Author's Note: Happy Christmas Eve Eve! This year has flown by super quickly. I'm starting to feel old over here haha.
Anywho! I wanted to address a couple of things to not confuse my readers, I enjoy reading your reviews and knowing your thoughts, so I want to clear a few things before we jump into this thing!

First off, I know that in the first chapter it says ONESHOT, that's been changed into a full story so please ignore that, haha.

Second, Naruto is not the douchebag ex of Hinata; sure, the ex will eventually appear, and we will get to hear his viewpoint of things but that won't be till later on. Naruto is forever the good guy in my stories until I deemed otherwise.

Third: Most of you may be thinking "Naruto wasn't in the first chapter!" or "Where's Naruto?". Don't worry my friends he will appear in this chapter. I didn't want to make them both meet each other so quickly in the first chapter as I wanted to capture Hinata's daily life and what her thoughts were in relationships. But NaruHina will be present from this chapter moving onward!

Whew, that was a lot, but I hope that answered some of your questions! Please continue to ask away in the reviews as I will be sure to answer those when I can!

Without further ado, let's get on with the chapter!

Hot Tea during Winter

Chapter recap:

Tama purrs and shows off what one could assume to be a smile

"We'll just spend the holidays together, just you and me. Why should we bring in some boy who will only cause trouble for us? You're the only man I need Tama." Hinata explains with a heartfelt smile.
The feline nods and snuggles against the girl's chest.

The next morning Hinata wakes up and sits on her bed rubbing her eyes frantically "Man, I feel like I barely slept." She thinks out loud as she climbs off the bed and walks sluggishly towards the bathroom.

She brushed her teeth and uses her mouthwash to give her breath that extra freshness; she spits the water on the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. Her long indigo hair was all over the place from the tossing and turning of last night's sleep. Her lavender eyes were red from the soap and water that she just bathed them with.

A hot mess.

"Alright Hinata, today is a new day! This means we leave yesterday's events in the past! You're going to have a great day today!" Giving herself the motivation for the day Hinata goes and finishes her morning routine.

"Meow.." Tama walks next to her as she's in the kitchen preparing her breakfast; He gives her knee a good purr earning a giggle from the dark-haired girl.

"Good morning to you too Tama! You ready for your breakfast?" she asks as she picks him up and makes her way to his bowl. "It's already prepared for you! Now eat up!"

Tama quickly digs into the cat food as his orange tail swings from left to right. A soft ringtone rings from Hinata's cellphone as she goes to grab her jacket from the closet in the hallway. "It's that time already? I better get going." She takes a bite from her PB and goes to give Tama a nice loving head rub.

"Tama, you behave yourself now. I'll be home by dinner and don't wander off too far okay?" she tells him, Tama looks at her and gives her a nod while giving into her hand and purring once more.

"Good boy" Smiling she gets up and makes her way out of the door.

As per usual, the Kuma Cafe was experiencing business as regular. Ino and Sakura asked Hinata once she arrived if she was sure that she was okay.

"Guys, I told you I'm fine already. Today's a new day," she tells them.

"Yea but Hinata we're just wanting to know if you're okay?" Sakura adds in. It warms Hinata's heart at how serious this seems to be to her friends and how they both truly care for her.

But they need to let it go.

"Guys I'm serious. I truly appreciate your concern but I'm doing good." She reassures them once more. Her friends seemed to have been in a mental debate on whether to believe the dark-haired girl or not but eventually, both girls nodded and smiled.

"Okay Hinata, we believe you!" Ino says.

"If you say it's okay then it's okay with us too!" Sakura adds in. Not wanting to make her eyes go watery for two days in a row Hinata wipes her tiny tears and hugs her friends. Both girls are surprised at the random action from the girl.

"You two are the best of friends that anyone could have," she admits softly, this time Ino and Sakura are the ones in shock and are left speechless for a second. Then they both with much honor return Hinata's hug. "Know we're lucky to have YOU as our friend Hinata," Sakura says as she rubs part of her hair.

"We love you and we're always gonna have your back," Ino adds in as all three girls enjoy a moment of love and silence. It's difficult not crying when both her friends are saying beautiful things to her, but she must be strong! After all, there's no crying during the holiday season!

"It's quite steady today I've noticed" Hinata mentions as she's brooming the dining room.
"Yea, as Christmas draws near most people stop coming in since they're all buying gifts., Sakura adds as she's folding napkins on the counter.

"And not to mention the festival which is only a few days away," Ino states as she's wiping the tables down.

"Speaking of festivals…" Sakura starts with a smirk as Ino catches up and both girls look at the other only person in the cafe. Hinata already noticing where this is heading to starts making her way to the back of the counter.

"I already know what you're both gonna say and I'm not interested."

