Day 14 Prompt: "Bouquets"

Hinata stares at her dishwashing machine, trying to make sure she's pressed all the right buttons. Double-checks the cartridge for detergent. Takes in a deep breath to smell the vinegar, just to make sure she put it in, like Sasuke told her to. She double-presses the start button, then shuts it so it locks. She nods with a little smile, feeling more accomplished now.

"Since when do you use that thing?"

Hinata spins around to look at her sister, who is laying on the couch with a wine glass in hand, resting her cheek on the other hand. Hanabi's swirling a glass of wine that from a bottle she swiped from the top of Hinata's fridge in a cupboard tucked away. One that Hinata can never manage to reach, only when Hanabi is here does someone grab it. Or someone else, namely Sasuke…

"I learned how to use it," Hinata says, washing her hands under the sink and drying them on the towel to the left. "It's much easier than doing them by hand."

"I know that," Hanabi laughs, sipping from her glass. "I'm just surprised you bothered to figure it out…or, let someone teach you."

Hinata freezes, but only for a moment. She composes herself quickly, steps to a plant in her windowsill and strokes the flowers, hoping to avoid Hanabi's judgmental gaze. Pretends to pay closer attention to the petals, presses her face in to smell it, as if it's part of her normal routine. To be fair, it is.

"Did Shino finally give you like, a guide?" Hanabi asks, climbing off the couch to come stand in the dining room with her. Hinata shakes her head and Hanabi squints, leaning over the table. "Ino give you some spiel about knowing how to use a dishwasher improving your mental health?"

"No," Hinata sighs, folding her arms as she slowly turns back to Hanabi. "It was…a newer friend."

"A newer friend?" Hanabi repeats back, her eyes lighting up. "What's this newer friends name?"

Hinata swallows, preparing for the inevitable onslaught of questions. The moment a male pronoun leaves her mouth, she'll close in for the attack. "His name is Sasuke."

"I knew it!" Hanabi exclaims, slamming the wine glass down. She circles around the table and sits in the chair nearest to Hinata, and pushes the other chair out, patting the seat so she'll sit. Hinata inhales deeply, bracing herself as she sinks into the seat. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. That's certainly…a name. Like he's saucey." Hinata exhales an amused breath, smiling a little. "Okay, let me make some predictions."

"Predictions?" Hinata asks, blinking up at her little sister.

"He's got dark hair," Hanabi starts in immediately, leaning on her elbows with interest. "Probably pale. He keeps to himself, but he still approached you first. Probably not as awkward as you, but still, kind of awkward. Wears mostly black, and…" She taps her chin as she thinks, humming. "And he works in the optometry office!"

Hinata bites her lips together, feeling the blush on her cheeks as she debates whether to be wholly honest with her nosy sister. She's impressed with how much she can infer just based on her own personality. "He does have dark hair. He's not as awkward as me, he does wear black, but he doesn't work in the office." She taps her fingertip on the table, before going forward. "And I approached him first, actually."

Hanabi gasps this loud, high-pitched gasp, covering her cheeks as an evil grin takes over her lips. "You did NOT!"

Hinata shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant about it, but Hanabi's reaction actually makes her feel a little cool.

"Oh my god!" Hanabi slams her palms on the table, leaning in even more. "I'm so proud of you sister!"

"Well, not in a romantic way," Hinata clarifies, waving her hands in front of her. "As friends!" When Hanabi drops her eyelids to give her a disbelieving look, Hinata shakes her head and repeats, "as friends!"

"Yeah fucking right." Hinata sighs as Hanabi freely curses at her. Hanabi grabs the bottle of wine and tops off her glass before continuing. "And he's been here! In your home!"

"So has Shino!" Hinata defends, though she knows it's futile and that she's just deflecting.

"That's different," Hanabi snaps back after taking a long drink, "and you know it."

She does know it. She's just not sure she wants to admit it out loud, yet, based on how things have gone. It's felt like a game of push and pull until now. "What do you want from me?"

Hanabi's lips curl as she leans in. "How many dates have you been on?"

"Dates?" Hinata asks, flatly. "None."

"Oh good lord," Hanabi fans herself as she leans back. "He's been in this apartment, taught you how to use a dishwasher, and I assume you've made out."

Hinata visibly tenses up, staring at the patterns of the wood on the table. Hanabi reaches out to clench her hand within hers.

"You have made out," she gasps, digging her fingernails in so Hinata winces. "And no date! Hinata, I didn't take you for a player!"

