Chapter 5:

Date Night

XxXxXx

Sasuke fumbled with the key to his home, nearly dropping everything in his arms. Finally, he was able to open the door and step inside. While he put everything away, he wondered why she was so angry with him. After all, it was only a sauce. He understood what she meant when she told him it would only cover up other flavors. He frowned. He could remember her not saying anything when he told her she wouldn't be at his house all the time. After a shrug to himself, eh continued putting away his new belongings.

He assumed, since she was angry, she wasn't going to dinner with Naruto and Ino. He put the soy sauce in a cupboard, wondering why something so small had to be so life-changing. Perhaps it wasn't life-changing, but it was close enough. He thought about the argument a few moments longer, then closed up the cupboards.

Afterward, he watched the clock. Ino didn't give them a specific time. He thought about calling her to ask, but if Hinata wasn't going to be there, he wasn't either. A frown settled on his face. He fell into the couch and sat, sulking to himself with his arms crossed over his chest.

XxXxXx

Hinata lay sprawled on her bed, her cordless phone on the nightstand beside her. She pulled the blanket over her head and nestled in. She was expecting Sasuke to call and apologize, but she remembered his surname and threw that thought away. She sighed and pulled the covers taut over her shoulders.

Lying on her bed, her thoughts began to turn. Sasuke was being weird. She was being weird. She sighed and rolled onto her side. She hadn't changed from their shopping excursion. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable in her shorts and heavy coat.

She sat up, letting the blanket pool around her hips, and peeled off her jacket. She was alone, so the netted shirt wouldn't draw any unwanted attention. No one else was in her apartment. She stretched her legs out from under the comforter and tugged off her pants. With a toss, both articles of clothing were at the foot of her bed. She sighed and fell to her side. Once more, she pulled the blanket over her head. Like that, she drifted to sleep.

XxXxXx

He lost track of time. He glanced to the clock in the hallway. 5:08PM. He sighed and stood up. He wasn't in the mood to cook anything, so he decided he would go out for dinner. He was about to check his room for any money he had lying around when the phone rang.

He thought about letting it ring itself to the answering machine, but brilliance overcame him. Whoever was on the other end of the line would pay for his dinner. Unfortunately, when he answered the phone with his name, it was Ino on the other end.

"Where the hell are you two?!" She was angry.

Sasuke could hear Naruto in the background, mumbling something about how Sasuke can't make it because he knows Hinata-chan will turn him down. He winced when Ino yelled that Hinata did like him. It had been written all over her face.

"She usually has a clean house, Naruto-kun. Something's obviously on her mind, because it's not as spick and span as it was a week ago." Her voice was a little distant. She had her hand over the speaker. "Anyway, Sasuke-kun, go get Hinata-chan. We've been waiting for you two for eight minutes!"

With that, the phone clicked. He didn't have a chance to tell Ino she hadn't given them a time. He sighed and set the phone on its cradle. He left his house, locking the door behind him, and started toward Hinata's apartment.

XxXxXx

Hinata woke up to her phone ringing. She picked up the evil contraption and answered it groggily. "Hello?"

"Aa! Hinata-chan! You have to get down here, quick! Ino-chan and I have been waiting for you and Sasuke-teme to show up for a while."

"Alright," she mumbled, hanging up the line. She crawled out of her bed and pulled on a pair of pants. She headed to the door, jacket hanging over the crook of her elbow, and opened the door in time to see a frustrated looking Sasuke. She murmured something as she passed him by, dragging herself down the steps to get to Ichiraku's ramen stand.

Sasuke raised a brow at her. He could tell she was tired. Perhaps she wasn't angry with him anymore. He caught up to her easily and walked alongside her. His arm occasionally brushed hers while she pulled her coat over her shoulders. He said something, but his voice was too low for Hinata to hear.

She glanced to him and shrugged, assuming it wasn't important. They reached the ramen shop in a short time and sat beside Ino and Naruto. Hinata took the stool beside Ino, and Sasuke took the seat to the other side of Hinata, leaving Naruto on Ino's left.

"Finally," they heard Ino sigh. "Well, Naruto-kun figured out he doesn't want to eat here anymore, so we're going to a table barbecue. How's that sound?"

