A/N: i love each and every one of you and although i'm in the middle of finals hell (they're officially next week), i wanted to bring you this chapter anyways.
as an aside, i think it's so cool that people all around the world are reading my work! i am but a peasant, but i'd like to say hello from america!
Hinata yawned and stretched her arms in front of her - well, as best as she could being tucked into Sasuke's side, with his arm around her shoulders.
After loosening some of the tension that came with sitting for a straight hour and a fifteen minutes, she looped an arm around Sasuke's waist and they continued their journey to the food court.
With the Uchiha being at least a foot taller than her 5′2 self, one would think it'd be awkward for them to walk in such a manner.
Surprisingly, it was not. Like the grooves of a key and their respective tumbler, they fit together perfectly.
"Sasuke!" The shout could be heard from the other side of the field they were crossing.
The pair turned to the direction of the voice and Sasuke groaned under his breath as a group of interesting individuals approached them. The one who called for Sasuke was a bespectacled woman with flaming red hair, styled fashionably. Next to her was a white haired male, strolling casually and complaining about hearing loss from her "screeching." And the last was a towering man who looked like he could eat all of them for breakfast. Oddly enough, a squirrel was perched on his shoulder and nibbling a cracker, making him appear more like a Disney character than an intimidating giant.
"Can we just walk away and pretend we didn't see them?" He asked under his breath.
"No!" She admonished playfully. "That would be rude. Besides, we've already established eye contact."
"It's been too long, Sasuke," the red head reached them first. "Who's this?" She eyed Hinata, curious.
"Yeah, who's your new girlfriend?" the shorter male asked with a teasing smirk, "Is this why you haven't been hanging out with us lately?"
Sasuke stiffened and reluctantly introduced his friend to them. "Hinata," he gestured to her. "Juugo, Karin, Suigetsu," he referred to each person respectively.
They all exchanged greetings and Karin asked how they met, itching to know more about their relationship.
Sasuke spoke, wanting to keep this interaction as short as possible. "Mutual friends."
"You have friends outside of us?" Suigetsu remarked with mock surprise, holding his hand to his chest, earning him an unamused glare.
"So…" Karin inquired with trepidation, "how long have you been going out?"
Hinata produced a nervous laugh and waved dismissively, "We're not dating."
The Uzumaki secretly breathed out a sigh of relief, while a slight frown tugged at the corners of Sasuke's mouth.
As disheartening as it was, it was true. Sasuke couldn't muster the courage ask her out, but more than anything, he didn't want to ruin the dynamic they currently had.
He was comfortable with their relationship - their texting, studying, and hanging out. In fact, they had plans to go downtown this weekend to check out a new coffee shop/bookstore that opened up. He just genuinely enjoyed her company and didn't want to complicate it with his possibly one-sided infatuation.
Juugo watched the scene play out in front of him with mild interest, absentmindedly petting the rodent that was now falling asleep in the crook of his elbow.
Suigetsu side-eyed the dark haired couple, not believing the bashful girl. "Then what's all this?" He motioned to their intimate embrace.
Sasuke pulled his friend closer, a defensive action, while a fierce blush ignited on her face.
"Oh, well," Hinata was flustered and began to ramble. "See, Sasuke gets cold very easily and we just got out of a freezing lecture hall, so…" she finished sheepishly, gaze cast down.
She did admit that it might have looked strange to an outsider - but unexpectedly, Sasuke was a tactile person and she found that she didn't mind.
It started out with light touches. Their fingers brushing when he handed her things, shoulders rubbing when they were jostled in a crowd. Then his palm at the small of her back when he wanted to guide her somewhere, eventually progressing to linking arms so they wouldn't get separated in heavily populated areas.
Growing up in a family that did not hug or anything of the sort, she never considered herself a big fan of being touched. Perhaps all of those years of lost affection caught up to her because she rather enjoyed her friend's tendency to maintain contact and share warmth.
"Interesting…" Suigetsu drawled and cocked his head at the Uchiha. He had murder written in those hard onyx eyes, challenging Suigetsu to say something stupid. Clearly, the laid back man had no concern for his life or well-being because his next words were: "Sasuke hates to be touched."
Hinata pulled away, fractionally, to gaze up at him with surprise in her features, "Really?"
He kept his hold on her, grip firm. "By other people," he stated cryptically, by way of explanation.
The white haired man had such a shit-eating grin, Sasuke wanted to wipe it off his smug face. Juugo looked like he had questions and Karin wore an expression that was a cross between bewildered and conflicted, as if she wanted to believe Sasuke but had trouble doing so. In all of her years of knowing him, he's kept at least three feet of distance between himself and others; friends included, to her dismay.
Already tired of the interrogation, he made a show of glancing at his left wrist and declaring, "Oh, look at the time we've got to go."
As she was being pulled away from the group, she waved back and said, "See you later! It was nice meeting you!"
They bade goodbye and after Suigetsu finished his spell of cackling, he managed to slip in, "You can't avoid us forever, Sasuke! We'll talk to you later."
Once they were a sufficient distance away, Hinata let the giggles burst from her lips.
"You don't even own a watch."