenly to stop myself from coming clean, worried that there'd be no going back if she found out. She looked shocked at my sudden movement, "Are you okay?!" I stared down at her with a red face for a moment before excusing myself to the bathroom to splash some cold water on it. My flushed reflection met my gaze and I frowned at myself. Sasuke and I made a pact that this has to stay between us until both of us agree we're ready to tell others. I'd nearly betrayed his trust just now and it had my heart beating loudly in my throat.

Once we'd finished the work week, Sakura and I spent hours upon hours in the kitchen preparing cookies and chocolate for the boys, deciding to prepare some for the Akatsuki boys, Kakashi, and even Sai since we'd accidentally purchased way too many ingredients. Both Gaara and Sasuke tried to nosy their way into the kitchen to see what we were doing, but Sakura kept them in line each and every time so they wouldn't be able to see the pretty pink and red gift boxes and tissue paper on the counter, waiting to be filled with goodies.

Eventually the two left to hang out with Kisame and Deidara and we were able to relax a bit. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand before stepping away from the counter and pulling my hair up into a ponytail so it would stay out of my face, "What is that on your neck, Hinata?" I gave her a weird look and her eyes quickly widened and lit up as she leaned over to take a closer look, moving the cloth of my apron out of the way, "That's a hickey, Hinata! What the hell? You've been holding out on me!"

My face bursted out bright red and I accidentally shot my ponytail holder across the kitchen and had to turn my back to frantically search for it with a hand to my neck. Sakura's laughter filled the room and I turned to look over at her once I'd found my hairtie, "P-Please pretend you didn't see it!" She wiggled her fingers around my hips, tickling me as I tried to squirm away and smacked at her hands, "Little Hinata's finally growing up! So who's the lucky guy?" I finally tied my hair up and returned to stirring a bowl of chocolate mixture with as stern a face as I could manage, "W-We promised not tell anyone."

She grinned, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter by my side, "So that means it's most likely someone at the agency or at least mildly famous, right?" My face burnt brighter and I gave her a pleading look, "I really can't tell you, Sakura! I-I'm sorry!" She gave me another teasing grin, "How about this: I won't be offended that you didn't tell me if and only if you tell me if I guess who it is correctly, deal?" That honestly didn't sound like too bad of a deal, especially if it means she won't be upset with me, "Okay, but you only get three guesses and if you don't guess it then you have to drop the subject until I'm ready to tell you!" She offered me one of her hands and I sat down the chocolate bowl to shake it. "Deal!"

The next day, the big day, finally came and we presented the boys with a gift box of sweets each, a cute little card from each of us in them. Gaara's face turned as red as his hair and he shyly gave both of us a hug, "Thank you very much. This means a lot to me." I glanced over to see that Sakura's face was flushed as she tried not to stare at his cute face. Sasuke gave a small thanks before the two of them surprised us both by announcing they'd reserved a table at one of the nicest restaurants in town for us all to attend.

Later that evening, we'd all dressed up nicely and carpooled in Sakura's car since it was the roomiest. Once we were seated and had our meals ordered and served, we ate in a comfortable silence for a moment before Sakura broke the calm air, "Did you guys know that Hinata's seeing someone?" I looked over at her with pleading eyes, "Sakura…" Sasuke let out a laugh, interrupting me, "Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it."

I gave him a small glare which he smirked at before taking another bite of his steak. Sakura continued on, intent on embarrassing me it seemed, "It's true! She even has a hickey on her neck!" Sasuke coughed, covering his mouth as he tried not to choke on his food. Sakura laughed at his reaction and I simply put my head in my hands.