A week later, Sasuke Uchiha was back at that cafe.

Not inside, of course, as she was sure he hated the smell of the place.

No, instead, he was out on a bench at the front where snow cushioned his seat and icicles stretched to the sidewalk. When Hinata left work late that night and was in the middle of pulling her gloves on, she saw him there, drumming his fingers on the back of the bench as he stared off at nothing. White snow clung to the roots of his dark hair, nearly matching the color of his face.

"Sasuke?"

He didn't say a word, didn't even bother to open his mouth in a silent greeting. The only sign of him hearing her was him patting his left hand on the spot beside him, and after securing her scarf around her neck, Hinata settled down next to him.

"It's freezing," she whispered, "you must be cold."

Again, not a word escaped him.

Instead, he leaned forward and pulled something out from under the bench. A bag. White and decorated with glitter accents. He dropped it between them, then folded his hands between his knees and sighed into the night air.

"There."

Confused, Hinata peeked inside and saw purple and blue tissue paper stuffed inside. There was a ribbon tied to one of the bag's thin handles, and on it, a small tag with her name on it.

This … was …

"I don't know the exact date," he said, words floating off into the distance, "so I'm giving it to you now."

She pulled it close to her, smiling, face warming up.

"You didn't have to."

"Now we're even," was all he said in return.

Chapter 25 Warmth in People We Have and Lost

She insisted on walking him back home.

He agreed.

That probably shouldn't be startling. It was pragmatic. They were going to the same place, after all. And they were friends. Friends walked with one another.

Hinata tried to keep a few paces ahead of him in case any ice were to come up suddenly. But his legs were long and his strides were fast, and she really had no choice but to continue side-by-side with him.

"Are you tired?" he asked her.

Exhaustion was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment. "Not at all."

"Then there's another reason you're rushing to get home," he concluded with a noteworthy frown on his face.

"I'm not rushing."

His cane tapped her leg. She wasn't sure if that was accidental or not. "You are."

"I was trying to be in front of you," Hinata explained, "in case there's ice."

"So you can fall in front of me and trip me?"

She laughed. "So I can warn you."

That frown lifted, and he moved a hand in her general direction.

"Are you going to open it or not?"

Totally throwing caution in the wind, Hinata all but stuffed her face in the beautiful, somewhat heavy bag. There were a few things wrapped inside and a few things just haphazardly hidden under the tissue paper. She pulled out tomato seeds and green bean seeds, a gardening notebook, and a soft, yarn hat that made her smile.

At the bottom of the bag was something heavy, and when Hinata pulled it out, she saw it was wrapped almost perfectly. She shook it and laughed. "I can't believe you were the one who wrapped this."

"You think I can't?" A small pause. Then: "Mikoto did it."

With a smile, Hinata slowly and carefully unwrapped it, making sure not to rip the nice wrapping paper too terribly. When it was all off, she looked and saw that it was … was …

"A guidebook to Braille," Sasuke explained, reached out, grazed the spine of the book, and then tapped the hardcover. "You don't need it, obviously, but I thought it would make studying easier when you can read my books and notes."

She looked at it for a moment, flipped through a few of the pages, and when she closed it, her heart was singing with glee. "Thank you!" she chirped. "I'm so excited about this."

Sasuke stayed silent as they crossed the road, Hinata taking his hand as it looked icy along the crosswalk. Then, he shoved a hand into his coat's pocket and pulled out a thin, white envelope, holding it in her direction.

"And when you think you understand it well," he said, "read this. I wrote it. Think of it as practice."

Hinata took the envelope with both hands and placed it in the bag, along with the other gifts, and took his hand once again, leading him down the neighborhood that led to home.

…

"December 27th."

He was at his door, and she was at hers, both unlocking them and sliding their key back in their pockets.

It was suddenly said, the date of her birthday, but he said nothing of it, instead tapping it in Braille along the frame of his door before he entered his home.

…

Usually, it was only Sasuke that greeted her when she came home from work.

"Hinata."

But this was a raspy, low voice she has not heard in a long time. One she thought she'd never hear again.

Neji Hyuuga was standing right in front of her. Breathing. Talking. Blinking.

Alive.

Sasuke had been working on him for a while, she knew, and she could almost still hear the buzz of his soul somewhere within his chest. She knew this was to come – but, still, it surprised her, shocked her, stole her breath away.

Her cousin … was … .

"N-N-Neji –"

"Wait."

Unconsciously, she was already tugging off her gloves and walking to him – to hug him, to leap into his arms, to drag him into her sobbing fit, she didn't know. But Sasuke stopped her hand from curling under the cuff of her glove and gave her a stern look.

"He's like me," he said. "You have to be careful."

She nodded and agreed and said anything she could to get him to let her go. His hold was tight, then relaxed, then finally whisked away, and Hinata ran across the floor and nearly knocked her cousin over as she threw her arms around him, fingers digging into his back, and held him close.

"I-I'm so glad!"

Her cousin, as always, was silent and barely moved. His left hand rested on her shoulder as the other hung at his side, but he did not push her away. He smelled like ash and gunpowder and had that same, sweltering heat pouring off his skin, but to her, he was still Neji, still her cousin she loved desperately.

"I'm …" His word was like smoke. Cigarette smoke. Something she was used to when it came to him. That hand on her shoulder pressed her closer, and he sighed into her hair. "So am I."

With her ear to his chest, she finally heard his soul clearly. Humming. Singing. Even with the blasting heat of his body surrounding her, she still felt the subtle warmth radiating from it and knew, with a pleased smile, that this was definitely her cousin, and he was definitely back.

Chapter 25 - End