The walk between her one-bedroom apartment and college is usually twenty minutes of peace and relaxation. She trekked down a relatively unbusy road through a rich neighborhood full of pretty houses and tall trees that protected her with their shade and sturdy trunks. There was a small field by the college that looked like a rainbow stuck in the ground during the spring, and soon, Hinata knew, those flowers would sprout to life.

The walk to her classes, especially on Friday mornings, was usually chipper as she'd plug her ears with music and skip down the sidewalk.

Today was not one of those mornings.

How could it be … when … she was quite sure she had just witnessed a miracle of God last night?

Chapter 2

Sasuke Uchiha is a Confusing Man. Revolutionary? No.

Uchihas had a way of making one uncomfortable.

Hinata knew this because of the stories that surrounded the one Uchiha at her college. There was a strange gene in them that made their blood cold and their hearts black, and whenever one would walk by, you could not help but stare – out of curiosity, out of awe, or out of fear?

For Sasuke, it was all of the above.

Most of the boys didn't dare mess with him.

Some of the girls quietly stepped away when he was nearby.

But the majority of the student population was absolutely enthralled with the ill-mannered, cold-blooded Uchiha. The uncomfortable feelings that came to them when he passed them in the hallway were that of racing hearts and clammy palms and dry mouths. They found themselves flushed and out of breath from just the mere sight of him.

Hinata Hyuuga has never been the kind to be uncomfortable around Sasuke Uchiha. Not that kind of uncomfortable, at least.

But as she stared at him across the classroom in their shared biology class, all the signs were there. The thundering pulse, the sweaty hands, the sweltering blush on her cheeks. If any outsider found her looking at the Uchiha in such a way, they would have been convinced she had finally found her senses and had fallen head-over-heels for him.

That couldn't have been further from the truth.

Hinata did not often fall in love with those who jumped on counters like a monkey and messed up her work.

…

"A-Ah, Sasuke."

Twenty minutes after class, Hinata found him in the library, off in a corner hidden behind the shelves so that no one could come and bother him. No one except for her, at least. They have studied here a few times since school started back up in January. Hinata had tutored Biology before, and when their professor had heard a blind student was joining their class, he had asked her to always be available to help Sasuke.

"I do not need your pity."

Those had been his words to her the first day she had offered him help.

And he repeated them to her, over and over again, for the following month. Because Uchihas were stubborn as much as they were uncomfortable, and he simply could not seem to understand that she was helping plenty more people study and take notes. It wasn't just him. It wasn't just because he was blind.

And, eventually, he came to that conclusion and allowed her, albeit unwillingly, into his secure, isolated study spot in the back of the library. But even so –

"Bothering me again, Hyuuga?"

He still had a rather nasty attitude that he never bothered to fix around her.

But the clip in his tone did not affect her that Friday. She was far more concerned with other … things about him.

Clothes were one thing.

She wasn't surprised to find him in the clothes he usually wore at school. It would be much more puzzling if he wore that odd cosplay outfit from last night to school – because, despite his astounding popularity in the halls, Sasuke hated attention. Feathers and horns and hooves would have definitely gotten him that.

The one thing that was similar between that outfit and this one, Hinata noted as she tip-toed meekly to the side of the table, was the dark, drab colors. Gone was the strange, tattered and feathered cloak, now replaced with a black hoodie and navy, ripped jeans. The hooves were gone, thankfully, but Hinata divulged in the idea that he hid them beneath his bulky combat boots. And she was also pleased to find his forehead clear of any horns or knobs of the sort, leaving his hair finely combed and falling oh-so-perfectly around the thick frames of his sunglasses. His ears were round and his skin, while still pale, was not as sickly white as it had been last night.

Ah, good.

At least he wasn't ill.

But that also meant that the weird perching and staring last night was not due to a high fever that made him foggy-headed and … weird.

Oh, right. Staring.

Blind people stared, contrary to popular belief. Sasuke has stared at her before – not intentionally, of course. But when his glasses were down and he was contemplating, those misty, dark grey eyes of his would sometimes peer right in her direction for extended amounts of time. But last night was different. When he stared, he looked right at her, and his eyes were black and focused and not at all what they usually were. They had been in her dreams last night – or, maybe, nightmares – staring her down, following her every move, making her feel trapped and watched.