"Stop that!" Hinata huffs, snatching back her hand to pull to her chest. "Stop assuming things!"

"He likes you enough to teach your clueless self how to use a dishwasher," Hanabi continues, unaffected by Hinata's exasperation. "You have to take him on a date."

Hinata's skin burns as she chews on her bottom lip. A date with Sasuke does sound like something she'd like to do, but they haven't seen each other since that moment outside of the café. They've chatted over Discord plenty, and she feels like she's being flirted with when he messages her, but she's so very out of her element when it comes to things like this. She's been secretly hoping he'd invite her out with his coworkers or something again, take the pressure off. Alas, nothing.

"I'm busy…" Hinata whispers, reaching out for the wine bottle to take to the kitchen. Hanabi wines quietly, but quickly stops when Hinata grabs herself a small glass to pour into. No, she doesn't engage in drinking often, but her nerves are all over the place and she wants to calm herself without going to bed. "I have exams coming up, I just…I'm not sure…"

"Oh come on." Hanabi says it as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Invite him to lunch or something!"

"Hanabi," Hinata sighs, pressing her index and thumb to the bridge of her nose, "we haven't quite made it to that point."

"Then get yourself to that point." Hanabi slaps a hand on the table. "Take initiative for the love of god! Go to the ramen place we always go to! You know the people there, it's comfortable, you know exactly what you'd order, it's a good place. I bet you fifty bucks he'll jump at the chance to see your pretty face again!"

Hinata's lips twitch with her smile. As abrasive as she is, her little sister still knows how to make her smile. "I don't know."

"Give me your phone."

"Wh-what?! No!"

"Give it to me!"

Hinata gasps when Hanabi lunges at her, grabby hands at her pants pockets. Hinata gasps and groans as she tries to fend off the attack, but Hanabi is simply stronger and has longer arms to reach around her with, easily snatching the phone from her pocket. She skitters away while Hinata collects herself, huffing with the effort, and comes up next to her.

"Where is he?!" she says in frustration, aggressively swiping up on her phone. "What, you don't text?!"

"We talk on Discord…" Hinata says, quietly, trying to reach out for her phone, but Hanabi simply jerks it away and turns her back to her.

"Discord? Oh god," Hanabi sighs, tapping away at her phone. "I thought only people who were chronically online used that."

"That's rude," Hinata says, not even trying to get her phone back now. Hanabi's on a mission, and honestly, it feels like she's doing the heavy lifting for her. At least she can honestly say: 'sorry, my sister took my phone.'

"Here we go…Sasuke zero one two nine?" Hanabi looks over her shoulder, squinting at Hinata, who nods, reluctantly. "He better be cute. This is not cute behavior."

Hinata nearly wheezes, trying to look over Hanabi's shoulder as she types. She bounces from foot to foot as she does, making it hard to focus on the words, but she can see the beginnings: 'Let's go to…'

She actually considers where Hanabi suggested, a spot that's close to where Sasuke told her he lived. If all goes well, it could actually be a good call. Even though she can be overbearing, Hinata is grateful for her litter sister. She's far more skilled in things like this than she.

"There we go!" Hanabi drops the phone an inch away on the table, then claps her hands as if she's done some laborious chore. Hinata snatches it back up, opening the messages.

Let's go to Ichiraku's by Main. I'll pick you up at 5.

"H-Hanabi!" Hinata nearly screeches, looking up at the time on her phone. 3:20. "Tonight?!"

"It's now or never, sis." Hanabi bumps her hip into Hinata's, causing her to stumble. "Let's get you date ready, 'cause I already know he can't say no to you."

Hinata lets her little sister drag her into the bathroom, knowing she's signed her own death warrant, because this was the only logical outcome. Hanabi fishes into her own bag for the make up she keeps on hand, and gets to work putting Hinata's hair up. Hinata just closes her eyes and sighs, in a small voice, "Hanabi, I don't wear much. Can you just…please, not do too much?"

Hanabi whines in a pouty way, clearly deflated, but she still seems to take her words to heart. "Fine. Just some foundation and mascara, okay?"

"Okay." Hinata agrees because it doesn't sound like much. She's seen make up tutorials that she's tried to follow in the past, so just foundation and mascara really doesn't sound like much in comparison.

