The spring was turning cold.

Or maybe that was just Hinata's imagination. The twinge of ice in the breeze, the grey clouds that smelled of frozen rain, the sudden dullness to nature's life; it was very possible that this was all in her head. Because mornings felt quiet without someone being there to wake her up. Because walks to school felt lonely without someone following a few, short paces behind her. Because work felt cold when Table 6 was empty.

It was the middle of April. The sakura trees were still in full bloom and the field of flowers by campus were still laughing with life. But Hinata didn't see it.

Everything was grey. Cold.

Thud.

"Angelus."

Hooves on the counter at work, crushing her tips with little remorse, a drawl came to the late, silent hours of the cafe. It was hot. The lights above shined brighter. And when Hinata looked up, a shuddering relief overcame her when she saw those dark eyes staring into her.

"Date me."

Her heart should not beat so quickly for a demon. It should not mourn and miss him when he is away. He is evil, created to destroy and tarnish everything she loves. He has no heart in his chest that beats for anyone – especially not her – and yet, despite it all, he is here. The spawn of hell who takes pleasure in others' suffering is right in front of her, leaning over, telling her to date him.

"But you said –"

"I know what I said." The tattered hem of his cloak swept over the surface of the counter as he moved to be right in her face, letting her see nothing but him. "But dating, no matter how trivial it is, is important to humans. Do you accept?"

Dating. Dating him – Sasuke. It was not wise to pursue such a creature, to follow such a relationship with him. He wasn't human. They wanted totally different things, probably. Actually, she had no idea what it was, exactly, he wanted; but she was sure it was vastly different from what she wanted. It had to be. How could a human and a demon possibly want the same thing?

Hugging her arms, Hinata turned her head. "I'm not –"

Gloved fingers pressed against her jaw, coaxing her to look at him. He was serious. She could see it. The demon did not show many things to her, but the seriousness in his expression was clear as day. "Do you accept?"

She shouldn't. She knew she shouldn't.

But …

But Hinata has lived her life simply, quietly, cleanly. "You're living without actually living," Kiba had told her once. And maybe he was right. Maybe she just stuck to what was safe and did not take any risks of any sort. No partying. No insane vacations or all-nighters. No drunk nights out in the city or breaking from normality to trying something new, something fresh, something exciting. Her life was boring, and usually, boring wasn't bad. She had good grades that could lead her to a good future, a stable job that could help prepare her for the future, and a reputation to her name that could aid her into greatness for the future.

Hinata Hyuuga was a girl who lived – lived for the future. Not for the present.

And maybe that was the problem. Because seven years down the line, when she had that stable job and stable life, would she look back on herself and be pleased? Would she think 'I had fun and let myself live the college dream' when she thought back?

No.

Not at all.

And here was Sasuke – a thing that she could barely understand, let alone see in her future. And if she lived how she always did, without risks, without the thrill of the unknown, she would say no.

"O … Okay."

But Hinata was tired of not living in the present. She was allowed to have some fun, right?

It's just … in this case, 'fun' meant going on a date with a demon.

Oh dear.

Chapter 7

Snow. Coffee. A Warm Cafe. The Only Thing Not Cliche About All of This is the Fact That My Date is a Demon

He let her pick out the location of their first date, and she had mistakenly decided it was best to go to the cafe she worked at.

Hinata has never been on a date before. With the current situation, that was probably the most obvious thing in the world. And because of such, she figured it was best to go somewhere she was familiar with. The only problem with that was:

- She was familiar with her home, which was not a good dating spot.

- She was familiar with the gardening section at Wal-Mart, which was not a good dating spot.

- She was familiar with college, which was not a good dating spot.

- She didn't go out much.

The only place she knew well and would be semi-comfortable having a date with Sasuke was the small, quaint cafe she worked at. And thankfully, she was off that day, so it wasn't like she would have her awkward date and then go straight to work.

That morning, Hinata had spent a lengthy hour deciding what to wear.

It doesn't matter, she had tried to tell herself. Demons don't care about these sorts of things.

But this date mostly served at trying to get Sasuke used to human customs, thus she would have to act like this was a real date. And it was. He asked her out … kind of. In his own, Sasuke way. Just because he was a demon did not make it any less of a date, but Hinata was struggling to remind herself that just because some things may not pertain or reach him does not mean she could throw them in the wind. She had to act like this was a human-human date; that way, he would understand her way of things better.

But, still, it felt terribly awful to be going through her clothes, nitpicking everything, weighing the pros and cons of every item of clothing.

He won't even be changing, she thought miserably. I doubt demons even have spare clothes.