Hinata nodded at Ino, zipping her jacket. "That sounds fine." She looked to Sasuke, who simply shrugged.

"It's settled then!"

The foursome stood from their seats and walked to the closest barbecue restaurant. They slid into an empty booth, Ino and Naruto on one bench and Sasuke and Hinata sitting opposite the couple. Ino leaned forward on the table, hand cupped around her mouth. The gesture did little for her stage-whisper.

"Are you two dating yet?" She watched Hinata blush and shake her head.

Naruto ordered for them, naming nearly everything on the menu. The four ninja fell into a heavy silence. The meat and rice arrived not long after. Quietly, they began arranging their order over the grill, a bowl of rice in front of each of them.

"Well, Sasuke-teme, when'd you get so cuddly with Hinata-chan?" he asked protectively.

Hinata's flush deepened and she looked away. She was still upset with him, right? Her hands sat in her lap while she waited for Sasuke to answer.

"A few days ago," he mentioned gruffly.

"Why's that?"

"She's teaching me..." His voice broke off as he mumbled the rest.

Naruto grinned at this opening. It was something that embarrassed Sasuke. It was bound to be juice. "What was that?"

"...she's teaching me to cook."

His laughter came from his belly, deep and rich. Why would Konohagakure's number one bachelor want to learn to cook? "That's a funny one! What's the other reason, dobe?"

"I like her."

It was simple, quick and easy. The statement was easier to make than admitting he didn't know much about cooking.

Hinata's face was bordering on cherry red. She poked Sasuke's thigh to get out of the booth. She needed to go to the bathroom and cool off with a few splashes of water to her burning face. He glanced her way and smirked. As he stood, he took her hand in his. He helped her to her feet, then let her pass. She ran to the bathroom as quickly as possible.

"...knew it." He caught the tail end of Ino's sentence.

She, too, excused herself. Naruto and Sasuke settled into the booth onc emore. "Heh. You scared her pretty badly, but at least she's not fainting anymore."

"That's true."

"Is it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Sasuke's voice became distant as he wondered whether he embarrassed her in front of her friends or if she was in shock. Since the heartthrob of the hidden village had a crush on her, she was bound to get hurt.

XxXxXx

"Well, that was some admission."

Hinata stood in front of the sink, wetting a paper towel with cold tap water. She ran the rough almost-fabric over her cheeks and forehead in hopes of cooling off her red-hot blush. "Y-yeah... I-it w-w-was...

She cursed Sasuke. He had brought back her stutter in full force.

"Ooo..." Ino giggled. "I think you like him back."

Her pale eyes widened, and she shook her head furiously. "I d-don't," she stammered quietly. Her face was betraying her. She was somehow more red than she had been upon entering the bathroom.

"Yes, you do, silly. I know you like him. Of course, from what I know about like, you must really like him. You haven't tackled him, called him Sasuke-kun, or tried to steal any of his underwear!"

Silence filled the bathroom.

"You did that?"

"Eh... Sort of."

XxXxXx

The girls returned. Hinata's blush faded only slightly. Sasuke and Naruto stood to let the girls take their seats near the wall once more. The food had been thoroughly cooked and divvied up between their bowl.

"We didn't know what you two wanted, but Sasuke-teme said we should get you seafood and stuff." The blond ninja scratched the back of his head nervously.

After a bit of small talk over their dinner, Sasuke turned to Hinata and leaned toward her ear. His voice was low. Only she would be able to hear him whisper, "Would you pass me the soy sauce?"

Naruto and Ino watched in shock. They thought he was asking her to go home with him. Their jaws dropped as Hinata turned to look at Sasuke, the tips of her chopsticks in her mouth.

She shook her head and looked into her bowl, taking up another bite of grilled fish. Sasuke was tempted to reach over her, but that didn't work as he'd planned. Somehow, he ended up with an arm over her shoulders. It looked like he was only reaching to hold her. She didn't budge.

She glanced at his face, indifference clouding her eyes. When she realized just how close he was, she blushed and picked up her napkin. She dabbed her lips and looked across the table. Her hands fell into her lap.

