Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I'm not making any monies off it.
Warning: This has slash. Of the NaruSasu variety. So yeah, that means Naruto's all over that hot Uchiha ass. That's right, mansex afoot! Women and children evacuate first!

Neji said she was getting better, and Hinata always had the good sense to believe him. Neji wouldn't lie to make her feel better, he didn't see the benefit in it. Still, there were times the Hyuuga heir was still rendered completely speechless. Seeing Naru-kun and Uchiha-san on a date together was one of those times.

Sure, this restaurant was one of the nicest couples places in the village, and at the Godaime's request many of the Jounin from the infamous unfinished exam had been gathered, but... Sasuke and Naruto?

It wasn't like same-sex couples bothered her. She was good friends with Sakura and Ino, and was used to hearing them communicate their special brand of flirting. One that, she suspected, without careful observation looked a lot like fighting.

And she knew Naruto liked men as well as women. The one time he had suggested taking her shopping, she'd noticed he glanced under both male and female dressing room doors. She had greatly enjoyed that shopping trip, even though she had barely pieced together four words the entire time. Mostly she snuck peeks up at Naruto, who had hit his growth spurt late and shot above most of the competition. She especially remembered the end, when Naruto had confessed he wasn't good at all at this sort of thing. Perhaps she should ask Neji?

That hadn't worked out remarkably well, so far. At the time she had been far too nervous to ask him, but recent events made her hopeful. She touched her cousin's hand lightly, and his blind-seeming white eyes flashed towards her. Absently she catalogued what he must be seeing on her face: shook, worry, anxiousness. His expression hardened, the corner of his mouth tightening.

"Hinata-san, you remember what I said." He whispered. She certainly did. Her father had strongly urged the two Hyuugas to betrothal, linking the strong Neji-niisan back into the family. When she had been near giving in simply to please her father, head of the clan, Neji had sharply interjected, despite strict rules on branch class behavior. He had looked in the eye and told her he would never commit to this union until he knew it was what she wanted. It had been an embarrassing moment, being singled out like that. Yet even then she realized how humiliating this must be for proud Neji-niisan. What started out in her mind as a resounding "Yes" reached her lips as an "I want to try dating f-f-first."

So here they were, their first date. Naruto and Sasuke's too, if their uncomfortable posture was any indication. Reminded of her initial goal, she shook her head at Neji.
"That's not it. Naruto-san and Uchiha-san." She admitted, barely managing to incline her head in their direction. She could have sworn a look of relief crossed his face before he looked their way. And froze.

For a foolish moment she was afraid she'd broken her cousin, but finally Neji breathed out.

"Great Hokage. I don't believe it." He whispered, dropping his calm in utter befumblement. Hinata blushed, which was as close as she had gotten to laughter.

"Do you want..." She drifted off, falling into the subtle language of signs the Hyuuga family used in battle 'watch?' She finished silently. Neji nodded. Despite their upbringing, they were ninja, after all. Spying on other people was what they were built for. In moments they were settled into recon formation, a situation which they where often placed in.

Before they could continue verbally, Tsunade stepped to the front of the crowd, between them and the restaurant's guest. Hinata was sure she was saying something terribly important about why they were gathered here, but the people around her didn't think so. Curiously enough, neither did Tsunade, who was already swaying under the influence of sake.

"Sasuke just pulled a kunai on him." Neji whispered.

"W-who?" Hinata gasped (still quietly polite).

'Naruto' Neji explained in sign.

This shocked Hinata, who immediately assumed the worst. She'd chosen to bring few weapons in her kimono, but she wasn't sure if she could defend against enemy nin. Especially one powerful enough to impersonate Naru-chan or Uchiha-san. Neji laid an arm on her shoulder, shaking his head. The veins around his eyes were throbbing, like they often did after using the Byakugen. Clearly both men were the real deal, chakra-streams don't lie. Tsunade's final lines, chakra-enhanced, passed out over the milling crowd.

"In short, I've booked the restaurant for you all tonight. Feast on Konoha!" She shouted, hardly slurring her words. If Hinata was a lesser woman, she would been impressed by how much that woman could pack away. The doors opened then, and guests started moving in.

When Hinata finally worked up the courage to sneak a glance, Sasuke was simply glaring at Naruto. Apparently the domestic dispute between the boys had been put aside for now. It was much harder to tell, but their body language indicated they were both a little nervous. She caught Neji's eye, and they moved as one to a table near the men.