"Awe! Come on Hinata!" Ino whines

"It's just one date! What's the worst that could happen?" Sakura chips in. Giving both girls a playful glare Hinata raises her eyebrow "Remember the last time I went on a date with one of the guys you both suggested" she reminds them.

"Kankuro said he would've gone on another date with you." Sakura defends along with Ino who nods in agreement.

"I'm pretty sure he would since he was trying super hard to get a kiss from me on the first date." The lavender-eyed girl rolls her eyes as she giggles.

"Hinata! You need to take charge and start getting back out there again! You don't wanna be alone on Christmas do you?" Ino says as she leans towards Hinata's face, giving her an intense stare.

"That's sweet Ino, but I won't be alone-"

"I knew you'd come around Hinata, you won't be dis-"

"I'll be with Tama!" Ino freezes in the spot as if like a stone, Sakura pokes at the blonde girl to get a response to no avail. "Hinata, you broke Ino.." Sakura laughs.

"Tama is the only guy I need" Hinata continues boasting about her cat not noticing the uncontrollable twitch in Ino's eyebrow.

"THE DAMN CAT!?"

The bell of the cafe stops the girl's conversation in their track, a young man with stagnant movements makes his way inside the cafe.

"Welcome to Kuma Cafe!" All three girls welcome the guy expecting the same love-struck reaction that all men get whenever they enter, this particular guy however seemed to be ignoring them.

"He didn't even say hi back, I'll give him a piece of my mind," Sakura says as she's cracking her knuckles and starts to make her way towards the table. A hand stops her in her tracks.

"Hold up, Sakura I'd say we let Hinata handle him" Ino smirks shocking the dark-haired girl. "M-Me? How come?" she asks curiously.

"Because you have a way in talking to people, he obviously seems to be upset. Go work your charm and see if you can maybe snag a phone number in the process." Ino whispers to Hinata as she shoves her towards the table of the man.

"Ino!" Hinata whispers back not really wanting to talk to someone who looks scary. I mean, who comes into a store looking like a dead man and not even greeting back when spoken to.
'Alright Hinata, remember that you're at work and you still need to make tips.' Taking deep breaths Hinata takes the chance to capture the young man's features.

Wearing dark wash blue jeans along with some white sneakers; a black hoodie with orange stripes and blonde spiky hair which looked like he just rolled out of bed. He was in a bad shape.

'Yea, I'm definitely not asking for a number..' she concludes as she's now standing in front of the man. The man has his hands on the side of his head while looking down at the table.

"H-Hello there, I'm Hinata and I'll be your server today! Can I interest you in our special daily tea?" she asks the man automatically getting into character.

There was no reply.

"Would you like to try some of our crepes I assure you that there quite yummy!" She asks again this time her voice raising just a bit to receive once more no reply.

'Is he not feeling good? Is he maybe sick?' Hinata starts to get concerned for the young man, maybe he wasn't feeling too good.

But then what could she do?

Turning to her friends to get some input she shakes her head and raises her shoulders. Both friends shush her to get closer to the guy which Hinata doesn't want to do.
He looks like he doesn't want to be bothered.

Even so, Hinata takes pride in her job and she loves making her customers happy whenever they come into Kuma Cafe. So, she's determined in making sure this guy leaves with the same content smile as everyone else.

And the remedy for that is:

Some freshly brewed hot tea!

The fresh aroma enters the nostrils bringing a positive setting wherever you may be. The hot liquid warms the body making one feel comfortable and relaxed. The sweetness of the tea hugs the tastebuds in all the right places. That's sure to help the young man out!

Hinata makes her way toward the counter leaving the man who still hasn't made any movements since he's arrived. Ino and Sakura make their way towards her curious as to what she knows about the strange mute man.

"He hasn't even moved," Sakura says as both she and Ino watch Hinata prepare the tea.
"You think tea will help him finally have some class and speak?" Ino comments unsure about the idea.

"I'm not 100% sure but I don't believe that he would just walk in here for nothing. After all, we still need to keep our customers happy right?" Hinata asks silencing her friend's worries. "And besides, our Roman Chamomile Tea is the perfect tea to ensure relaxation" Taking the hot steaming tea from the kettle and pouring it into a cup, Hinata then makes her way back to the young man.

"Hello again, I bought some of our delicious tea that will be sure to help you relax!" she says with a bright smile.

Again, no response.

'He's not taking the tea?' she thinks as she starts to assume that maybe this man is more than just 'sick'.
Could he be having a mini-heart attack or having a seizure!?

This could be serious and she hasn't even ensured if this man was even truly okay, she feels bad at her selfishness in wanting to only snag a quick tip from the guy.

This time she inches closer to the blonde-haired man and asks if he's okay once more to only receive the same response.
None

'This is bad maybe I need to be more insisting..' Getting a bit more closer to the point where she could almost be hovering over him, with her free hand she hesitantly places it on top of the man's shoulder giving him a light shake.

