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She had to go in to work early the next morning.
Her heart sunk in her chest as she watched the dial above the elevator move past the 7th floor, past his floor, and she sighed deeply as the small sliver of hope she'd been holding onto slipped from her grasp.
Hinata knew she was being naïve.
She knew things like 'love at first sight' didn't really exist, that you couldn't come to truly fall in love with someone without having so much as saying a word to them. That was the stuff of fantasy and Disney movies. But how could she blame herself? The guy in the elevator just seemed so perfect. He was always so nice and cheerful, smiling at her every morning in the elevator and holding the door as they walked out of the building. He was the kind of person everyone wanted in their life, someone who brought warmth and comfort without even trying.
She didn't know when, but at some point in the past few months he'd become something normal to her, such a fixed pattern in her life that she couldn't remember a time before taking the elevator with him. She found herself looking forward to seeing him every morning when she woke up and every night as she drifted into sleep. It was irrational but somehow without even talking to her he had managed to make himself a permanent fixture in her mind, occupying her every thought and setting her cheeks ablaze every time she remembered what he'd done for her. And now that he'd been so kind to her, stood so close and been so charming…
She'd never met a man who was so willing and quick to offer up his help to someone like her, had never met someone who in one meeting had so easily swept her off of her feet. For crying out loud, he paid for her taxi! He offered her his umbrella and jacket! It was embarrassing how often throughout the day she'd paused from her work just to run her fingers along the material, how she'd fought so hard to resist the temptation to bring it close and inhale the scent he'd ingrained deep within the seams. How she'd immediately gone into Sakura's office upon her arrival at work that morning and gushed like a teenage girl about what an absolutely amazing morning she'd had.
Oh yes, she had fallen for him much too quickly.
"You're thinking about him again aren't you?"
"What? N-No, I'm not!"
"Hinata, I've been talking to you for the last 5 minutes and you haven't said a word," Kiba laughed through the receiver as Hinata realized she was still on the phone with one of her dearest friends, supposed to be listening intently as he recalled the latest nightmare pet owner who had wandered into his veterinary clinic that morning. She felt her face become very warm as she flushed with embarrassment, covering her face with her fingers tightened around the phone in her hand.
"I'm sorry!" Her apology came muffled through her fingers before she dropped her head onto her desk with a small groan.
"It's cool, I get it. Your lover boy is more important to you than your best friend, it's totally understandable."
"That's not true!" She retorted unconvincingly, smacking a hand down onto her desk and his laughter rang through her ears again while she blushed hotly. "Oh, but you should have seen him Kiba! He was so nice and he gave me his umbrella, and–"
"And the taxi, and the jacket– Yeah, yeah, he sounds like a real charmer." He finished for her and she could almost hear the grin underlying his response. Leaning back against her chair with a pout she denied the urge to be upset with him; it wasn't his fault that she'd recounted the story to him a hundred times.
"Okay, I promise I won't talk about it anymore." She sighed and he mumbled his disbelief. "I'm sorry for not listening, so let me make it up to you. How does dinner at my place tonight sound?" She glanced at the clock as she spoke to him, noticing that it was already 4 o'clock and time for her to clock out. A tension she'd been holding in her shoulders released instantly and she quickly saved the documents she'd been working on before immediately logging out of her computer.
"That sounds great!" He replied loudly and she smiled in relief, grateful for the opportunity to apologize for her rudeness. She watched her computer shut down as she stood and gathered her belongings, giggling as she heard Kiba distantly scold one of the dogs in his clinic for peeing on the floor.
"Of course it won't be a party unless Shino is there. Is he busy this evening?" She held her phone against her shoulder as she reached for her jacket and began pulling it on, grabbing the device quickly as it began to slip while Kiba snorted.
"Shino brings the party all right, but he's got Back-to-School night at 6 so he probably won't be able to make it until later. You're off right now aren't you?" He hesitated until she responded with a short hum. "How about you head over here while I start packing up for the day, then we can head back to your building together?"
"That sounds great! Okay, see you in 15 minutes." She waited for his goodbye before hanging her phone up with a small smile. Maybe a nice dinner with Kiba would be enough to get the blonde man out of her mind. She could wash up, cut and boil some vegetables, throw something in the oven. Then she could show him the umbrella, and show him the jacket, and show him the elevator they took every morning.
