A/N: hoo boy... it's been crazy. but just two more exams and then i'm free! i hope you guys have been doing well; in life, school, etc
i was originally going to ignore them but here's a quick note for the individual that takes the time out of their life to purposefully look up every sasuhina fic and tell authors to kill themselves: i will keep writing cavity-inducing fluff for my favorite ship and your comments will get deleted here. i'm sorry that you're bitter about something that isn't real but it costs zero dollars to avoid something you dislike. hate doesn't help you grow - it rots you from the inside, i hope you eventually mature enough to see that.
anyways! for the rest of you, enjoy the chapter!
Stress permeated the campus air - it was finals week and students were frantically attempting to cram a semester's worth of information in the span of several days and complete presentations and papers and projects. More than a few were running on lethal amounts of caffeine and Adderall.
They were working on practice exams in the group study area of the library when one of the chairs at their table was pulled out and the intruder plopped into the seat as if they belonged there.
"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted and started unpacking his notes and textbooks. "So glad I found you two, I couldn't find a single open desk or table in this place."
"Hi Naruto," Hinata greeted warmly, perking up to the distraction from the monotonous problems.
Sasuke briefly acknowledged the blonde's presence before turning back to his work - they still had another physics practice exam left to complete.
"You'd think the library would be emptier at 2 AM on a Friday."
With an irritable tone, Sasuke stated, "It's finals week, dobe."
"Fuck dude, it sure is," he sighed and picked up a pencil.
The political science major rifled through his notes and textbooks but quickly became bored - there was so much to study and so little time to study with. It was all very daunting so he watched his quiet friends instead.
When Hinata turned to Sasuke to ask about a specific problem she was stuck on, Naruto was surprised to see him helping her without sass or impatience. While he was best friends with the Uchiha and cared for him dearly, he had to admit that Sasuke was not exactly known for being nice or even remotely helpful. In fact, he was kind of a bastard sometimes.
The blonde interjected, "What are you guys studying?"
Tired lavender eyes peeled away from the never ending practice sheet.
"Physics," she explained glumly.
"Well you're in good hands!" He said emphatically, with a wide grin.
She blinked at him in questioning.
"Yeah, this punk" - he pointed to Sasuke - "took AP Physics in high school and got a 5 on the exam! But he's crazy and wanted to retake physics in college," Naruto remarked with a perplexed expression.
Not registering the shadow that set over Sasuke's features, Naruto continued, "He's actually a physics whiz! He was a part of this nerdy science/math competition and he set a record score for the physics section - it made the news and everything."
Some of her fatigue ebbed and she raised a brow at him, amused. Sasuke schooled his expression to remain neutral and he could not meet her gaze. Instead he stared straight ahead at the rambling blonde, willing him to just stop talking please.
"He went to nationals after and took home the trophy, of course," he bragged about his best friend. "That thing is like, this tall!" He emulated the proportions with his hands, definitely exaggerating.
Before Sasuke could stop her, Hinata reached over to her laptop to Google his name. "U-chi-ha Sa-su-ke," she quietly mouthed the syllables as she typed.
He watched in horror as the trusty search engine pulled up results within 0.62 seconds and he was greeted with old photos from high school and headlines proclaiming of a physics prodigy.
'Hello darkness, my old friend…' played in his head as she clicked on the images tab and he was assaulted with even more embarrassing stills. Stones sank to the pit of his stomach, but she looked absolutely delighted to be perusing Sasuke's awful, awful high school pictures, eyes riveted to the screen.
"Your sense of style has improved," she offered, containing her laughter by pressing her lips together.
The arm warmers worn by the teen in the photos haunted him, as did the popped collar and partially unbuttoned shirt - good god who let him attend the competition like that? No, the better question was: who let him leave the house like that?
Naruto hoisted his body across the table to look at her computer and let out a hearty chuckle. "Our boy Sasuke had an edgy emo phase," he then glanced at the sullen man's outfit, a dark hoodie and similarly dark jeans. "Actually, he might still be in it."
Sasuke wanted to be anywhere else but here, in the library with his past exposed to the girl he was absolutely infatuated with.
Noticing his taciturn attitude, Hinata threaded her fingers into his bangs to brush them away from his eyes, "But I think your hair has gotten messier."
The lavender pools conveyed mirth and her lingering touch on his temple made his pulse race, face heating to an uncomfortable temperature. Any existing thoughts went up in smoke with her simple actions; if his brain was a computer, Sasuke dot exe would have stopped working.
"Aww, Sasuke's embarrassed," Naruto teased in a belittling voice, snapping him out of his reverie.
As much as he wanted to lean into the warmth of her palm, he did the opposite and returned to his homework. Her hand dropped back to her side and he secretly mourned the loss.
Letting his bangs fall over his eyes and obscure his features, he did what he did best and tuned out his surroundings.
He was in the midst of solving problem 28 when he felt familiar fingers sweep his bangs away from his face once again. Caught off guard, he reflexively turned to the person playing with his hair.
"Ah, wait," Hinata was careful not to tug on his scalp with his sudden movement.
He held still, waiting patiently for her to finish.
Despite his best efforts, a shiver traveled down his spine at her ministrations. He almost sighed in pleasure at how good it felt to have her running her fingers through his tresses.
Thinking she accidentally pulled too hard, she apologized. "Sorry, did that hurt?"
"No." Quite the opposite, actually, but he wouldn't dare say it out loud. He would gladly let her play with his hair as much as her heart desired. Hell, he would let her touch him anytime she wanted - no questions asked.
A light snore drew his attention to a sleeping blonde on the other side of the table. That was quick. Though Naruto never had the focus to study for long periods of time anyways.
As she gathered his hair in a ponytail, she whispered to avoid waking their friend up. "Sorry for making fun of you," he could tell she was smiling, "I actually thought you were cute."
She just finished tying the upper half of it back, since the rest was too short, when he turned around in his seat to look at her. "Were?" he emphasized the past tense with a tilt of his head.
"Don't fret, you still are," she assured him with a grin and a pat on the cheek.
Grabbing her wrist before she could pull away, he pressed his lips to her soft palm. "What a relief," he replied wryly, a smirk gracing his features.
A blush bloomed on her face and her laughter was a little off - he could tell she was flustered.
Good. He wanted to be the one that threw off her composure.
Releasing her hand to let her return to her seat, he replayed the scene in his head and relished in the sensation of her fingers buried in his hair. Idly, he wondered what it would feel like to have her hands elsewhere...
Hinata's nerves were rattled; the ghost of his kiss seemed to be burned into her skin and she had trouble focusing on anything else.
They continued to do their homework, though physics was the last thing on either of their minds.
A/N: for my non-american friends, AP courses are college-level classes you can take in high school. you can get college credit by passing the exam at the end of the year with a score of 3 or higher. so sasuke is a physics nerd because he got a 5, the highest score possible.
btw is there anything you guys would like to see? i'm considering suggestions because the well is running dry and i was thinking about ending this fic soon