But that was okay. She had to show him that for most dates, people tried to look their best. So she pulled on a white dress and pulled her hair into a half ponytail and applied a bit of gloss to her lips – which were nearly completely healed of the second, scalding kiss Sasuke had given her. And when she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror, second-guessed everything, and left to get her purse.

Sasuke was not in her apartment.

"For most first dates," she had told him meekly two days ago, "the people meet up at the date location. Sometimes, one of them picks up the other one."

And though he was clearly baffled at the idea of waiting – "A date is to see you. Why are humans so insistent on wasting their time?" – he obliged.

Pulling out her keys to the apartment, Hinata checked and rechecked herself before opening the door to step out on her doormat.

"Finally."

Only to be swept off her feet – literally – by Sasuke, who had been waiting for her by the door. Yelping, one hand grabbing his shoulder while the other sunk into the mess of feathers on his right side, Hinata could not reach the ground at all. He must have been carrying her a good foot up in the air.

"S-Sasuke!" she squeaked, looking down at him, face red. "What are you doing?"

"On dates, you said one of them picks the other up." His eyes traced her bare arms. "You are too weak to lift me."

"That's not what I – um – could you please put me down?"

He did so, and she could finally breathe.

"By car," she gasped, hand over her stampeding heart. "They pick them up by car."

"I can lift a car," he droned. "I am much stronger than humans."

"No, I –" Not wanting to confuse him (or herself) anymore, Hinata quickly locked her door before starting towards the cafe, Sasuke right by her side. "But … um, I just thought you were going to meet me at the cafe."

He huffed, glaring up at the cloudy sky. "I hate wasting time. I've been searching for you for centuries. Why would I want to waste more time?"

Centuries?

Hinata couldn't understand why he would be searching for her in the first place, let alone for centuries. "What –"

"You told me that a date is about learning about the other," he reminded her, voice cool and low. If it wasn't always so hot around him, Hinata would have shivered. "Do not ask me questions until it has started – unless you want to prove to me that dating is as insignificant as I believe it to be."

He has a lot to learn, Hinata realized, turning her gaze to the trees surrounding them. And his only teacher has no idea what she's doing.

…

"Hinata! I thought I saw you when you – wait. Who's this?"

The worst thing about having a date at the place you work is the fact that you'll have to deal with your coworkers while you're there.

Hinata had realized this, but she figured Sakura and Temari would give her some space. After all, they were quite sure she and Sasuke were together, and they loved her enough to not mess around with her date.

But she had forgotten one important matter.

Kiba Inuzuka, one of the waiters at the cafe and close friend of hers, had just gotten back from vacation.

Kiba Inuzuka, who almost lost his job when he nearly broke a man's hand for talking down to her.

Kiba Inuzuka, who thought of her more as his sister than anything else – and the thing about Inuzukas, Hinata had realized a good three years ago, was that they were fiercely protective of their family.

Okay. So maybe that was multiple important matters that she had forgotten. But she was too distracted by the seething look Kiba was currently giving Sasuke to kick herself for forgetting. And because Sasuke was Sasuke and he had no social awareness at all, he glared back, lips pulled back to reveal the fangs that Kiba could probably not even see.

"O-Oh. Um." Stepping a bit in between them, Hinata turned to Sasuke, her left hand sweeping in Kiba's direction. "Sasuke, this is Kiba, my coworker and friend. And, um, Kiba – this is Sasuke … my … date."

"Date," Kiba repeated, lips turned with contempt. "Aren't you that blind kid from school that Hinata is always around?"

All ferocity left Sasuke's face when he gave her a look. "Blind kid?" he asked. "Who is this?"

"TThis is a different Sasuke, Kiba," she quickly said. "Um. Can we please have a seat?"

But neither of them seemed willing to just let this pass.

"Another Sasuke?" Black eyes narrowed.

And Kiba ran a tan hand through his mess of brown hair, agitated. "I've never seen this guy in my life. Who is he? How do you know him? And what the hell are you doing, going on a date with someone like him?"

"I suppose that's a compliment," Sasuke muttered, "as I am the only one worth her time. You humans are nothing but filth."

Kiba's face went red with rage. "You tryin' to pick a fight, motherfucker?"

Alarmed, Hinata quickly locked eyes with Temari, who was across the room, pouring water for the family at Table 12. The blonde, even from where she stood, could see the escalating situation and swiftly excused herself from the table. Hinata kept her spot between the two men, placing one hand on Sasuke's featherless shoulder, keeping him from pouncing on Kiba.

"God, Kiba," Temari hissed as she approached. "There're customers here! Leave Hinata and her boyfriend alone, will ya?"

"Boyfriend!?" Kiba shouted. "You didn't tell me he was your boyfriend!"

