So, so sorry for the delay! My life has gotten so hectic, and it's taking me a while to get my head around it all! And no, obviously I haven't abandoned this!
Thank you for your patience!
Chapter 4: Gifts From a Stranger
Sasuke held down the number two on his phone's keypad, speed-dialling Hinata.
"Hello?" she answered, her whispery voice sounding a little distracted. Still, it was enough to make a strange tightness fill Sasuke's chest. The last few times he'd called her, this feeling had come over him, and while it was uncomfortable, it wasn't entirely odious.
"I've gotten another one," Sasuke said bluntly, not returning the greeting. He never did.
"You say that like it's something new..." Hinata muttered. Over the last month, he'd been getting gifts every single day. They were all unique and special in some way, and they all came with a little card with an inspirational quote or message.
It had gotten to the point where Sasuke would feel slightly panicked if he thought that, for some reason, there would be no gift there waiting for him.
"...Shut up," Sasuke grumbled, stooping to pick up the white paper bag sitting in front of his apartment door. He gave it a tentative shake. It was light today. He opened the door, walked inside, and then kicked it shut while eyeing the bag in his hands.
"...So... what is it this time?" Hinata asked, still sounding distracted. Sasuke wasn't fooled. She was as excited as he was to see what was in the bag this time around. So far he'd gotten CDs, cool keyrings, various species of tomatoes, decorative shuriken and kunai (which he'd put up artfully on his living room wall), and more. The cards he'd gotten ranged from deep, to inspirational, to funny.
Sasuke loved them.
Not that he would admit that in so many words.
"Be patient," he snapped into the phone, even though his lips twisted into a bit of a smile. He was never mad at Hinata, and she knew it. It was just a 'thing' they did. She always seemed to be grumbling about how bad an influence he was, and he always seemed to be impatient with her.
But neither of them could do without the other.
Sasuke rested the bag down on the counter, and sat on one of the bar-stools near it. He opened the top of the bag and stuck his hand inside.
"What the…?" he muttered when his hand met something hard and cold. He withdrew it, brows furrowing. "Looks like Santa struck out," he muttered.
"What?" Hinata asked, sounding shocked. "Whatever do you mean?" Sasuke scowled at his latest gift.
"I got chocolate this time," he growled. He hated sweet things.
"What kind is it?"
"What does it matter?" Sasuke snapped, turning the bar of chocolate over in his hands. He was disappointed. Reaching for the card, he flicked it open.
"Of course it matters! There are so many different types of chocolate!" Hinata argued on the other end of the line.
"I don't like sweet things," Sasuke said darkly. The words on the card made him falter.
It's not sweet, like I suspect you might be. Opposites attract.
"What does the package say?" Hinata asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"It says, 'Premium Dark Chocolate', or some crap like that. Serious, this gift bombed," Sasuke muttered even as his fingers flicked at the edge of the packaging.
"Well taste it anyway," Hinata said. "I would eat it for you, but…"
"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke cut her off. "But you don't want to meet me, I get it." He broke of a piece of the chocolate and eyed it with distaste. "Do I really have to taste this crap?" He could visualize Hinata rolling her eyes. Well, he'd never seen her, but he had a kind of idea of what she probably looked like from the things she'd said about herself.
His mental picture of her was a slightly overweight girl, with probably dark brown hair and brown eyes… sort of cute face, and he pictured her to be about average height. It matched with her voice too, this picture he had in his head.
He would ask for descriptions, but it was their 'thing'. They didn't talk about physical appearance. Ever. So he really had no clue about what she looked like. Not that he would let her know.
"Sasuke… just stop being a wuss and try it. Suppose you like it. Besides, you've liked everything else you've gotten," Hinata muttered, sounding distant again.
"Fine," he snapped, before popping the piece of dark chocolate into his mouth. "What are you doing anyway?" he asked.
"Painting my nails. Red like you dared me to," Hinata murmured over the line.