But that was impossible. Sasuke was –

"Are you deaf, Hyuuga, or mute?"

"Oh!" Her body jumped as she snapped her gaze away from his sunglasses, instead focusing on her wringing fingers. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Um. How are you feeling?"

The book he was holding dropped to the table as he sighed. When Hinata looked, she saw it was braille.

"What do you want?" he asked.

His voice sounded mostly the same. Not as sandy, but still the same tone pitch and cadence.

So it had to be him. The oddly dressed customer from last night and the antisocial classmate right now were the same person.

But that was impossible.

Throwing her manners and polite demeanor out the window for a moment, Hinata leaned over the table, placed her left palm down on the wooden surface, and waved the right a foot in front of his face. His shoulders arched slightly as he scowled.

"What are you doing?"

Her mouth fell open, suddenly dry. "You … you really can see!"

That pale, perfect face turned a bit red as he gritted his teeth. "The hell are you on about?" His left hand reached for the cane at his side, looking ready to swing it in her direction. "I never imagined a coward like you to start something with me, but I'll still gladly take this and shove it down your fucking throat if you –"

"What –"

Warnings and sirens flashed through her head, and Hinata snapped back and put her hands in front of her.

"N-No, I – I thought you could –" Trembling, legs suddenly feeling like jelly, she tried to spit out all her reasonings and confusion so that he would understand. She wasn't trying to make fun of him, to start something. Not at all! But her tongue was twisted in a tight knot, and all she could manage was, "Last night – the clothes – the horns – and when you were on the counter, your eyes were –"

He stood, towering over her like he had last night. "Pathetic," he hissed, yanking his backpack on and holding his book in a tight grip to his chest. "Do you even know what you're talking about anymore? God, you're insane."

Sasuke held out his cane, readying to leave.

She had already embarrassed herself enough – it was best to just let him leave. He'd never want to see her again, but that was probably for the best. He did fine without her help. He didn't need her.

"I-I-I'm so sorry, Sasuke." Hinata grabbed the chair near her, sucking in a deep, shaky breath. She swallowed hard, blinked her stinging eyes, and said, again, "I'm sorry. I – I wasn't trying to offend you or make fun of you. Last night – I thought I had seen you last night. At work. U-Um, but I was wrong, and I'm sorry I bothered you. Please don't leave. You were her first. Er, um, I should … be the one going."

It was hot, but not nearly as hot as last night.

There was a sigh, then a thunk, and when Hinata cleared her blurry vision and raised her chin, she saw he was sitting at the table once more, flipping through his braille textbook.

"Sit, already," he barked after a moment of stunned silence. "Help me with meiosis."

And never the kind to object, Hinata sat and quickly pulled out her notes, blushing and wondering how she had possibly gotten through such an ordeal without him knocking her out with his cane.

…

"So you … never came to work last night?"

His fingers paused in the middle of a page. "I don't even know where you work."

He's right. That hadn't even come to her mind. "S-Sorry."

Another moment of reading. Then, his arms moved away from his book, and she watched as he removed his sunglasses and hooked them on the collar of his hoodie. As she expected, they were nothing like the dark eyes she saw last night. They were foggy, unfocused, and when he turned to her, he faced her general direction, not her.

"Where …" His eyes narrowed, and the dark greys of his irises seemed to smolder, somehow, "do you work?"

"The … cafe on 5th." Hinata flinched, wondering if he would know roads at all. "U-Um, by the park with the fountains. They're big and loud, and a lot of children like to play around them. If you're standing there and you go across the street, it'll be about fifty steps to your right. Just … smell for the coffee."

He leaned his chin into his hand, frowning. "Coffee. Great."

The disgust was clear in his voice, but Hinata barely recognized it.

Because, at that moment, his eyes moved in such a way that it was like he was almost staring at her. Not in her direction. At her.

Again, impossible. She knew. She really did.

But when he did that with his chin in his hand and his bangs falling precariously over his eyelashes, Hinata could not help but feel the racing heart, the sweaty palms, the breath leaving her lungs.