It's a few moments later that Hanabi declares her job with her face done. Hinata smiles at her reflection, liking how the mascara makes her eyes look a little bit bigger, while Hanabi gets to work brushing out her hair and using both a straightener and a curler on her. Hinata's always had a straightener her entire life to tame unwieldly strands of hair, but the curler is a recent edition as a gift from none other than Hanabi herself. Once Hanabi is satisfied with her wavy look, she drags her back to her room.

"Let's see here…this one looks nice." Hanabi grabs a sleeveless turtleneck from her closet and holds it up to Hinata's chest.

"It's freezing," Hinata comments in concern.

"And that's why you'll wear a jacket," Hanabi interjects as if it's obvious. "When you eat, just take it off, and show off that body!"

"I don't really want to show off," Hinata sighs as Hanabi lays the turtleneck on her bed, ready for her to take. Hanabi doesn't even acknowledge it as she gets out the rest of her outfit and instructs her to change. She doesn't argue at this point, because she trusts her sister's judgement, even if she's nervous. Thinks it's just nice for someone to tell her what to do instead of making decisions herself.

Hanabi squeals from the other side as she pulls on the pants and Hinata almost falls flat on her face in shock.

"He said: 'can't wait'! He can't wait to see you, elder sister!"

Hinata lets out a big breath, recomposing herself. She's relieved that Sasuke's agreed, but she also wishes she didn't have to be on the verge of a panic attack to find out. She finishes dressing, then opens her door to reveal herself. Hanabi gives a dreamy sigh, hands clasped up to her cheek.

"You look straight out of a fairy tale," Hanabi tells her, then continues, "like right out of a little fairy tale about an elf and a noble. You're the elf."

Hinata scrunches her eyebrows together, trying to find the compliment. "Thank you…?"

"It's cute!" Hanabi reassures, pulling her further out. "You're cute as!"

"Okay, thank you." Hinata defers to her usual response, nodding a little while also darting her eyes back and forth over the room.

"Now, what are you going to say?"

The next hour goes like this. Hanabi interrogating Hinata on her practices, what she'll say, how she'll show off her breasts, how she'll keep him interested, how she'll get him back to her place, how she'll 'lock this down'.

"Alright!" Hanabi claps her hands together after helping Hinata ensure her purse has all the necessities: her wallet, her keys, hand sanitizer, and bear mace. Hanabi sighs, taking Hinata's elbows in her hands as she looks her right in the eye. "I'm so proud."

"This is wrong," Hinata sighs, looking away. "You shouldn't be guiding me in…in dating. I'm 25 and you're my baby sister."

"We're different," Hanabi says it coolly, shrugging. "You're good at the emotional, the comfort, the listening. I'm good at this."

Hinata twists her lips to one side, holding onto her sisters sleeves. "Well…"

"It's true." Hanabi shrugs, running her hands up to Hinata's shoulders to rest there. "I want this to be good for you."

Hinata gives a strained smile, nodding. "I hope you feel comfy talking to me about what's going on with you, too."

"Nope, no." Hanabi takes her hands off Hinata and steps away, shaking her head. "This is about you right now, not me. Oh, you know what you should do? Run to the store and pick him up some flowers! Guys love it when the girl gets them flowers!"

Hinata ponders this idea for a moment. It conjures some distant memory of her mother, which at this point, are few and far in between. But the mention of giving flowers to someone you care about draws up an image of her mother bringing her father a flower while he's sitting over his desk. It's one of the few times she can remember her father smiling. It makes her smile, too.

Without responding, she opens her balcony to get a look at her potted flowers. Part of keeping her mothers memory alive had always been keeping at minimum a balcony garden, and hopefully a bigger one in the future, too. For now, she strives to keep a few flowers alive year round. Right now, she has Marigolds, Torenia, and New Guinea to pick from. Hanabi approaches from being and giggles.

"Homemade bouquet?" she asks as Hinata gingerly begins snipping a few stalks of each. "Could be worse, I guess."

Despite her worry about doing something wrong or putting someone off, she actually has a feeling Sasuke will appreciate the gesture. Even if he's great at deflecting, he's been pretty transparent with her when it comes to what he's comfortable with, and she thinks some flowers will probably at least make him laugh. She tears out a piece of parchment and wraps the flowers up before securing it with some kitchen twine. Stops to admire her works a bit while Hanabi pats her on the back.

"Alright! Go pick up your man!"

Hanabi's always been too pushy for her own good, but since she became a teenager, it's become harder to put her in her place. Hinata decides this is fine, but still bites her lip and nudges her head to the door. "You can walk me out."