"Oh, so that's why you sound like you don't have time for me," he muttered as the taste of the chocolate spread over his tongue. It was bitter. "Damn."
"What?" Hinata asked, ignoring his first comment.
"This thing is bitter. I like it," Sasuke said, his shock coming through in his voice. "Like… freaking chocolate and I like it," he said, scowling.
Hinata began to laugh. Sasuke would never tell her, but her laugh was one of his favorite sounds. It was soft and husky and throaty and beautiful. He took a moment to just listen, conscious that his face was relaxing.
"What?" he snapped.
"It's just… you're so sour sometimes Sasuke. And I don't mean because of all that's happened to you either," Hinata giggled. "I bet you were a bratty little kid."
"Shut up," Sasuke snapped. He took another bite of the chocolate. "Santa thinks I'm sweet. Said so on the card," Sasuke continued.
"Santa is delusional," Hinata giggled. "Crap… you made me smudge my nail-polish." Sasuke grinned.
"Serves you right."
Two weeks had passed since Hinata had given Sasuke the chocolate. One would think that he was costing her a fortune, between the gifts and the telephone bills, but strangely enough, she had colleagues that spent more on monthly shopping without batting an eyelid.
Hinata quickly walked the now familiar passageway that led to Sasuke's door, the usual white paper bag in her hand. He'd like this one.
Tugging her hoodie closer over her head, Hinata quickened her step. Traffic had held her up a bit, so she just hoped she could get the gift dropped off at the door and make it back to her apartment before he got home from work.
As she approached his door, Hinata saw a black bag on the floor in front the door. Was someone else leaving Sasuke gifts? Curiosity welling up inside her, Hinata knelt in front the bag and took a peek at the little card hanging from the bags handle.
Yes, it's for you. What? Did you think I wouldn't give something back?
Hinata grinned at the black, manly scrawl on the card. Sasuke… he really was sweet. Regardless of how adamantly he denied it whenever she teased him about it. She replaced the black bag with the white one that had been in her hands.
Smiling, Hinata rose and began making her way down the passage. Her steps faltered.
Sasuke.
Looking sharp, but tired in his office suit and briefcase, Sasuke was walking directly towards her. He was absolutely gorgeous.
Hinata's breath hitched a little in her throat, but she forced herself to move on as if nothing was different. He was punching a number in his phone as he approached, his head held slightly downwards. He hadn't seen her yet.
He'd admitted that he rarely noticed the people around him, so Hinata hoped that this would be one of those times. But then a part of her hoped he would see her. A really big part of her wanted to be seen.
She wondered what he would think of her. If he saw her, that is.
As he approached, barely ten feet ahead of her, it was like she was moving in slow motion. Her eyes were glued to him, and his eyes were glued to the screen of his phone. She could smell whatever it was that he wore, something spicy scented and manly. He smelled expensive.
She wished she could tease him about that later, but would it reveal that she'd come this close to him? She would have to find a way to bring it up, because she had to see how he would react!
Now almost directly in front her, Sasuke looked up. His dark eyes scanned her figure, pausing at the black gift-bag in her hands, before trailing up to her face and staying there. Hinata smiled at him shyly and raised one hand in a weak wave as she passed. She kept on moving, not looking back to see if his gaze followed her.
As soon as she rounded the corner, she broke into a run, giggling madly. Her heart was racing in her chest and she felt a plethora of feelings inside, but she was happy. She'd walked right past him again. She'd seen him again.
And this time, he'd seen her.
Hinata had barely reached her apartment door when her phone rang.
"Hello?" she said, knowing by the caller ID that it was Sasuke.
"You are going to think I am stupid," Sasuke said, sounding a little breathless.
"Uh… I already think you're stupid," Hinata said blankly, hoping her grin didn't come through in her voice.
"...Shut up," Sasuke grunted. "So, aren't you going to ask me what happened?" he prompted.