Hinata Hyuuga did not fall for people who jumped on counters or messed up her work, but …

Even she could admit that despite his crabby attitude and foul mouth, Sasuke Uchiha was a very handsome man.

…

"Oh. My. Gawd."

Even when he was in some weird get-up that proved not all good-looking people had good taste in fashion, he was handsome.

Wait, Hinata told herself, lips pursed, but that's not Sasuke.

The cafe that afternoon was busy, but that did not stop her coworkers from drooling over the horned, hooved customer at Table 6 for at least seven minutes.

"Look at that jawline. He could cut bricks with it!"

"The eyes, babe. The eyes."

Sakura and Temari were great workers – amazing workers – and they alone were the reason why more than half of their regular customers kept coming back. But at that moment, Hinata found herself filling up water glasses and handing out menus to tables that weren't hers, all because they were too caught up staring at … Not Sasuke.

"Hinata!" Sakura tugged at her sleeve as she walked by, nearly causing her to spill some of the water out of the pitcher she was holding. Green eyes took a moment to slide away from Table 6 to shoot her a wide, begging look. "Let me take him. Please. I'm begging here."

"Like hell!" Temari spun around on the heels of her black sneakers, glaring at the pink-haired waitress that hung onto Hinata's sleeve like it was her only life source. "You always make a mess of things when you talk to hot guys like him! Remember Shikamaru? Last week, you spilled his americano all over his lap!"

Sakura clicked her tongue and matched Temari's glare. "One, I tripped because the lazy hog had his legs spread out in front of me. Two –" Her shimmering lips twisted into a smirk, "you're the one who finds Shikamaru attractive, not me."

Temari's face heated up, and Hinata knew that if she didn't cut in now, there would be a yelling match in front of all the customers.

"Hey," she whispered, gently pulling Sakura's nails from her sleeve. "It's fine, Sakura. You can go ahead. I don't mind." And if she was being totally honest, after last night and the fiasco with the real Sasuke that morning, she didn't want anything to do with the man.

Immediately, all anger swept away from Sakura's face, and she beamed and squealed happily before taking the water pitcher out of Hinata's hand. "Oh my gawd, I owe you big time for this!"

Temari snorted and crossed her arms. "Fine. But I call dibs on refills."

Sakura straightened her uniform top and ran her fingers through her sweeping bangs before sauntering over to Table 6. Hinata picked up one of the coffee pitchers from the back counter where the coffeemakers and mugs sat, glancing between Temari and the strangely-dressed customer who was sporting a rather obvious sneer as Sakura leaned against the table and batted her eyes.

"You … think he's attractive?" She was a bit surprised. Temari found beauty in normality, and whenever someone who was not that came into the cafe, she barely spared them a second glance.

And from what Hinata understood, horns and feathers weren't normal.

Sweeping her hands down the front of her white apron to rid it of any wrinkles, Temari shot her a look. "What?" she said with a snort. "Are you blind? I mean – look at him!"

She had. Last night, when he was just a few inches away from her face.

Hinata's smile turned tight. "I guess it's the horns that get me."

"Horns. God, Hinata." Temari laughed, grabbed a few menus, and moved to help the people that had just sat at one of her tables near the front.

…

Eventually, Temari and Sakura got swamped with their own customers.

Which only meant one thing.

She had to go back to the cosplayer – the Not Sasuke.

And as she began her way over, she practiced the few, simple words she'd have to say to him. 'Hello. May I help you with anything?' 'Good afternoon! Anything I can help you with?' 'Good to see you again. Have you decided what you would like to order?'

… Actually, she should probably scratch that last one.

But the journey from behind the counter to Table 6 was a lot smaller than she remembered it to be, and when she got there –

"U-Um –"

He looked up and stared, and her practiced words vanished into thin air.

"Finally," he said, then stood, catching a few eyes from around the cafe, "I was waiting."

Waiting? Waiting for what? But the only words that escaped her as she got trapped in those black eyes were, "You're … not Sasuke, right?"

A single, slow blink.

Then, a devious smirk that made her entire world fall on its side and shiver.

"You know my name," he mused, grabbing the collar of her shirt. "Good."

And then, in the middle of the cafe with many pairs of eyes on him, the weird man with the weird fashion sense pulled her forward and kissed her.

Chapter 2 - End