Soft steps of shoes hitting the ground could be heard as Hinata and Sasuke walked home together. Wildly animated and exaggerated afternoon stories ended once Naruto departed to enter his cram classes. Sasuke normally wouldn't mind the silence, in fact he would welcome it, yet Hinata's constant glances to her right, the side Naruto would often walk on, did not sit well with Sasuke.

"Please, please don't make me go!" pleaded Naruto as he held onto Sasuke like a lifeline. Naruto cast a quick glance at Hinata hoping his puppy dog eyes would be enough for her to give the slightest indication she would cave.

Normally, Hinata would indulge Naruto in his wild antics, that is except when it came to his studies. In that regard, she was rather strict and always found a way to politely tell Naruto to take his studies more seriously.

That is why Naruto was currently holding onto Sasuke, Naruto was hoping that if he was annoying enough, Sasuke would yell at him (like usual) and tell him to join them on their walk home so that Sasuke could finally have some peace and quiet.

But no, neither of his friends said anything, so Naruto was forced to leave his friends behind.

"You two could be so unreasonable," Sasuke muttered. "Let's pass by that one bakery on the way home."

"Hm? But you hate sweets," replied Hinata.

"Is that a no then?"

"N-no, it's not. It's just….Naruto and I usually have to beg you to join us. So it is a little unusual for you to suggest it."

With a shrug he added, "Itachi likes the dango next door."

Hinata gave a knowing smile. "Thank you."

The sweet aromas from the various pastries nauseated Sasuke, with a grimace he took a sip of his black coffee. A soft giggle broke Sasuke from his musings, "What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to."

"I'll take my cinnamon to go. I appreciate you bringing me here, but we don't have to stay."

Sasuke let out a sigh, "It's not that bad, we can stay."

"Your face says otherwise."

With a gruff voice he replied, "If you would rather come with just Naruto just say that."

Hinata blinked at Sasuke's response, "It's not that, I would just rather go somewhere we can both have a good time. I can tell you're miserable. There's actually a new tea shop not too far from here. I was going to ask Neji to go with me over the weekend. But now seems like an appropriate time."

Sasuke eyed Hinata for a moment, "Very well," he proceeded to take his last sip before rising from his chair, Hinata followed suit.

"Should we still get Itachi his dango?" asked Hinata once they were out of the bakery.

Sasuke grumbled, "Itachi is going to think I need a favor, getting him dango and then a tea."

This time Hinata had to suppress her laughter behind her hand, "I'm sure he will love the surprise. I know I love it when Hanabi surprises me with random sweets."

"Older siblings are odd," was Sasuke's reply as he entered the dango shop to place his order.

The tea shop was much smaller than Sasuke was expecting, giving it a rather intimate atmosphere. "Is there any specific tea you would recommend?"

"I think you might actually like the cherry blossom tea." Sasuke gave Hinata a deadpanned look. Upon having that expressionless look cast upon her, Hinata continued, "I-I…there's no hidden meaning behind it. It's just that the taste is salty and sour, with an aftertaste of apricot and almond. The flavor is bolder than one would expect. B-but if you would like something more bitter then I would suggest sencha green tea, it will taste like vegetables. It also has an earthy tone to it." Hinata wrung her finger together, upset with herself for causing a misunderstanding.

"Maybe I'll get the cherry blossom one for Itachi and try the sencha one for myself."

"Ummm, if you want to pair his tea with his dango, then I think you might want to go with the white peony tea. Those tend to go well with light dishes."

"Very well, what are you getting?"

"I'm not sure. I'm having a hard time deciding between lavender and dragonfruit."

"Lavender seems like the obvious choice, so go with dragonfruit."

"You're right, being too obvious is no fun."

Sasuke nodded and called over the waitress.

"The sencha is good, how is the dragonfruit?"

"It's good, it actually reminds me of a pomegranate. Maybe Itachi would like this one as well."

"I'll let him know you suggested it."

A soft lull followed them, each enjoying their tea and their companion. Hinata, content in watching those that passed by the tea shop. Smiling at certain things she observed. Sasuke sometimes envied Hinata's inability to hide her expressions, in their social standing it was often viewed as a weakness, but Sasuke liked knowing what Hinata was thinking or feeling. Sasuke smirked as he recalled his conversation with Naruto over preferring Hinata's company, the tranquility of just being was nice.

Hinata caught Sasuke's small smile, smiling in return.

"Thank you for spending the day with me and for trying to cheer me up. I really appreciate it."

"You say this as if it were a chore for me."

"It's not that. I just mean the fact that you took me to one of your least favorite places to make me happy, is something I do not take lightly and will treasure."

"Just remember, you're lucky to have me."

With the setting sun giving Hinata a healthy glow, a smiling Hinata replied, "I truly am."

Like always constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames will be deleted.

Til Next Time!