On second thought, his arrival might only focus her thoughts on the blonde man even more.
With a sigh and a mind filled with blue eyes and blonde hair, she shut off the lights and made her way down the hall toward the office in the opposite corner of her floor where she could distantly hear two familiar voices conversing with one another.
"You're taking forever."
"Stop being so impatient, I'm saving my things!"
"Save faster."
"Don't tell me how to save my stuff!"
With a smile on her face and a shake of her head Hinata knocked politely, hesitating for a moment until she heard her permission to enter.
"Ah, Hinata! I was just about to head into your office, you ready to go?" Sakura greeted her warmly as Hinata poked her head inside the room before entering fully.
"I'm ready! Hello, Sasuke." Hinata waved slightly at the raven haired man sitting in front of Sakura's desk. He gave her grunt in reply, impatiently tapping his foot and looking at his girlfriend as though he wished she would hurry up.
"I'm done, I'm done." Sakura looked at him with a pout as though reading his mind before pulling on her jacket as he looked away with a huff and stood, picking his coffee cup up from her desk and walking the few steps to wait with Hinata at the door.
"You got a haircut," he flicked a piece of her dark hair and she smiled in response.
"Yesterday afternoon, thanks for noticing." It was as close to a compliment as he could get, she had learned that quickly after meeting him. She nodded her head toward the cup in his hand. "Coffee this late in the afternoon?"
"Hn," he replied shortly as he lifted it to his mouth, and Sakura scoffed and started to rant about "How many times have I told you that coffee is bad for you" and "He just doesn't listen to me Hinata".
Hinata wasn't exactly sure when she and Sasuke had developed their unspoken friendship. Sometime shortly after Sakura had begun working with her, the two developing a fast and deep friendship, and Sasuke had started showing up at the end of every work day to walk the pink haired woman home. It wasn't long after that the three realized that Hinata and Sasuke lived in the same building which wasn't too coincidental, Hinata thought, as she had specifically chosen her building as it was close to her office. Working in the publishing company across the street, Sasuke had done the same.
Hinata almost wanted to laugh at how routine her life had become. Every morning she'd take the elevator down with the blonde man, and every afternoon she'd walk home with Sasuke and Sakura and drop Sakura off before taking the elevator up with Sasuke. It hadn't escaped her notice that he lived on the seventh floor, the exact floor that her "lover boy" (as Kiba liked to call him) lived on. Surely he must have seen the blonde man at some point. He seemed like he'd lived in the building long enough to at least be familiar with the people on his floor, and going in and out one eventually starts to recognize some familiar faces. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her to think that Sasuke would at least have seen the man at least once. She wrestled with whether or not she should ask whether such a man sounded familiar to him; maybe get a name, age, relationship status...
He'd probably look at her like she was crazy for even asking, so she swallowed the question and bit her tongue.
Her mystery man must be descending her into madness if she was really desperate enough to think about asking Sasuke of all people if he'd noticed him. How would she even casually bring up something like that? 'I know that hundreds and hundreds of people live in our building, but I was just wondering if you may have noticed this one man who happens to live on your floor?' He'd probably ignore her for beating around the bush, narrowing his eyes as he scanned her face and quickly found out her true intentions. Maybe she should be more straightforward. 'Hello Sasuke. I was just wondering; you wouldn't happen to know of a blonde man with beautiful blue eyes that lives on the same floor as you, by chance? We take the elevator every morning and I seem to have fallen head over heels for him.'
She was on a slippery slope into madness indeed.
"So you never told me what happened with Mr. Attractive Elevator Guy this morning!" Sakura interrupted her thoughts suddenly as the trio exited her office and made their way to the elevator.
"U-Um, well…" Hinata fixed her gaze on the hall ahead of them, trying to hide the blush on her face and avoiding meeting Sakura's bright green eyes as the fair haired women groaned in exasperation.
"Aw, don't tell me you didn't see him! I was really looking forward to my daily gossip, this little love story you have going on is so romantic!" Sakura winked at her as the three stood in the hallway as the elevator made its way up to their floor.