"I'm staying to get this place fit," Hanabi says as if it's the most natural thing in the world, beginning to rinse out her wine glass. Before Hinata can protest, she holds up a hand. "I'll be done in a bit and I'll lock up." Again, Hinata opens her mouth to interject, but Hanabi cuts it off. "I'll check the windows and get the top lock, too."

Without any other reason to dispute it, Hinata shuts her mouth. Just nods slightly, all the argument snatched right out of her as she double checks her things. Begrudgingly, she grabs the umbrella by the door, though is praying to the high heavens that there will be no rain, since she is driving. Almost considers trying to take the bus herself but decides against it because Hanabi had already told Sasuke that she was picking him up. And she doesn't really trust herself not to panic, anyway.

She puts in the coordinates of his apartment into her phone and is pleased to see it's actually fairly close to the ramen restaurant Hanabi had invited him to for her. Again, despite how pushy Hanabi is, she's sharp and very intuitive to Hinata's needs. The spot is a comfortable place for her, though she's unsure of how the people there will react to seeing her with someone not Hanabi, Neji, Shino, or Ino.

Sasuke's already waiting outside when she pulls up to the spot he specifically mentioned for her to end up at, even sent her a pin so she'd know exactly where to stop. She appreciates little details like that, someone trying to make her life a bit easier. Immediately, she parks the car and shuts it off, then gets out before he can reach for the door. He gives her this quizzical look as she opens the back and takes out the homemade bouquet, then whirls around to proudly present it to him.

"Uh—?" He takes one small step back, but she doesn't let it stop her. Newfound confidence after their last meeting has graced her, so she simply pushes them towards his chest.

"They're from my little garden," she tells him as he reaches out a reluctant hand. Then a little smile replaces the confused look and he grasps it.

"Wow. Really playing up this date thing, huh?"

"Sorry," she responds, instinctively, even though she knows she shouldn't be. He just shakes his head. "We can go inside your apartment to put them in water before we go."

"You, uh." He clears his throat, looking over his shoulder back at the complex. "You want to come into my place?"

"You've been in mine a lot." She realizes how this comes across immediately when an embarrassed smile pulls up at his lips, his free hand covering his mouth. "I mean! Mostly just, erm, helping me with chores, and—"

"Come on."

Sasuke's hand slides off his mouth and reaches out towards her and Hinata's heart flutters at the simple gesture. It's silly, because they've held hands before, but those were through awkward misunderstanding or drunken fumbling. This time, it feels very intentional, and she lays a somewhat shaky hand in his. She's surprised by how warm his hand is in the cold temperatures. She squeezes on his hand as she walks alongside him, and he squeezes back.

Even though the complex isn't as nice as hers, his apartment is very nice. It's tasteful, she might say. Very clean, minimalistic. There's not even a television in the living room. Hinata figured everyone had a television in every room of their homes now a days. Perhaps that's just the 'live well' part of her father's motto. He seems to have no qualms about her being in here like she had when he first came over, and she finds that confidence in himself attractive.

"Do you have a penny?" she asks as he pulls out a tall, plain drinking glass. She's not really surprised he doesn't have a vase on hand, she probably should have brought one. He looks at her curiously as he fills up the glass. "One from before 1982?"

"Uhm, maybe?" Sasuke sets the glass down, squinting at her. "Collecting or something?"

"Oh, no!" Hinata laughs. "They're good for killing fungicide. Sorry, I should have brought one."

She watches him stroll over to a bookshelf and spots a classic pink piggy bank at the top. She smiles because it's cute he keeps stuff like that. He opens the bottom of it and digs around, inspecting each coin for the year before stopping on one. He drops it into the glass and looks at her, not really smiling, but like he's in thought. She bites her lip, shifts on her feet. He shakes his head suddenly and smiles a little. "I like them."

"Oh, good," she breathes out a sigh of relief and he chuckles at it.

Once they get back in the car, she patiently waits for him to pull on his seat belt. "I was surprised."

"I'm sorry," she says, immediately on instinct once again. "It was last minute."

"I wasn't doing anything important." He shrugs, leaning back in his seat and getting comfortable. "Your message was just very…straight forward, I guess."

"A sudden wind of inspiration hit me, I suppose. To, you know, expand my horizons."

Sasuke hums quietly next to her, before he lets out a suspicious "hmph." She sees him shrug from the corner of her eye, his hand finding the window button. "If you say so. I didn't mean for this to become a social experiment on your psyche."