"Uh... We're... going to go now." Naruto said this quickly, standing from his seat and taking Ino's hand. He paid before leaving, then quickly scurried away with his girlfriend trailing along behind him. The kunoichi waved, hoping Hinata could read the psychic waves telling her to kiss the Uchiha boy.

"Please hand me the sauce."

She looked at Sasuke and shook her head. "I don't want to," she said quietly. She didn't have to speak up at this proximity. She turned her head away from him, eyes lowering to look at his arms. She heard him huff a sigh; felt it better than she heard it. His breath ghosted over her cheek.

He lowered his chin to rest on her shoulder and let his hands fall where they may. His left hand settled on her shoulder and his right hand found the space of the booth's cushion between them. His knuckles brushed over the side of her hand.

"Why not?" he asked.

She frowned and glanced from the corner of her eye to his face. "I don't have to answer that."

Heat rose from her cheeks to her ears as she felt his breath nearer to her mouth. "Hn... Can I change your mind?"

She shook her head and picked up the slim bottle. "You couldn't."

He sat up and reached over her to get the sauce. She used the arm between them to keep him stationary, stretching the bottle as far from him as possible.

"What's wrong?" he grumbled, finally giving up on reaching for the sauce. She was leaning over the table, setting the soy sauce out of his reach.

"You told him you like me." She looked at Sasuke, head turned to take in every one of his features. He frowned curiously, resting his cheek in his hand while his elbow sat on the edge of the table near his barely-eaten food.

He rose a brow. "Yes?"

"I-is it... true?" Her voice fell on 'true', and her eyes darted elsewhere.

She heard him chuckle, but didn't move to brush hair over her shoulder or glance to see the soft smile playing on his lips. She didn't move at all. Hinata was rigid and hardly breathing. She thought he would say it was a joke.

Then she thought about why she didn't want to disrupt their grocery trip with going to an aisle they'd been down before. They were walking comfortably side-by-side. She wanted to continue talking about sill things that other thought nothing of, like the color of pens. Everyone either chose blue or black, but the two of them thought there should be more colors to use, like brown, green, orange, red, and purple.

"You could say it's an understatement."

She felt him push her long hair over her shoulder and touch the underside of her chin. Her eyes widened and she stared into his eyes, hoping he couldn't see her unshed tears. She feared he was laughing at her, not at her question.

He tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, as he had the night before, but this time, he raised his chin to kiss her forehead. She could feel her fingertips tingle, her face burning crimson, and her stomach doing twists and turns. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath to hold. She felt his lips leave her forehead.

"A-are you d-done?" she asked in a soft tone.

He glanced down at her, his cheeks a warm pink. "Not quiet."

He lifted her chin a couple centimeters and brushed a tender kiss to her lips. She was startled by his boldness, but kissed back all the same. He broke their kiss and looked at her soft features with half-closed eyes. With a smirk, he nodded. "Now I am."

XxXxXx

Hinata's entire body buzzed when went home. She hadn't kissed anyone before him. She'd never known she could feel buzzed without alcohol. Her face was still warm when she arrived at her apartment with Sasuke's hand in hers.

He didn't kiss her before telling her goodnight. As a matter of fact, he didn't tell her good night at all. He simply smiled and walked away.

Something in her hoped she hadn't done anything wrong. She lay on her sheets, not covering herself with the blanket. She had changed into her jimjams and had prepared herself for bed. She turned her head and looked at the plait she'd put in her hair.

You could say it's an understatement. His words rang in her ears all night. She didn't think she'd be able to get sleep with Sasuke on her brain.

XxXxXx

Sasuke smiled the entire way to his home. He didn't smirk. He was too pleased with himself to smirk. He stepped into his home, and the butterflies in his stomach reacted again. He didn't think he was allergic to her, as he thought when he was very little and had met a girl who made his stomach hurt. He knew he wasn't allergic.

He readied himself for bed and lay in his bed, Hinata not once leaving his mind. He smiled to himself about her. He liked her. He liked their first kiss. He told himself he would find a way to kiss her again. He fell asleep with this thought in mind, dreaming of ways to kiss her while she showed him the secrets to cooking.