"Gossip." Sasuke muttered under his breath and Sakura waved a hand at him dismissively, scowling playfully. They moved to the side momentarily as the elevator slid open in front of them and a group of people poured out, before stepping inside themselves and pressing the button for the ground floor.
"I-It's not a love story, I don't even know him!" She attempted to defend herself lamely, desperately wishing to drop the embarrassing topic otherwise Sakura could go on about Hinata's love life for hours. Sakura crossed her arms and looked at Hinata slyly.
"Mhm, if you say so." Sakura hummed in a sing-song voice as a small ring resounded through the air and Hinata immediately bee-lined out of the elevator.
"It's the truth."
"I want to meet this mystery elevator guy already. You said he has blue eyes? Sounds dreamy." Sakura giggled as she and Sasuke caught up to Hinata's quick pace, and as she glanced to her right she thought she saw Sasuke's eyes widen for a split second before he began choking on his drink. He coughed violently while Sakura patted his back and laughed, telling him she was only joking about the 'dreamy' part.
"You know now that I'm really thinking about it," Sakura raised her hand to her chin in thought as Sasuke wiped his mouth roughly, and Hinata looked at her curiously. "It kind of sounds like you could be describing N–
"What's this about a guy in an elevator?" Sasuke asked after regaining his composure, trying to look nonchalant though from his short glance at her Hinata thought he had a curious look in his eye.
"Some guy in your building that Hinata has a huge crush on!" Sakura said before being interrupted by a soft nudge in her side and she looked at Hinata with an apologetic smile. "Hinata says they ride the elevator together every morning on their way to work, and yesterday he gave her his umbrella and paid for her cab ride. Romantic, don't you think?"
"Hm…" He replied shortly, seemingly back to his normal self and Sakura glared at him softly before resuming her conversation.
She could have been imagining it, but Hinata could have sworn that she saw a smirk on his face as he lifted his drink to his mouth once more.
"If anything happens, you'll be the first to know." Hinata said and Sakura gave a small cry of victory, graciously holding the door as the three exited the building. Hinata raised her hand in goodbye as she began heading the opposite direction. "I'm picking up Kiba on my way home, so I'll see you both tomorrow!"
"I'm telling you, this lady was crazy! I mean I've seen some really attached pet owners, but I'm pretty sure this dog's collar alone was worth more than my car."
"Maybe she just wants the best for him?"
"He's a dog! Explain to me how it's necessary for a dog to have a gold plated, diamond encrusted collar?"
"I suppose I can't," Hinata laughed as Kiba ran his arms down his face with a loud groan, reaching for the door to her building as the two approached the entry way and allowing him to step inside before her.
"That's because it isn't necessary! Akamaru would never let me put something as gaudy as that thing on him, he's not spoiled like that dog is."
'Says the one who takes his dog out to dinner with him.' Hinata giggled as they got close to the elevators and noticed one almost halfway closed.
"E-Excuse me!" She called a little more loudly than she meant, slightly embarrassed to draw attention to herself in the crowded lobby. "Hold the elevator, please!"
She saw a slender hand quickly shoot forward quickly, just catching the doors before they closed and Hinata shared a relieved smile with Kiba as the doors slowly began sliding open once more.
"Woah, that was a close one! You just caught it!" Someone laughed as the doors slid open to reveal a beautiful blonde woman and–
'Oh no. No, no, no.' Hinata wanted to crawl into a hole as she made eye contact with a very familiar set of blue eyes.
She wasn't sure if her timing was really good or really bad, a small part of her feeling extremely delighted at being able to see him today. A larger part of her, however, was having an internal freak out as she realized that she was seeing him today with the one person who was sure to want to embarrass her as soon as he figured out that this was the man that Hinata had been gushing over all day.
"Thanks for holding the door!" Kiba chuckled from beside her and Hinata realized very suddenly that she was staring very openly at the blonde man standing before her. She broke her eyes away from him as Kiba placed his hand on her shoulder a moment later, looking up at him as he gave her a wide grin. She could only give him a sort of half smile/half grimace before he began guiding her into the elevator and what would definitely be her demise.
Hinata Hyuga. 25 years old. Death by spontaneous combustion in an elevator.