"You're going to tell me anyway," Hinaya said, pushing her front door open and locking it behind her. She tossed her keys onto the counter and shrugged off her hoodie. Silence met her ear over the line. "Okay, fine, what happened?" she asked.
"I saw her. Santa's a her, like I thought, and I saw her," Sasuke said smugly. Hinata kicked off her heels and bent to pick them up.
"Oh really?" she asked.
"Damn, Hinata, she was gorgeous," Sasuke said, not sounding much like himself. "And she smiled at me, like she had a secret she wasn't telling me," he continued.
"Wow, glowing remarks from you Sasuke? She must have been something," Hinata said, trying hard not to squeal like a lovestruck teenager. He thought she was gorgeous. He'd actually stressed the word. "How did you know she was the one that left you the gift?"
"I left the gift giver a gift…" Sasuke said, sounding rather satisfied with himself. "She had the bag I left for her in her hands, and the usual white bag was waiting at the door for me," he said. "I wonder if she's going to like what I put in there."
Hinata walked into her room and opened the gift bag.
She turned the bag over, emptying the contents onto her bed. She had to cover her mouth to hide the soft sound of appreciation that left her lips.
"Wh-What did you give her?" she asked, hoping she sounded natural.
"A scarf. Its designer, black and white houndstooth. Some gold metal stuff in the tassles. A dude could wear it just in case Santa was a dude… but it would look so damn hot on that chick," Sasuke muttered. Hinata trailed her fingers over the soft knit of the scarf and stifled a sigh.
She would never have bought something that amazing for herself.
She held it against her chest and eyed herself in the mirror. Sasuke was right. It did look amazing on her. She'd never gotten a gift like this before, and Hinata suddenly understood why Sasuke had teared up when he'd gotten the tomatoes so long ago.
"That sounds lovely," she managed. "What did you get?" she heard the rustling of the bag as he opened it and fished around inside. Sasuke chuckled from the other end of the line.
"She sent me aviators and a car air freshener," he chuckled. "Random… Except this car thing smells good. Not like the crap the auto store sells…" he muttered. Hinata could hear him taking repeated sniffs at the air freshener.
"Careful. You might get high off it," she giggled. He sounded so silly.
"Shut up," Sasuke muttered. "I'm checking to see what she wrote this time." Hinata waited with bated breath. "It says 'Let Kami be Kami, and just relax. P.S: And the sunglasses are for those times you feel to cry but think you're too manly. At least you will look cool and your car will smell good.' I don't even know what to think of this, apart from that she is awesome," Sasuke said softly.
There was silence over the line as both of them stared at their gifts. Sasuke broke the silence.
"Hinata…?" Sasuke started.
"Yes?" Hinata answered.
"Do you… Do you ever wish we didn't do this phone thing?" he asked after a moment. Hinata's breath caught in her throat.
"Sasuke…" she said, biting her lower lip. She got up, moving to the window. It had begun to rain again.
"No… just answer the question. Have you ever… felt that it's not enough?" Sasuke pressed, sounding hesitant, but determined to get an answer. Hinata's heartbeat sped up, and she pressed her face against the glass.
How could she tell him that yes, yes sometimes it wasn't enough. How did she tell him that yes, yes she sometimes wished they didn't do the phone thing. Sometimes she wanted the physical contact. To be actually around someone else.
How could she tell him that the phone thing just felt much safe? How could she tell him that if he really met her, he'd be forced to know the parts about her she wanted to keep from him?
How could she tell him she was falling for him, and he hadn't even met her yet?
It didn't matter that he thought she was gorgeous.
"Hinata…" Sasuke murmured after a while. The line stayed silent, and the rain fell.
"No," Hinata said after a moment. "It's enough for me."
She lied.
Whooo! Three updates in one day! Hahaha! Well, I just finally felt some inspiration for this! Will try not to keep you guys waiting so long next time!
Please review!