Chapter 3:
Sushi and Presents
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Hinata stood outside of the Uchiha's home. He was most definitely late. It was 11o'clock in the morning. She had given him a time the day before, to make sure he wouldn't arrive while she was dressing, or before she was dressed again. 8AM. He was supposed to be at her apartment at 8AM. She had all her cutlery for cutting the sashimi and had finished preparing sticky rice.
Though she was angry with him, she couldn't bring herself to pound on the door with a closed fist. Instead, she meekly took the knocker in her hands and knocked three times in quick succession. She knelt and picked up a plastic bag with her left hand. She was going to teach him to make sushi. She was only planning on teaching him how to cook and bake, but he asked and she was returning a favor.
...And he was late.
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The Uchiha stood at Hinata's door. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. The box in his other hand was the reason for his tardiness. He wasn't sure what to write on the card or what to use to wrap the package. Newspaper was out of the question. He was cheap, not tacky.
When Ino bounded into his home, he had no choice but to explain the feminine robe to the girl. After all, she'd given up on him the day she started dating Naruto.
Ino decided on a plain white box she found in his father's study and a thank-you card in which he scrawled 'I'm sorry about your robe'. They spent the better part of the morning arguing over what to write as an closing phrase. Ino thought 'love' was appropriate, but Sasuke knew better. 'Love' was not something one wrote in a card after two, maybe three, days of getting to know someone. He decided to only write his name.
He didn't realize how late it was until he was outside Hinata's apartment, knocking on her door. Usually, he wasn't late. Usually, he wasn't buying gifts for meek women he didn't really like.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She wasn't home?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He waited a few minutes before Konohagakure's loudmouth walked by and waved. "You lookin' for Hinata?" he called out.
Sasuke gave Uzumaki Naruto an odd look before nodding.
"She's off at your house."
Taking the advice, he started toward home. When he arrived, he spotted her, rocking back and forth on her heels. He watched her bite her lower lip and take the knocker in one hand.
Knock. Knock.
She went back to rocking on her heels, and began talking to herself. "Naruto-kun did say he might still be asleep... But he could just be on the other side of the estate."
He smirked at her and leaned against a tree, roughly eight meters away from her. He watched her a few more moments, right up until she turned around. She blushed and immediately turned toward the door. He walked up beside her and opened the front door.
Wordlessly, she walked in, and as if she'd been there before, walked to the kitchen. It was three times the size of the one in her apartment, but half the size of that in the Hyuuga estate. At once, she pulled a few things out of her bag and started toward the cupboards.
From the look of his kitchen, he kept it neat and tidy. All the cutlery and tableware were kept in the room, but a lot of the supplies from the cupboards were thrown out. Most of the things on his shelves were instant foods that were far past their expiration dates. If they hadn't been thrown out before, Hinata was taking the time to do so now, making good use of the four trash bins.
He watched her, wondering what the hell she was doing. It only took a few minutes, but he saw she'd cleared out his cupboards of all the old things he thought about using, but never did. Once they were empty, he watched her climb down from the counter and toward the other part of the room where she'd set down her things.
She picked out the package of nori and walked to the sink, washing her hands with soap. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke, through her dark hair.
He picked up a towel and offered it to her. She dried her hands and stepped to the side. At once, he understood. He put his hands beneath the running water and scrubbed his hands clean. Once his hands were washed, she passed him the towel.
While he busied himself over the sink, she returned to her bag of surprises. He held the towel in both hands and walked to look over her shoulder.
"You brought rice?" he asked. He fully expected her to tell him to make more.
She nodded and took out the closed container of rice. "It's the rice you made. The first batch is what I used to make sticky rice." She meant the first good batch.
He frowned, making himself look angry. He wanted to make it, as childish as it seemed.
She smiled comfortably back at him. "It's easy. I'll write it down for you," she promised, removing the lid from the plastic container.
He noticed the smell first. It smelled sweeter and tangier than it did when he'd first made it. She pulled out an odd bamboo mat from a drawer, which she'd found while searching through his kitchen. She lay it flat on the counter, then went to fetch a small bowl. She filled this with warm water and set it beside the little station she'd created on his counter. After wetting her fingers, she scooped a small handful of rice. With a little raise of her hand, she offered this to him.
"Roll it in your hands and make it round. We're going to start with something easy."
Sasuke looked from the rice to the bowl of water. He dipped his fingers in the lukewarm water and took the rice from her.