She subconsciously felt Kiba guide her inside and press the button for the 8th floor as she looked at the two other people in the elevator with deep curiosity. If that nudge the woman had given him was any indication, the two blondes were definitely familiar with one another.
"But really, what's up with the small pets rule?" She distantly heard Kiba diverge into his very familiar rant about the pet restrictions in her building and fixed her eyes on him, all too conscious of the blonde man standing just a few inches to her right. "I keep telling you to move closer to me and Shino."
"Y-Yes, but this building is close to my work. And I…" She paused, stealing a glance to her right and feeling her face flush. She braided her fingers together tightly to resist the urge to poke them together out of her old shy habit. "I like the people."
"Okay but what do you think of a spring theme." The other woman in the elevator asked her companion, immediately grabbing Hinata's attention as she watched the woman cross her arms, deep in thought. "We could have lots of flowers and invite everyone we know! Is that too much though? Maybe we should keep it private, only close friends."
"Yeah, that sounds nice." The tall man beside her responded and Hinata felt her breath hitch in her throat.
'A spring theme? Flowers and inviting everyone they know? I-Is he…' Hinata felt her heart constrict in her chest as her mind raced through a million possibilities and settled on one.
'Is he engaged?!'
She immediately felt a deep sense of shame blanket over all of the thoughts and emotions she had been feeling for the man up until that point. What a fool she'd been! Of course someone so kind and attractive and perfect in every way like him was engaged! Never had she so desperately wished to run away as she did in that moment, fighting the urge to sink to the ground in a little ball as the blonde woman continued to talk about themes and plans for their upcoming event.
'She's so beautiful,' Hinata thought sadly as she glanced briefly at the woman. It made sense that a man like him would have such a gorgeous fiancé like this woman. Her facial structure was so refined and perfect, and she was almost as tall as he was. Her hair pulled back in its ponytail, so silky and long, swayed as she turned to look at the man beside her. Hinata had always been a little proud of her hair, but suddenly felt very inadequate standing next to this bombshell of a woman. She may as well have been a model! Hinata couldn't help but think the two were a perfect looking couple; with their blonde hair and striking blue eyes. The woman's were much lighter and Hinata thought they would feel very piercing if she set her gaze on you.
Her nicely manicured nails flashed as she gestured while talking and Hinata noticed the absence of a ring on her finger. Hinata almost felt hopeful; maybe he wasn't engaged after all! But its absence could mean anything; it could have been getting cleaned or maybe they just weren't an 'engagement ring' kind of couple. Maybe they were even picking one out together! Hinata wilted at the thought of the two in a jewelry shop, perusing through multitudes of rings together until they found the perfect one.
The sliding of the elevator doors pulled her from her thoughts and Hinata noticed the man standing unmoving as his fiancé took a step forward.
"Are you gonna stand there all day?" The woman looked back at him with a curious expression, and he jumped slightly in response as though pulled from a deep thought.
"R-Right, sorry," he replied with a sigh, stepping out after the woman just before the doors began to slide closed.
"Wait!"
Hinata felt her world freeze. Was that her voice? Did she really just call out and tell him to wait? She wasn't sure when she had reached out to stop the doors from sliding closed completely, but somehow she was standing there in the middle of the doorway with her hands pressed firmly against the sides of the elevator. The man halted immediately in his trek down the hallway, turning with a look of utter surprise on his face.
"I just, um, I wanted to thank you! For the umbrella yesterday, and the taxi…" Hinata stammered as she tried to organize her thoughts. What was she thinking! She didn't know what she was doing, why she'd called out to him or even what she was trying to say. Why was she thanking him now of all times, when she was so close to escaping the situation? "T-That was really kind and I'm really grateful."
"You don't have to thank me!" He said suddenly, taking a few steps back towards her as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed of his outburst. "I mean, it wasn't a big deal at all. I just wanted to help you out."
"Oh," Kiba's voice was laced with realization as he spoke from behind her and Hinata flinched. She'd completely forgotten he was there. "So this is the guy you were telling me about yesterday!"
She wasn't sure how, but she'd managed to make the situation a million times worse. Not only did she stumble into the elevator with the man she'd been crushing on the past few months in the middle of a conversation about his wedding, but she'd stumbled into the elevator with the man she'd been crushing on with the friend she'd been discussing her huge crush with repeatedly.