However the blind-eyed cousins remained quiet through much of the dinner, and when the waiter reached their table, her awkwardness returned full force. Up until now she had been able to pretend this was some sort of mission, but once again she was faced with reality. She was on a date with Neji-san for the first time, in a very nice restaurant, surrounded by friends and close comrades. She squeaked when he asked what they would have to drink, and Neji kindly ordered first, helping to finish her sentences when they ran on too long. She smiled her gratitude when the waiter had left, but he, always the practical one, pointed towards the dinner menus. Hinata paled at the idea of another ordeal with the polite waiter.
Once again, Neji slowly walked her through this, actually choosing to order the same thing as her so all she had to stammer out was.

"The s-s-same please." While they sat mostly in silence, Neji would occasionally attempt conversation about missions. He studiously avoided the issue of medic-nin, and Hinata didn't have the fortitude to mention it didn't bother her.

Originally she had tried out for medic-nin training, thinking about how she liked to help people. Kiba had followed her, boasting loudly about studying under the Hokage. Unfortunately her father had expressly forbidden her training when he heard about it, claiming she wouldn't bring the family honor that way. Soon after a certain high-ranked blond had given

the Hyuuga head a piece of his mind about the difficulties and prestige in the medic-nin profession. Eventually her father had rescinded his command, but during the intervening time
Hinata had quietly learned she had no talent for the medical craft. Kiba, on the other hand, had gone on with Akamaru to become one of the most famous medic rescue teams in history.
Thinking about such good stories Kiba brought with him helped to sooth her, and soon she was able to talk in whole sentences over the main course. She even related one of Kiba's bawdy tales, and was surprised to see Neji smile. Like her, he had his own way of laughing.

Then his expression turned contemplative.

"I think they're using a sign language." He said softly.

"How could they?" She responded just as quietly. It had taken her months to learn the complicated Hyuuga signing, and it had been established for hundreds of years.

"Don't know." Neji muttered, leaning over, to eat. However, he was busy signing furiously. 'They are the only ANBU captains who occasionaly collaborate. No doubt about it, they are signing a conversation. They haven't said a word, but their expressions keep changing.' As co-captains, they would need to communicate invisibly, even over their companions. They probably had developed their own signs. 'Their body language changes as well.' He added. Hinata also took a nibble of her dinner, pondering this. The Byakugan was no Sharingan, it wouldn't crack any codes on it's own. However Neji was exceptionally good at body language, even among their family. He was also trained in understanding code language to compliment his eyes.

'Could you read it?' Hinata signed, now sipping her drink.

'I could try.' He responded. His cousin marveled at the lengths he was going to. Hinata had been curious about what was happening in her friend's life, but Neji usually didn't bother in what he called 'gossipmongering'. She didn't flatter herself to think it was for her, Neji had never expressed interested in her.

She nodded her agreement, and Neji's eyes closed, the veins on the side of his face bulging. Belatedly she realized that they were, after all, in a community of ninja. Someone was bound to notice Neji's posture, or the telling veins. Extremely anxious, she considered the angles, eventually breathing a sigh of relief. No one was likely to notice the veins because of the angle of his hair, which distorted everyone else's view of his temples. After a few tense moments, she realized the waiter was coming around with a dessert menu. She panicked, knowing the waiter would notice Neji being unresponsive (he was currently engaged in code-breaking) and she was unable to distract him, let alone order a dessert. What if she ordered something Neji didn't like?

A quick glance at Neji showed he was deeply submersed in code-breaking, his lips moving silently with his eyes closed.

"N-n-neji?" She whispered, unable to manage a louder voice. The waiter was already moving closer, uminously so.

'Think Hinata, think! What would Neji-niisan say?'

'Act like it's a mission.' She added, knowing Neji was unlikely to say anything otherwise.

'Remember the setting. Surreptitious, use natural actions to alert me of the danger. My effort is wasted if we get caught, either by my silence or the wrong actions to rouse me.' That certainly sounded like him. 'You're a member of the Hyuuga main branch. Of course you can!' That last part was more like what she wished he would say.

'We're on a date, what natural action could I use to get Niisan's attention when speaking doesn't work?' She grasped for a plan.

'A k-kiss?' She stuttered mentally. 'Remember, you're a Hyuuga, you can do it!' She thought.