But before Hinata could utter a word, an explanation, a sentence, something happened. A flash in Sasuke's eyes. Temari's hold on her pitcher suddenly faltered, and just as she reached them, it slipped from her hand and fell on the ground, water splashing all over Kiba's slacks.

"Damn it, Temari!" Kiba hissed, wiping at the stained fronts of his legs. "What was that for?"

Temari, wide-eyed, was on her knees and picking up the pitcher. "It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

"God, take over my tables! I need to change before people think I pissed myself."

He stormed off, steaming, and Temari told Hinata to find a seat as she raced to the back to get a mop. Hinata found a booth by the table, and as she slipped into one, Sasuke slipped into the other, smirking, clearly pleased.

He … must have done that, somehow. "Did you –"

"Dates are for learning about each other." But just as the smirk was there, it was gone, replaced by a scowl as he leaned over the table between them. "The date has started. Who the fuck is this other Sasuke?"

She had nearly forgotten his jealousy, so strong that he'd burn flowers if she so much as kissed them. Now that she thought about it, that ought to be expected. Demons were supposed to be full of sin.

"A classmate," she said, hands twisting into the skirt of her dress beneath the table. "He has the same name as you, and I-I guess he looks like you, too, but –"

"So you find him attractive," Sasuke sneered.

Well … Sasuke Uchiha was handsome. But she knew what Sasuke meant when he said that – 'attractive', as in you'd want to date him. "No. Not really."

His sneer did not disappear. In fact, he didn't look pleased at all with her answer. "Then you don't find me attractive."

How was she supposed to win in this?

Shaking her head, straightening her spine a bit, Hinata answered. "N-No, no! You're very attractive."

And it was embarrassing to admit, and Hinata felt like she could melt at any moment, but at least it was there on the table now. The dark eyes staring at her between sweeps of black hair were analyzing her face, searching it, trying to find the truth.

Blushing, Hinata swallowed down all her courage and placed a hand on the table, palm up and empty and waiting. "I'm on a date with you," she whispered. "I like you."

His eyes flickered, then sunk to her palm. Eventually, he understood and covered it with his own, larger, gloved one, and when he sighed, his hot breath snaked up her arm and made her feel like she was submerged in lava.

…

"Here are your menus."

Back with clean pants, Kiba carefully handed her the menu while practically flinging the other in Sasuke's direction.

"Kiba," she said, frowning.

But he just gave a boyish grin and clicked his pen. "I know what you like. Iced green tea frap, right, Hinata?" He was already scribbling it down on his pad. "And let me guess – the lemon squares with extra powdered sugar."

"Actually, the grilled cheese, this time."

"Wow," Kiba said with a whistle. "Not messing around, huh?"

Hinata smiled and handed him her menu. "Thank you, Kiba."

His grin widened as he placed down a glass of icy water in front of her. "Anything for my favorite girl – don't tell Mom that." But that chipper voice and bright smile vanished when he glared back at Sasuke, who didn't even bother to look back. "And what about him? Does he know what he wants? Should I get him a kids menu?"

"Kiba." Hinata took Sasuke's menu, smiling his way. "Black coffee, and I think he'd like the BBQ chicken sandwich, please." Hopefully. Demons had to like meat. It just made sense.

"Sure. Whatever."

Kiba took the menu, slammed down a water glass for Sasuke, and left to give their orders to the chefs in the back.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said to Sasuke. "He just doesn't know you well enough. And I hope you don't mind what I ordered you."

"I don't care," Sasuke droned.

She sipped at her drink, wondering. "Do you even eat?"

His eyes slid about the place, then turned to her. "Only the souls of the damned." Hinata could feel the color drain from her face, and Sasuke snorted. "I'm joking. Mostly."

Hinata did not want to know what mostly implied, so she simply nodded and downed half of her water.

…

"Did you make Temari drop the water on Kiba?"

"Yes." No hesitation. Actually, he sounded proud.

"How?"

He gave her a look, eyes lidded. "Who knows."

Hinata glanced over at Kiba helping another table. "He's my friend," she said. "I don't want him to get hurt."

"If he gets hurt by water, then that's his own fault," Sasuke pressed.

"Please don't do anything to hurt him." She locked eyes with him to make sure he understood she was being serious. "Don't hurt anyone. I don't like it"

Spine pressed against the back of the booth, arms crossed, Sasuke looked away. "Fine."

She smiled, body sagging with relief, then asked, "But what else can you do?"

"Many things. Trick people, make them hear or see things that aren't there." His fingers snapped, and outside, the clouds swirled. "I cause disaster in people and nature. I whisper in their ears and coax them to sin." His eyes found her again. "Does that scare you?"