Hinata giggles at this, feeling more relaxed with his teasing. "That's Ino's job."

"Ah, right." Sasuke nods as if in understanding. "Her life mission to see to it you're cussing freely."

Hinata had never been a fan of small talk, but she doesn't really feel like what she does with Sasuke is 'small talk'. It actually feels fun, meaningful, or interesting. The drive to the restaurant passes fairly quickly, and she lets him lead her in, even though she's pretty sure she knows this place a little better than Sasuke does. As soon as she walks in, the friendly voice of Ayame welcomes them in, except...

"Well, isn't this a surprise!" Ayame dusts at her apron as she rounds the counter to greet them. "Hinata and Sasuke! I had no clue you two knew each other."

"I—" Hinata's not sure what to say.

"Found someone else to drag your butt in here, huh?" Ayame teases and Sasuke shrugs, brushing past her to walk towards the bar. She gives Hinata a little wink as she says hello while following Sasuke. He pulls her seat out for her (something she's pretty sure he's always done) and she looks at him expectantly.

"Naruto's obsessed with ramen," he tells her, nonchalantly. "Guess I can't escape it."

"This is one of my favorite places," she reveals, feeling a little more connected to him now. "I'm surprised I've never seen you here, then."

"Maybe we have." He shrugs, leaning on his elbows. "Just never noticed?"

Hinata nods in agreement before they both give their orders. He doesn't even need the menu, so she figures he does in fact come here pretty often.

"So, is this a date?"

The question catches her off guard. She scrambles to click off her phone, wide eyes up at him. She was hoping she wouldn't have to say it out loud, since he had asked if she was 'leaning into the date thing.' She hoped it was just assumed. She quickly tucks away her phone and tries not to look so panicked.

"How-uhm-how would you feel if it was?" she asks, quietly, as if asking him to tell her a secret. He leans back a little on the stool, looking down at his hands as he taps his fingers in succession. Peaks at her from the corner of his eye and now she wonders if he's keeping her on edge just to mess with her.

"I guess I would feel pretty lucky." Again, the beat of her heart gets a little stronger. "After all that stuff I did to you. I'd feel lucky if you asked me on a date."

"It's a date." It slips out involuntarily, but the way his eyes get a little wider, immediately followed by a smile reassures her.

Everything inside of her relaxes as they wait for their food. She's keenly aware of how close he starts leaning in. Before she got to really know Sasuke, she wouldn't have thought he was so comfortable with close contact. Since the wedding, he's become very relaxed with her and she finds herself memorizing the outline of his shoulder against hers, how warm he is, how his voice sounds when it gets quiet, but closer.

They're at the tail end of eating when Hinata hears that dreaded sound that used to bring her such excitement: the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the rooftop. She freezes with her spoon at her lips, looking out the side of her eye to see the water platters on the sidewalk outside.

"I can drive."

She looks at him, but he's not looking at her. He just focuses on his bowl, scraping up the last bits of bamboo and bok choy.

"Believe it or not, I do know how," he continues, unphased by her silence. "I may not have a car but I do have a license. I've had to drive Naruto home from the bar one too many times."

"Oh…" she breathes out, dipping her eyes, feeling pathetic that she's so transparent about her fear of something so silly.

"Guy in his twenties and doesn't know how to drive?" he muses, chuckling a little. "Embarrassing."

"I'm really sorry," she sighs, dropping her utensils in her bowl. "You probably wonder what's wrong with me."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with you," he says without hesitation, turning his head to look her in the eye now. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

Like so many other times, she feels her heart swell and all of her worries melt away. It's such simple comfort, but it's everything she never knew she needed. He pays for the bill without her even realizing, and holds his hand out for her keys. She really trusts him at this point, so she doesn't even question him, just drops them into his hand. This time, he doesn't try to take the umbrella, lets her open it at the door while she calls a farewell to Ayame and Teuchi.

Being with Sasuke in the rain doesn't feel nearly as suffocating as it does when she's by herself.

He figures out her car fairly quickly, but pauses when he turns on the engine.

"Would you want to go back to my place?" he asks, and she tries not to over-analyze what that means. "Not for anything, like, sexual."

Hinata squeaks involuntarily at his forwardness.

"Squeaks…" he says under his breath, laughing just slightly before continuing, "just because it's closer," he clarifies, quickly. "I can take the back roads."