She pulled out a handful for herself and began gently compacting it in her hands. He spent his time watching her and trying to copy her movements. Instead of being soft, like her riceball, his was hard and much too small. She looked at his attempt, then at hers, resting on the bamboo mat.
She giggled behind the back of her hand. Not thinking anything of it, she slipped under one of his arms and stood in front of him, knowing he could see over her head. She took out another half-handful of rice. She placed it in his hands and pressed her hands on the outside of his. He was glad she wasn't looking his way. The Uchiha Avenger was brushing as brightly as a cherry tomato.
She asked him to pass her the nori, and the red-faced boy obliged quickly, leaving the rice in her hands. He returned at stood at her other side. With trembling hands, he followed her instructions to compress the rice a little, so it was flatter, and to press the sides in, so it took on the shape of a triangle.
Both of them reached for the nori to wrap around one side of the riceball. Their fingertips brushed and they both pulled their hands away a little, their cheeks carrying a pink hue. Sasuke was the one who took the initiative to pick up a piece of nori, then pass her a piece. They finished their rice balls, and Hinata's voice returned. She took out two more half-handfuls of rice and showed him how to roll sushi.
She slipped under his arm again, letting naivety set in, and showed him how to roll it with the mat she'd found.
When she finished showing and telling him how to make the sushi, she turned around and was greeted with the Uchiha's chest. She craned her neck to look at his face, and all she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. She whispered his name. He was obviously trying to tell her something. It looked along the lines of sorry, but that couldn't happen. He took a couple steps away, and she was able to hear him once more, though her heart still beat fast.
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She was lying on her couch, staring at the back of her hand. Kami, was she confused... He had insisted on walking her home. She hadn't realized how much time they spent in his kitchen. They had made and eaten the ricebal's and had what was left of the milk in his refrigerator.
She remembered giggling at his milk moustache. He glared back at her, which only triggered more giggles.
She was lost. She liked Sasuke. He'd helped her two days ago. He was funny, though he didn't admit to it. He was kind, though he told her it was all an act. She didn't fall for that one, not even for a second. He was human. He had to be kind underneath his hard, Uchiha exterior.
She sighed and looked to the coffee table in front of the sofa. She couldn't get her mind off the fact that she was mere centimeters away from him. If she'd taken less than a step backward, she would have been flush against his chest. It hit her in a wave.
She was so intimate with him, touching his hands softly, standing between his arms and close to his chest, as she taught him to cook. She wouldn't be surprised if he decided she was turning into a fan girl and was mere days away from chasing him like a chicken wit her head lopped off.
She groaned and closed her eyes behind her hand.
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He forgot... He was so caught up in flirting wit Hinata that he'd forgotten about giving her the gift. He took a sip of his cold tea and began the silent process of debating what to do. After all, it was only 10PM. She couldn't be asleep.
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Hinata woke to knocks on the door. She was still on the couch in a fainting pose. She looked at the clock before calling out a groggy, "Coming!"
She walked to the door and opened it, not bothering to look through the peephole. "Good evening," she said, smiling weakly. She was a morning person, not a night owel. She was still half asleep, and it showed in her half-lidded eyes.
Sasuke nodded with a "hn." He walked past her and sat on the couch. He set the box on fhte table and leaned into the warm cushions on the sofa. Slowly, she sat beside him.
"Wh-what's this?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Eh. It's nothing."
She stared at him, her mouth agape. "Y-you didn't have to d-do that..."
"Hn."
She stared at the box this time, and set it in her lap cautiously. She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat, thinking to herself, 'he really is going to kill me.' Her hands shook with fear. Beneath the lid of the box had to be an exploding tag.
Except, when she pulled off the lid, there wasn't a loud BOOM. She was still alive and breathing. She moved some tissue paper and saw a soft, lavender robe. Her jaw slacked again, and she continued to tremble.
"Th-thank you," she breathed, turning to look at him. "I... Ano... Thank you so much."
Her hand found his, and she squeezed it lightly. This simple gesture sent a surge of electricity through his body. She disengaged her hand from his and set it on the plush robe. His features softened a little. He nodded a little. "I should be going."
"Ano... N-n- I-I mean... I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
He nodded. Somehow, she expected him to lean over to hug her, kiss her cheek, anything but decide he had to leave.
They both stood, and she walked him to the door. He stared at her for a long moment, causing her to blush. He brushed bagns from her eyes, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before turning to leave with a simple, "Bye."
"Good-bye, Uchiha-san," she whispered as he jumped down the steps and toward his home.