"E-Excuse me? Are you okay?" she asks once more.

She hears what appears to be a form of audio coming from the man as she leans her ear to listen in. "...d-...go"

"I'm sorry?" Hinata leans a bit more trying to get a clear hearing.

"-ko, d…n't….g…" he says in barely a whisper.

"Go?" Suddenly before Hinata can blink the young man raises as if he was just now waking up from a deep slumber and he finally spoke in a clear and audible sentence.

"KANAKO DON'T GO!" his quick motion had his left shoulder bump into Hinata causing her to tumble backward along with the still-hot tea in her hand which was now covered over her currently soaked apron; although the liquid never got on her a good chunk did get in her left hand.

"Hinata!" Both Ino and Sakura come running towards the scene as they check the fallen girl for any severe burns.

Blinking in alert the young blonde man looks at the scene before him, unsure of what was going on he scratches the back of his head.
"Uh…is everything okay?"

"You.." a voice says and before the man could process someone grabs him by the collar.
"You got some nerve making Hinata fall like that! Now apologize!" she glares at him; shaking in fear the blonde looks at Hinata who is being helped up by Ino.

"Sakura, it's okay. I'm fine." Hinata reassures her. In not wanting to upset her friend Sakura reluctantly lets go of the blonde man. "Okay fine" she makes her way back next to Hinata and crosses her arms.

"Uh.." The man says as he coughs in regaining his composer. "Hey, I'm sorry. you're not hurt are you?" he asks embarrassed.

"I'm fine don't worry," Hinata reassures him not before Ino takes her hand much to Hinata's dismay. "Don't worry! Thanks to you her hand is burnt!" This causes the man to slump his shoulders and look at the hand in pain.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't realize"

"You're gonna have to pay for the tea and the damage to Hinata's hand," Ino adds in.

"If you hadn't come walking in here like a creep then we wouldn't have to be dealing with this.." Sakura says. Hinata looks at the blonde man who's finally standing and looking at her, his eyes sad with guilt and embarrassment but there's an even more sadness in his eyes which are cerulean blue almost like the ocean.

She understands that her friends are upset and she may even be a bit irritated herself but it's not right to gang up on someone like that. Especially a customer.

"Guys, let's not argue anymore shall we?" her words stop everyone in their tracks as they all look at her. With a loving smile, Hinata looks at the blonde and says to him.

"At least I was able to get you to finally speak even without the tea!" Her friends sigh happily and smile at her knowing that Hinata is always one to see the positive in every negative.

The blonde man however stares at the girl in a shocked gaze as he smiles a bit with a chuckle.
"Well, ya sure did.." he says.

Moments later some other customers started entering the cafe cause Sakura and Ino to be attending to them. Hinata wanted to assist but they both assures her that she needed to ice her hand for a while and to not do anything else.

In the meantime, she sat at the far table by the cafe gazing out the window watching the pretty snowfall.
"It sure looks pretty, I wonder if I were to put my hand in a pile of snow if it'll make the pain go away." she thinks out loud not noticing the footsteps that are walking toward her.

"Is someone sitting here..?" a voice makes Hinata turn to see the blonde-haired man from earlier standing in front of her.

"Not at all, go ahead," Hinata tells him with a smile as the man nods and sits in front of her. Both are quiet for a few minutes not sure what to say until Hinata decided to break the silence.

"Are you feeling a bit better now?" she asks him.

Chuckling the man points at her hand "Me? I should be asking you that!"

"I appreciate your concern sir but I'm perfectly fine. I was worried that you were gonna have a heart -attack," she explains with a giggle.
"Yea…about that." the man starts to say bringing the playful atmosphere to a more serious one.

"I was upset and I sort of zoned everything out. Did I do anything to offend you?" Hinata wasn't sure what has this man with such a painful expression in his eyes, sure he was smiling but it seemed almost forged in a way.

"No of course not! But you did speak at some point. You called out a name" she manages to say to the blonde catching his attention.

"A name? What was it?" The man asks her; now Hinata doesn't quite remember since everything happened too fast.

"I'm not sure I remember but… it was between 'Kana, Kaiko, Kimiko?" She stops as she sees the man look at his hands sadly "Was it Kanako?" he asks in a soft voice.

Hinata nods in agreeance.
"Yes, who is that person?" she asks as the man looks back at her, and Hinata's shock to see small tears forming in his beautiful ocean eyes.

"She's my..well ex-girlfriend now.."

Merry Late Christmas!

That does it for this chapter!

I feel like I made Hinata extra cute in this story and she's making it so much fun to continue writing. Naruto makes me wanna hug and feed him ramen lol

Let me know your thoughts about how their meeting went! I'm not wanting to make my chapters too long so I wasn't able to incorporate introductions quite yet but that will all transpire next chapter for sure!

As always please let me hear your thoughts as they always matter!