'It's a mission, it's a mission, it's-a-mission!' And she leaned forward to peck Neji on the cheek. His response was immediate- he jumped back and his eyes flew open, Byuakugan failing him. A hand touched his own cheek in shock. Much like Hinata's, it was bright pink.

"G-good job." He said, upon taking stock of the situation. Her cheeks grew redder, if it was even possible. "Thank you." He added.

Neji ordered their dessert, and they sat in silence until it arrived. Finally, Hinata, curiously warring with nervousness, started conversation.

"How's dessert?" She asked, while signing 'How did it go?' Neji's shrugged.

"It's alright." 'They were planning another date, I think' He signed. Hinata blinked.

"I agree." 'How was it hard to tell. You cracked the code, right?' Hinata communicated, her hands nearly fumbling.

'I don't think Sasuke knows it's a date. What do you think?'

'Give it a moment.' She responded. While everyone knew Neji was better at interpreting individual gestures and body language, when they worked together on missions Hinata was left to summarize all that data. Neji had once said she was best at diagnosing, while he could find the symptoms. In her mind, she gathered everything she had learned tonight and any other time Naru-chan and Uchiha-san interacted.

On the Boys: While the men did argue religiously, they worked together seamlessly when the situation called for it. Developing their own sign language was an example of this. To use it showed they preferred to interact politely in a group setting, considering their relationship private. Both men were attracted to each other, although neither wished to admit it. And if Sasuke refused to admit they were going on other dates, Naruto might not have made the nature of this dinner clear to him. Or maybe he had, that would explain the kunai being drawn. However, even Hinata couldn't imagine what Naruto had said to calm him.

By now dessert was almost over and the other guests were starting to leave. Naruto left with Sasuke, although the dark-haired nin looked upset about it, Hinata could tell he was pleased. That clinched it.

She leaned close to Neji-niisan and told him her thoughts.

"I-I think Naruto is s-s-seducing Sasuke." She whispered, a little disturbed herself. "And..." Neji waited. "... and I think it will work."

They both sat back to fully absorb that one. Neji looked thoughtful.

"If it wasn't you who said it, Hinata-san, I would never had believed it." He whispered back. His cousin was shocked that he held so much confidence in her. "I think I might have to visit the Jounin betting pool." He muttered.

This surprised Hinata, who knew Neji never bet, but she didn't allow it to distract her from a question that had been brewing in her mind all night.

"Neji-niisan. You don't really think being part of the head clan makes any difference... do you?" She squeaked, a little disturbed to have used so many words.

Neji turned to look her full in the eye, his expression difficult to follow. "I don't, no. I think maybe it's just you who is strong." He said.

"M-me?" She gasped. Surely Neji was joking! He nodded assent, confirming her question. "W-why?"

"Because no matter how much I've wanted to, I haven't been able to kiss you." He murmured.

He walked her home with his hand in hers, and Hinata's heart beat wildly the whole way.

Yay! Time to thank all my lovely reviewers, who make my day. Every day. Less than three, you guys.

Native Sakura- Gods, I should have done this ages ago! I'm sorry it took so long to thank you in chapter form.
Smoking Panda- Hot dogs at a barbecue! You reviewed twice! Lots of love and happiness for you.
Rosemary- Agreed. One day, when I finish a story, I will go back through and check grammar. Arigato for reading through the mistakes.
hujin- Indeed, sirrah. Indeed. Kakashi is pretty baller like that.
geep44- Dudecakes! I earned an extra O. I hope that's a good thing.
blue leafy- Oh, giggles. I'm so happy!
Sandra- A high compliment indeed. Sorry again on the delay.
Kiwee- Hah. Yeah, I never thought of Naruto as that dense. He's real ninja! Now you know what I really think of him.
Alana-StarSugarCat- Hee.
rry- Thank you!
Azamiko- (happy face) Yay!
Yuyuxchan- Thanks for the encouragement- and sorry it's taking/took so longish.
Kyra Date- Ah, if you're still around I can explain it to you. Just let me know!
rabidbutterfly- Hot damn. Exactly the response I was looking for. How did you know? (brain melts out of sheer joy)
book-manga-freak- Ho yes. I'm glad you agree. And from such thoughts, the Jounin betting pool was created. 'Cause damn if Konoha Jounin don't have enough time to snoop into their neighbor's business.
Shadowtrade- He's a troublesome one alright. Thanks for the lurve!one!
CaveDwellers-Ask and you shall receive. Don't worry, the rest should be just as entertaining. I hope you think so, anyway.