A/N: no warnings with this one. Here's some ItaHina fluff to brighten your dayyyy!

s/o to I-love-trunks1! Thank you for reviewing :))))

I was really beginning to wonder if chapter 12 was shitty or my writing style was trash b/c no one reviewed or left any comments :( please comment lol i need the validation. i am needy.

also how did I write this chapter in two hours but the last one took me almost two months. idk.

I don't want to make the chapters too long because then i will set very unrealistic expectations with myself so I'm trying to keep them around 1k-2k. lmk if y'all like it or you hate it.

When Angels Fall

Chapter Thirteen

Not Very Friendly

Onyx eyes watched as pools of water welled up in those moon-like eyes across from him. The flood had broken open so suddenly and he felt the petite body against him lose all of the tension as she dropped her head into his chest. With a deep breath, Hinata gave in to the rush of emotions and sobbed into his shirt. Wetting the fabric in seconds. It was almost impressive if he wasn't so worried about her at the moment.

Itachi let go of her wrists, ignoring how her hands circled him to clutch desperately at the fabric on his back. Her sobs shook her whole body like a leaf in a thunderstorm. Trying it's hardest to stay rooted but failing miserably. One of his hands fell to her waist as the other cupped the back of her head.

This was the first time they'd ever been in such intimate contact. There had never been a reason to be so close to one another before this. He took the moment to confirm just how soft her hair really was. Like silk between his fingertips, slipping around his digits like melted butter. He smoothed down the locks, hoping that would soothe her even if only a bit. His other hand was lightly pressed against her waist, but it did nothing more than steady her since she had practically smothered her body on his in an effort to conceal her cries.

Before he was aware of it, Itachi was whispering soft words into the crown of her head. "It's okay now. I won't leave you."

It was a few minutes before Hinata started to calm down and that gave him time to reflect. As much as he ignored it before, the genius accepted that he acted in a different way towards Hinata than other people. He treated her just a bit more gently, with more patience. This whole afternoon was proof enough. The Uchiha heir was not one to be comforting to anyone. (Maybe Sasuke, but that was totally different.)

Perhaps it was because they spent so much time together, every waking hour from sunrise to sunset, for the last few weeks. He was not dense; Itachi knew he did not see her like he saw other women. She was categorized differently in his mind from the regular population. Labeling her a friend seemed too weak a word.

He settled for putting her under the list of important people in his life and decided to mull it over later.

With a quiet sniff, Hinata pulled away from his warmth and he immediately missed the embrace. She turned away from him to grab a napkin to the side of her and he decided to give her some space. The two didn't speak for a while, but the heavy air around them dispersed leaving a soft hum in the air.

Those eyes of hers were too expressive. Hinata stared at him, surprising him by maintaining eye contact. She looked tired, relieved and...beautiful. She looked at him like he had just handed her the world.

Inwardly, he cursed. Now, he understood why he could not call her a friend.

They could never be friends. Not when she looked at him like that.

For the first time, it was Itachi who looked away, almost bashfully.

The movement must've brought her back to reality since Hinata wiped her tears once again before throwing the paper away. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry into your shirt like that..."

"Don't apologize for human emotion."

That made her smile touch her eyes, "Having a mental break down isn't normal emotion."

He didn't bother arguing with her but glanced up to see her smile at him with such happiness that it made his head spin. Wasn't she just sobbing a few minutes ago? He would never understand how women could bounce from one emotion to the other so quickly.

Either way, she seemed to be in good spirits now. Before he could say anything, Hinata closed the distance between them and captured his hand in her smaller one. She stared at it for a second before lacing their fingers together like they had been at the table. She wasn't looking at him, but he couldn't take his eyes from her face. The gentle way her thumb stoked the skin on his hand sent a rush of warmth through his body.

"Are you needed elsewhere?" Her delicate voice broke through the tension.

It took a moment for him to register what she asked, but he kept his gaze on her pretty features, watching as her pink lips turned to a smile when he voiced, "Not at this moment."

His answer pleased her because she finally lifted her head to give him another stunning smile before pulling him back into the adjoining room with the small table. She began moving the table to the edge of the room against the wall and he batted her hands away when she tried to lift it, easily taking over the task. When he inquired what she was doing, he received only a smile before she dashed down the hall and into another room.

Not twenty seconds later, Hinata was carrying a small black box and a rectangle case. She situated it on the table and plugged in the cord that was attached to it. It suddenly lit up a blue screen.

His perfect brow raised, "A television?"

"Yes!" She chirped, clearly proud of her new item. "Otou-san allowed me to get one as long as I don't watch anything inappropriate with Hanabi-chan."

Itachi nearly balanced. What kind of things was the Hyuga head thinking his daughter would watch? He didn't get much time to ponder before Hinata was popping in a disk and fiddling with the remote.

"I had always wanted one, but they were hard to find when we were kids. The Hyuga are very traditional as well so anything that was seen as a distraction from training was strictly forbidden. I had only just gotten it before our last mission so I wanted to watch a movie." For a second, she lost her excitement and turned to him with a nervous glint in her eyes. "Would you...I mean, do you want to watch it with me?"

During her spiel, he had taken the time to gather the sitting pillows and position them a good distance from the small box. He stopped to eye her over his shoulder, "No action movies."

Her smile spread wider, if it was even possible. "You don't like action? But you're an ANBU captain."

In his perfectionist state, Itachi rearranged the pillows but eventually went to the kitchen and stole the small kitchen table to a make-shift couch with it. The circle table was laying on it's side, the flat surface supporting his back as he got settled on the pillows. Hinata had went into the room again and returned with more pillows and a large fluffy blanket.

"Being a ninja takes the fun out of watching action movies. I see too much fighting for me to enjoy it."

She understood his reasoning and left it at that, choosing to sit with their legs brushing softly against each other. Her fingers pressed the buttons to start the movie, but he didn't recognize the display image or the title.

Sensing his curiosity, Hinata showed him the DVD case. "This one doesn't have too much action. It's a rom-com."

The deadpan look he gave her made her burst into a fit of giggles.

'Yeah,' he thought to himself when, about half way into the movie, Hinata pressed her side to his frame, head on his shoulder. 'I do not see her as a friend.'