"A-A little," she said, rubbing at her forearm. "I guess it depends on the sin."

"Envy. Gluttony. Greed. Pride. Wrath. Sloth." His mouth quirked a bit. "Lust."

Hinata blushed. "L … ust …"

"You know what that is, don't you, angelus?"

"O-Of course I know what it is," she whispered.

"I can fill one with arousal. They will not be able to control themselves." His head cocked to the side, bangs sweeping out of his face, giving him a perfect view of her. "Shall I show you, Hinata?"

She shook her head. "N-N-No, thank you."

"Prude."

"I just want to have control of those things," she explained. "I want to decide what I do or don't want."

He surveyed her face again, then uncrossed his arms and rested his chin in his hand. "Then hurry up and decide."

She gave a forced smile. "You won't wait?"

"I've waited centuries." For a moment, she thought that was the end; but then he sighed and pursed his lips and added, a bit quietly, "What's another month or five."

…

"You said before that you've been searching for me for centuries."

"Yes."

The cafe was getting slower, it seemed. Which was odd because they were usually busy this time of day on weekends. But Hinata didn't give it much thought, for she was mostly focused on the demon before her.

"How do you know me?"

Fabric shifted as Sasuke leaned over and traced a hand over her face. "This face is in Hell," he said. "Painted in the center of my kingdom. It's been there forever, and I knew I would have to find you. So I searched, and I found." His thumb brushed the side of her nose, and then he pulled away. "What I will do next is bring you to Hell."

Her skin raised at the thought. "That sounds awful."

"I will be there," he said, as if that made up for all the torture and pain and agony such a place was full of.

Honestly, Hinata could not imagine anywhere else but here. Her friends were here. Her family was an hour's drive away. Leaving everyone behind sounded awful and lonely. "But I like it here."

He frowned, and she could see his disdain clearly. He hated it here, she knew. He hated the smells and the humans and everything else that she liked. But he didn't say a word about it, and instead muttered, "We'll work on that."

Her heart nearly exploded in her chest. "That's right, Sasuke."

He must have heard the absolute glee in her voice, for his head snapped her way. "What?"

"I-It's just …" She gulped and blushed and pressed her hands together. "What you just said – um, it was nice to hear. Because when you're dating someone, you're a team. You do things together. You decide things together. That's just … how it … works, I guess."

He stared, then blinked, then hummed.

"Then we shower together."

Hinata laughed. "Let's give that a few more dates, Sasuke."

…

"Here. One iced green tea frap, and one black coffee."

Kiba stood by the table and watched Hinata drink her frappuccino to make sure it was good. She pushed in her straw and took a sip, smiling up at him. "Perfect. Thank you, Kiba."

He grinned and turned to check on his other tables, but paused when catching sight of Sasuke bringing his steaming, piping hot coffee to his lips. "Oi, dumbass, wait for it to cool down before you –"

But he cut himself short upon watching Sasuke pour half of the black coffee down his mouth without so much as flinching. Hinata peeked at Kiba, hoping he didn't start to piece things together, but her friend only huffed and muttered to himself before leaving.

"Sasuke," she whispered, "you can't do that in front of him. He might suspect something."

"He's too idiotic to notice anything." Wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist, Sasuke peered down into his mug. "That's disgusting."

Hinata's smile turned sheepish. "Sorry." She should have known he wouldn't like coffee – after all, he and Sasuke Uchiha shared many similarities, and she knew well Sasuke Uchiha's disdain for coffee. "You don't have to drink it if you –"

But he drank the rest of it in one swallow before slamming the mug down, grimacing.

…

Their food would be arriving in a few minutes, and that was when Hinata began to realize the situation she was in. She knew this was a date. She knew she was on a date with a demon. But date meant that there was some romantic interest between them, and while she was still coming to terms with her own feelings, she still had no idea what he was feeling.

Can demons even feel? The question made her flinch, and with her growing courage, she turned to Sasuke.

"Do you … u-um … ."

He waited for a moment, but his patience was thinner than usual, for some reason. "Spit it out."

Just ask, Hinata. "Do you like me?"

Again, he stared. Not so much out of shock, but rather –

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Or maybe it was shock. Shocked that she hadn't put the pieces together sooner.

Remembering back to when her hand was against his beatless, still chest, she said, "But you don't have a heart. How could you like me?"

Sasuke's lips tipped. "Humans are so naive. You do not need a heart to feel love." He tapped his head, finger an inch away from his horns. "Oxytocin. Dopamine. They all come from the brain. That's what love is."

Well, when he explained it like that … it sure made things a lot less romantic.

