Day 2 Prompt: "Knowing me, knowing you"
Sometimes, Hinata wonders how she's never wandered off a cliff.
As she approaches the building which houses her place of employment, she pulls at her collar to sniff it, hoping the strawberry perfume she doesn't normally wear is able to hide any particularly off-putting smells. She knows it's gross, but she hasn't done laundry in weeks because Shino's been out of town, and she has what Ino calls 'social anxiety', and going down to the laundry room of her apartment by herself makes her uneasy. She's also afraid that she'll choose the wrong laundry detergent or accidentally mix in a particular piece of cloth that'll dye the entire load red or something ridiculous like that.
She doesn't readily share how dependent on her friends she is but won't deny it if someone called her needy. She's not proud of it but she knows her limitations.
Her forgetting her ID last week had to have been because Shino wasn't here to keep her grounded, she reasoned. But today, she's prepared. She triple-checked that she had her ID in her bag last night, got up extra early to make herself breakfast, and had all of her essentials. With the exception of the lack of clean clothing, otherwise, she's prepared. Once she scans her ID, she walks in with her shoulders back and head tilted up.
At the security desk to the side, a voice calls out a greeting. "Didn't forget your ID today, huh?"
Hinata forces a smile and nods with a wave. "Good morning, Sakura."
"Sorry, that was mean, wasn't it?" Sakura asks with a frown as she rests her chin in her palm, elbow on the security desk. Hinata checks the time on her phone and decides she has a little bit of time to indulge Sakura. "I'm trying to be better about the snarky comments, get into my nice girl era."
"Nice girl?" Hinata asks, a more genuine smile overcoming her lips. "How will that work with Kiba?"
"He doesn't deserve kindness." Her face drops into a grimace as she rolls her eyes, acting like the mere mention of his name is the same as nails on a chalkboard. Hinata isn't entirely sure what Kiba's done to make Sakura endlessly annoyed with him, but it just seems to be their thing now. Wacky security guards who butt heads constantly, like some terrible sitcom.
"Well, I think entering your nice girl era sounds like a good plan," Hinata says, gently, hoping it doesn't come off condescending. Sakura beams at her and Hinata laughs quietly, waving her hand again to bid her farewell.
When Hinata reaches her floor, she double-checks to make sure she has her ID, again and scans it in.
It's always nice and quiet when Hinata arrives. She tries to be extra early for the peace it offers before her generally loud co-workers flood in. There's also underlying stress that comes with arriving just on time, or even worse, being late. She doesn't know how Karin does it every day, arriving just shy of 8:00 on the dot. Hinata could never. It's probably part of the reason she panicked so much forgetting her ID last week.
Not just embarrassing having to flag someone down inside, but also the possibility of being late. It was good luck that man came when he did. Someone would have shown up eventually, she knew, but it was good timing. She remembers how indifferent he looked. She's seen him around before, she knows they'd both worked in this building for at least two years, and at that point, some familiarity is expected. She was just surprised he knew her family name, and instantly felt guilty she had not the slightest clue about his.
He even knew she worked in the optometrist's office.
Had he been a patient before? She prides herself on remembering faces and names, so if he had, it makes her feel extra bad.
Slowly, her coworkers begin to file in as the clock ticks towards 8, and Hinata is able to brew a pot of coffee and pull her hair up into a ponytail. Her hair is getting long. She takes her first sip and lets out a satisfied 'aah' before greeting everyone. Tsunade brushes past Hinata with a grumbled hello, then immediately slams her office door shut. She can smell the slight scent of alcohol from her clothing being covered up by something vaguely cinnamon, or espresso.
As usual, right on the dot, the entrance door handle begins jiggling rapidly, and a groan is heard on the other side of the door. A few chaotic-sounding seconds later, there's a beep. A red head of hair comes bursting through, nearly shoving another employee to the ground with the harsh way she shoves the door open right as they were coming to unlock it. Karin has her ID between her teeth, a local café's paper to-go cup in one hand, her bag around her arm, a newspaper tucked under her other arm, and her wallet in the other hand. She whines when she looks at the employee who had been unlocking the door and asks her why she couldn't unlock it a few seconds earlier, then she wouldn't have had to tear apart her bags looking for her ID.
"God, can you believe this?"
Hinata glances at a table when Karin throws the newspaper down and points at it with a shaking finger. Hinata hums softly for her to continue.
"They're getting rid of the star sign section!" Karin exclaims and Hinata blinks, trying to force herself to make a sympathetic look. Karin nods vigorously. "Exactly! It's a classic part of the newspaper, who do these people think they are?! GOD? Taylor Swift? Greta Thunberg?"
"I doubt it," Hinata offers back, pouring another large dash of sugar into her coffee. She stirs, then sips it as she watches Karin rattle off all the reasons why a newspaper removing the astrology section is a worse crime than hitting your shitty ex-boyfriend with your car. Hinata winces as her tone rapidly rises, and she reaches out to rest her hand on her shoulder. "Karin. Breathe."
Karin sucks in a dramatically large breath and puffs out her cheeks, glaring at Hinata.
And that's how her morning goes, much like all mornings. Hinata calls every few patients in, sets them up in their chairs, takes down their info, makes them comfy, and listens to Karin in between. At one point, as they pass each other in the hall, Karin whispers something about the Vernal Equinox.
Most people find themselves tired after being around Karin for too long, but Hinata's thankful that it makes the day go by faster. She may not entirely understand what Karin's going on about, but it's entertaining and fills the dead air of her colleagues.
Noon hits quickly and Hinata carries herself up to the food court to pick up lunch for her and Karin. She taps her lips as she surveys her options, already knowing what she could get for Karin from each one, just deciding where she wants to eat. Then that man from the other day, Sasuke, catches her eye, in line at Pizza by the Slice. A proper thank you might be in order, so she decides to have lunch here.
