*I'll come back and edit tomorrow, I just wanted to publish this ASAP. I'll also respond to reviews. Thanks for your patience.
Chapter title from the song Crystalized by the XX.
Many thanks to these people for reviewing: I-Love-Trunks1, NeKo19-94
Thanks for reading.
oOo
Chapter Ten: And I've Done Things in Small Doses
The revelation about Izumi hung heavy over Itachi's shoulders like another set of Hokage robes. He stared blankly at the paper in front of him, remembering all the times he picked up a pen and wrote to her.
The whole thing made him feel a little stupid, really. He knew he did not process emotions like most people. He believed in small gestures. That spending time with someone was one of the best ways to get to know someone, to show you cared.
He spent the most time with Izumi. Until she left.
The pen in his hand creaked with the force he exerted on it. Putting it down on the table, he spun it in a circle. Watching it spin, he allowed his gaze to go soft and turn inwards. It calmed his mind.
He slowly breathed in through his nose then out his mouth. Again. Again. His jaw relaxed. His shoulders slumped out of their hunched position.
It was too late now. No matter how many times he carefully analyzed his past actions, he still could not change anything. Izumi made her choice. Now, he needed to make his.
He needed to move on.
A small knock at the door warned him of his visitor. Hinata slipped through seconds later, a file folder pinned under one arm, and carrying two hot takeout cups.
She smiled at him. "Sorry about the delay."
He shook his head. He had not noticed.
She put one of the cups on her desk. Walking up to his, she handed him the file folder. She paused, biting her lip briefly before putting the other cup in front of him.
He studied it, then her. She flushed.
"You never let me bring you anything. But the tea shop I go to is very nice. And this is supposed to help with headaches," she explained bashfully. She pushed the cup a little closer.
His brows furrowed. "Headaches?"
"Yes. From stress. Or eye strain."
"I don't-" he began to say, then paused. His jaw had been clenched so tightly his temples throbbed with pain. He relaxed his shoulders again and gave her a sheepish smile. "I guess I can always work on my stress levels. Huh?"
Hinata smiled at him, and a lock of long indigo hair slid over her shoulder to frame her face. It brought his attention to the color of her skin, the peony pink blush on her cheeks.
He caught himself staring. Clearing his throat, he reached for the cup and took a tiny sip. He tasted a bit of lavender, chamomile, rose… and maybe cardamom. He hummed his approval.
Hinata's smile widened. "Good?"
Even if it was not, he would have lied, just to keep that smile on her face. But he did not have to. Instead, he nodded. "Good. Thank you."
She clasped her hands together in front of her. "I'm glad. Let me know if you need anything else."
He patted the files she brought him. "This is all I need for now."
"Okay." She hustled back to her seat.
He watched her hair sway as she walked away from him.
oOo
Itachi knew what her hair smelled like. It sounded creepy and he would never admit it to anyone. No matter how observant, a boss should never know or pay attention to these personal facts.
Itachi could not help it. He noticed a lot. Even without it being a necessary skill as a nin, he always noticed strange things. The small, silvery, almost invisible scars on his mother's hands, which indicated healed callouses. The mottled skin on Sasuke's arm as a baby that would have developed into a rash if he had not caught it. The way his father would slightly baby his left ankle when the barometric pressure in the atmosphere rose to a certain level.
It was one of the things that made him a good shinobi. A genius.
Itachi just thought it made him a less demonstrative person. If he noticed all the tiny tells from someone's body language, surely they noticed the same about him?
Maybe this was why Izumi did not believe he cared for her.
But it made him notice Hinata. He spent the most time with her, these days. He worried for her.
He worried about her fight with her sister. He worried about the bruise on her cheek. About the heavy exhaustion sitting under her eyes. The way her chakra seemed to be locked down tightly.
He should not worry. It was not his business.
But it was. She was his shinobi, one of his subordinates.
Sometimes, she leaned down close to him to read something on a paper, and he would catch the scent of her hair as it slipped over her shoulder and fell like a curtain between them. It smelled herbal and sweet and like Hinata as a person.
He should not know.
But he did.
oOo
Coming up: Itachi really does get a bad headache. Hinata helps.