"That's true," she said, attempting a smile as she sipped at her drink. "But, um …" Unsure how to explain what she wanted to say, she held out her hand, and after a moment, he gave her his. "Is it okay if you touch me?"

His gaze smoldered. "Why do you ask?"

Her cheeks flared. "I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Nothing makes me uncomfortable."

Right.

Shyly, she pressed his gloved palm over the left side of her chest. "Do you feel the beating?" she asked.

"Yes." His answer was low and airy.

It made her heart beat faster.

"Oxytocin and dopamine come from the brain," she said, "but this is what a human feels when they like someone. It makes it more … obvious, I guess." He was so close and it was so warm, it was hard to breathe. "I'd let you listen, but, um, it would be better to do at home … when there's less … people … ."

His eyes drilled into her. "Then let's go."

At that, she couldn't help but laugh. "We can't. Our food's almost here."

"I don't care."

"I do."

He huffed and pulled away. "Irritating."

That sounded like something Sasuke Uchiha would say, and Hinata laughed again.

…

The food finally came, and Hinata hadn't even gotten into her food when Sasuke's fell into a pile of ash as soon as it touched his bare hands.

She gasped, unsure what to do, but he didn't look the least bit concerned when he lifted up the plate and scooped all the ash into his mouth.

"Sasuke."

"It's fine," he said.

She smiled and turned to her food, but just then, she caught movement in the corner of her eye. Looking out the window, her eyes widened at the grey clouds covering the sky and the –

Snow.

In April.

"Oh my God."

No wonder it felt colder – because it actually was. And she hadn't noticed before because Sasuke was back and –

Wait.

Snow. In April. In spring.

That meant –

"The garden!"

Her flowers. Her project. The thing she's been working so hard on – it was –

"K-Kiba!"

He was behind the register, counting money, but upon her call, he jumped over the gate and came to her table.

"What?" he asked, looking around for any signs of trouble. "What is it?"

She was already standing and throwing down a twenty to pay for her and Sasuke. "I-I'm sorry – I need to leave. Can you box my –" No, wait. That would take too long. "Actually, just put it in the back. Please? I need to go."

He gave her a look. "Sure. But why –"

But she was already out the cafe and racing down the street towards her college. It was freezing and she could see her ragged breath, but adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She couldn't stop until she was unlocking the shed full of gardening supplies and pulling out tarps for her flower beds.

"Hinata."

Sasuke. Her head shot up to see him by the entry gates, watching her.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ruined the date, but I need to cover them."

He took a step her way. "You –"

"Can you stand next to those, please." She pointed to the flower beds on the other side of the path. "Keep them warm while I cover these ones."

He didn't say a word, just went over to where she pointed and watched as she covered the other beds with tarps and hammered them into the ground to keep them from blowing away. When she was done, her fingers were numb, and she noticed there were not enough tarps to cover all the beds.

"I'm sorry," she said, shivering. "Can you stay there for a while? I need to figure this out."

He stayed, frown prominent. "You're cold." Hinata was well aware, and his eyes followed her hands as she rubbed her bare arms. "You should have worn something warmer."

"I guess you're right." She walked over to his side, and it was already much warmer. The snow melted around them, falling like rain into the uncovered flowerbeds. "But I didn't know it was going to be snowing, and I wanted to look nice today. F-For the date."

He stepped closer to her, making sure she was completely covered in his warmth. "Why?"

She lowered her gaze. "That's just … what we do. When we go on dates, we want to look nice for the other one. To show we're putting in the effort and, um, impress them … or something."

Maybe it was her imagination, but it suddenly felt a lot hotter. When Hinata looked up, Sasuke was mere inches from her face, leaning down to be on her level. "I want to kiss you," he said, leaning forward, then stopping. "Yes or no?"

Sweat rolled down her neck as her heart skipped a beat. "But you'll burn me."

"What if I didn't? Yes or no?"

Hinata looked around for anyone, but she saw nothing but snow and the sprouting plants surrounding them. They were alone. There was nothing to stop her singing heart, so with a pink face, she said, " … Yes."

His palm, covered in leather, brushed against her mouth, and he leaned forward and pressed his lips against the back of that hand. It separated their skin and kept her from getting burned, but the gesture was still there, the emotion was still hot and obvious, and Hinata had to grab the front of his cloak to keep from losing balance. Sasuke stayed there for a while, then pulled away and dropped his hand, never looking away from her.

"No burning," he said.

Yeah. Not in the traditional sense. But Hinata couldn't feel the skin on her face anymore, and she ducked her head and pressed her nose against his cloak to hide her blushing face from his watchful, amused gaze.

Chapter 7 - End