"Eh?" The blonde woman uttered in confusion as she joined the man in front of the elevator, and Hinata heart Kiba laugh moments before she felt him drape his arm around her shoulder.
"That was really cool of you to give her your umbrella! And the taxi, she was talking about it all day!"
Hinata felt her chest tighten as the words left his mouth, her face heating deeply as she blushed. Of course he was trying to embarrass her! What else did she expect to happen? He may as well have been her big brother, sizing up the man that his little sister was interested and trying to embarrass her on all levels in the process.
"K-Kiba," she tried to make her voice come out in more than a squeak and failed horribly.
"You didn't tell me about that!" The woman slapped the man's arm lightly as she turned to him and Hinata squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
"It was nothing," he mumbled in response, looking at the ground.
He hadn't told her about their meeting the previous day? Was it really that inconsequential to him? Or was he trying to hide it, and Hinata had foiled his plan and just exposed it? Would that ruin their engagement? Did Hinata feel bad about the idea of ruining their engagement?
…Not as much as she should have.
"I-I'm still really grateful, thank you." She built up all the courage she had left and smiled at him, trying to hide the sadness she was feeling inside her. "I still have your coat, and your umbrella?"
"You can give them back another day, don't worry about it." He waved a hand at her, smiling his brilliant smile that shined all the way to her core and she could only nod in response.
"Well! We better get going, it was nice talking to you!" The woman pulled on his arm as she began leading him down the hall, waving back at Hinata and Kiba.
"Thanks again!" Kiba called from beside her as Hinata stepped back inside the elevator and thought about the two walking down the hall together, probably towards their home that they lived in alone, together, as a couple.
"No way."
"Kiba," Hinata sighed as he began jumping up and down beside her with a large smile.
"No way, no way! That's the guy?!" He held his stomach as his body shook with laughter and Hinata refused to meet his eyes. "I'm not laughing at you or him, I just can't believe I finally got to see him!
"That girl was really pretty, don't you think?" She asked him quietly as the elevator halted in its ascent and the doors slid open to reveal the 8th floor.
"Pretty? She was smoking hot, but don't try to change the subject!" he pointed at her accusingly as he followed her out of the elevator.
"I-I'm not!" She flushed, looking at him with what she hoped was a serious expression but his wide grin told him otherwise. "D-Didn't it sound like…like they were talking about a wedding?"
"Hm, I wasn't paying attention. What, you don't think they're engaged do you?" He came to a stop beside her as she approached her door.
"It sounded like it," she replied quietly, unlocking the door and stepping inside with him fast behind her.
"Aw Hinata, no way!" He tried to reassure her, placing a hand on her shoulder and making her face him. "They could have been talking about anything, I'm sure you just imagined it."
"Y-You're right," she forced a smile as she looked up at him. "Let me wash up and I'll get started on dinner."
He gave her a suspicious look before seemingly deciding that she was alright, pulling her into a small hug before letting her go. She shrugged off her coat as she walked, laying it on top of the couch as she quickly made her way into the hallway and toward the bathroom door. She pulled the door open as calmly as she could before hastily closing it behind her and leaning against the wood with a shaky breath. She felt something run down her cheek and raised a hand to her face as she stood and walked to the mirror.
"It's such a silly thing to cry over."
She laughed to herself, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand as a few more droplets spilled onto her skin. She stood staring at herself for a moment, staring into her pale eyes that she thought seemed very dull and cold before looking down and turning on the faucet. Bringing her hands together she allowed the water to pool in her palms before splashing it lightly onto her face. Reaching blindly for the towel she took it in her hands and dabbed her face try before looking at herself once more. She wasn't very tall, and she tried standing on her tip toes to see more of her reflection. Her skin was a little too pale compared to sun kissed skin of the woman in the elevator, and she'd never tanned easily. Her hair was dark and a little plain, she thought as she toyed with a strand. Reaching behind her neck she gathered the long strands in her hands and brushed her hair over her shoulder, running her fingers through the thick pieces with a sad smile.
She didn't feel so proud of it anymore.