By some fortune (or misfortune in Sasuke's case), Hinata notices him patting down his own pockets as if it's him who's forgotten something this time. She smiles to herself and steps forward to come up next to his side and holds out her card. Without looking up, she orders herself a slice and tells the cashier she's covering both of them.
"Where did you come from?" he asks over her as she tucks away her card and receipt. As she looks up to meet his eyes, she tucks her hair behind her ears and gives him a small smile. He tilts his head, eyes darting over her face.
"I wanted to say thank you," she responds, grasping both the offered trays and handing him one. She looks at what he ordered and forces herself not to raise her eyebrows at the slice of cheese pizza with nothing but chunks of tomato and olives on it.
"By insulting me?" he asks, pointedly, and she wonders how he could just seem to sense her aversion for the toppings.
"Sorry!" she squeaks out as she offers the tray to him. Then she sees the corner of his lips crinkle and she breathes a short sigh. They stand there awkwardly for a moment before she nudges her head slightly to the side in offering. She watches his eyes flick towards the tables, then back at his tray, like he's contemplating. As if it were a terribly hard decision to eat with the person who just bought them lunch. Also, the same person who has already proven herself to be a frazzled mess, but Ino told her not to think about herself in those terms.
They silently settle in at a table and Hinata does her best to look lady-like when she eats, though pizza isn't the most lady-like food. She feels his eyes on her cheek, so she crosses one leg over the other and clears her throat.
"I'm actually insured with Leaf Light," she comments, trying to let interest come through in her tone as she looks up. He's chewing and looking right at her, and she wonders if he knows that it's kind of rude to stare. He drops his slice of pizza on the tray and claps his hands together as if to dust them. He leans back and cracks his knuckles. Now she wonders what kind of gate she's opened.
"Car, right?" he asks, leaning forward. She sees his lips puff out as he clearly licks at his teeth. Silently, he nods and launches into questioning her.
How long have you been driving?
What's your zip code?
What's your driving record like?
What kind of coverage?
What kind of car?
That's the question that makes Sasuke's face drop and she feels her cheeks heat up.
"Hyūga money…" he mutters, eyes dropping down at his tray. Hinata bites her thumb and feels her restless leg start to bounce up and down. She averts her eyes and again, wonders how he knows so much about her to jump to the conclusion that she's somehow wealthy.
With a sigh, he takes a strangely aggressive chomp out of his pizza, and she blinks, wondering what will come next. He crumbles the parchment in his fist. "Even so, the thought of that shitty place getting more money than it deserves – I can't let that slide. Here's what you're going to do: come in on your lunch tomorrow and I'll skip mine and take you in."
"Er—" Hinata interrupts, taken aback by this sudden attitude shift. "Isn't there a way to change it online?"
"Yeah, for lazy people who're fine with paying way too much," he retorts, crushing the parchment harder in his fingers, showing that for some reason, this is what Sasuke is passionate about. "Nope. You're gonna go in there, tell the guy with orange hair that you need to see Sasuke, and we're gonna fix this."
Hinata feels the pace of her heart quicken at the way he looks her right in the eye while tapping his knuckle on the table. She thinks about Shino and how Shino would usually go with her for something like this. Shino is not here. He cocks his head at her before reaching into his shirt pocket. He pulls out a business card and sets it on the table in front of her.
It's a little distracting the way he smirks at her, so she reaches out for the card and holds it up to her eyes.
Sasuke Uchiha
Licensed Insurance Agent
Leaf Light Insurance
"Well, alright." Hinata nods, pulling the card up to her chest. "Thank you, Mr. Uchiha."
"Seriously?" Sasuke raises his eyebrows, narrowing his gaze. "We're doing that? Mr. Uchiha?"
This makes her giggle, slightly. "Sasuke."
"You know," he starts, reaching out to take her empty tray from her, "I've never been to an eye doctor."
Hinata instinctively frowns and Sasuke chuckles. It's never good news to her when others ignore their eye health. "May I ask how old you are?"
"Crisp 25," he counters, and she covers her mouth when his face falls.
"Crisp?"
"Uh – something my cousin said to me once. Ignore that."
Hinata feels her cheeks tighten with her smile. "Sasuke, I think I must insist you plan a visit."
"You think?" he asks, reaching up to rub his chin. They both move to stand as she nods, following him as he throws out their trash and puts away their trays without being asked. He turns to her and leans down a little bit, widening his eyes as he makes direct eye contact with her. She puts one foot back as confusion sweeps over her face. "Anything look wrong with them?"
"Oh!" She laughs, shaking her head. "I'm not qualified to say."
"So, you're an assistant?" he asks, folding his arms as he leans away. "Not the doctor?"
"Well, that's right," she says, furrowing her eyebrows. "But even if I were qualified, I don't have the right tools and equipment…you should come in. Maybe on a Friday evening, it tends to be quieter."
"I like quiet," he muses as they begin walking out of the food court.
"So do I."
There's a pause as they stand by the stairwell. Without thinking, they had joined each other on the trek down to the 5th floor.
He likes quiet.
"This…is my floor."
He blinks at her like she's said something odd before looking to his side and rubbing the back of his neck. He nods while also slightly shaking his head in an odd movement.
"Right. Yeah. I will…see you tomorrow."
With those short words, he gives an awkward wave where it's clear he's not sure where to put his hand, but she sees him. She sees the way his fingers grab at his tie, tug at it, smooth it out, then tuck the hand into his pocket. She sees the way he smooths back his hair with his other hand, then rubs that hand over his mouth. She sees how flustered he is, and she wonders.
Did she do that?