Honestly, the thought that he was trying to bring her back for something sexual didn't really bother her so much because she honestly believes he wouldn't try to play her like that. Sasuke's proven himself to actually care about her comfort and feelings, so she just nods. She's not sure what this will mean if the rain doesn't clear up, but decides that she's finding new confidence in herself when she's with him.

She spends the entire trip looking at her phone because it's easier than looking outside and constantly worrying that something will go wrong. He doesn't seem to mind, just turns up her radio, which helps drown out the sound of the rain. To her surprise, they're parking in a structure within minutes, but she's coming to expect time to fly when she's with him.

"Finally get to use my parking space," he jests as they unbuckle and step out.

Now it's her turn to be bold, again. When he circles the car to come up beside her, she brushes the back of her fingers against his. He almost immediately turns his hand and cups her hand in his, then laces their fingers together. It's too cold for a blush to become visible on her cheeks, but she feels the burn and doesn't even pretend to dislike it.

When they get back up to his apartment, she's unsure of how comfortable she should get, so she watches him first. He kicks off his shoes, takes off that scarf and coat, so she follows suit, hoping she's not out of line.

He's a perfect gentleman, immediately gets hot water going for tea, offers to turn the heat up in the apartment, offers to watch a movie to see if the rain will fizzle out. Watching a movie together sounds nice, but they both seem to realize at the same time he doesn't have a TV in his living room.

"Sorry, that's out of line," he says, quickly. "The only T.V. I have is in my bedroom."

"Maybe we can sit on the floor?" she offers, taking the mug of tea he's made her. He tilts his head, looking up, then shrugs.

"I guess it wouldn't be the first time we hung out on the floor," he jokes and she smiles, thinking it's sweet.

They settle on the floor in front of his bed while he clicks on the T.V., and true to his teasing, does not have cable, just a whole bunch of apps ready to click. Before he can say anything, she insists, "choose one of your kung-fu movies. I want to see what you like."

"Yeah?" he asks, blinking down at her. She smiles big and nods, leaning against the bed frame. He nods, looking a little flustered. She looks up to see him choosing something she's certain has to be from before they were born. She brings the mug closer to herself, watching him get up to shut the curtains and dim the lights. Like a little make shift movie theater. Again, his attention to little details like that are endearing.

And even though she's finding the movie boring, she pays close attention.

There's just one thing that bothers her, and she's not sure whether she's selfish for it or not.

He hasn't even tried to kiss her.

Even after she confirmed they are in fact on a date, and he confirmed that he would in fact like that…still, nothing. They're close together, but lips have not met lips. She finds herself a little…disappointed. Wonders if she's pushing things too quickly. They'd only just confessed to feelings, and Hinata's not the most experienced in the dating department. Perhaps more patience is in order.

Still, she keeps a watchful eye for signs that he might in fact want to kiss. Feels like a silly teenager girl for it, too, but can't help it. Every time he leans down to sip his tea, when he adjusts his seat, leans his head back. Just waiting for him to put an arm around her, nudge his hand into hers, bump his knee against hers.

The credits of the movie scroll by and none of that happens.

Hinata supposes she should just be grateful that he's not pushy like she's known some men to be. Maybe it's just what society and media have tricked her into believe, that for there to be anything meaningful, you need to be physical with the other person. Have to hold each other, kiss, and all the rest, or else it doesn't meant anything. No, what she and Sasuke have is quiet. Thinks that she should take that as a good sign rather than a red flag.

Suddenly, she wishes she could talk to Ino. She always has the answers to things like this.

"What'd you think?" he asks, clicking off the movie to look back down at her. She snaps from her thoughts, looking a little lost before shaking her head.

"It was good." She knows it's the most generic answer she could have possibly given, so she tries to cover it. "I could never imagine performing moves like that."

"Yeah." He nods, solemnly. "There's never any guns in a kung-fu movie, it all comes down to how good you are with your hands. I think that's one of the things I like best about them."

"That's true."

Silence passes over them for a moment before he gets up and pulls back the curtain. She see's that the rain has in fact stopped, but still doesn't feel good about the wetness of the streets.

"I'll drive you home," he says, clearly seeing the concern still on her face. "I can take the bus back."

"That's not fair," she responds, frowning. "I picked you up with the expectation you'd be taken home."

"Has taking the bus ever bothered me?" he asks, raising an eyebrow as he holds out a hand for her to help pull her up.

"The teenagers bother you," she retorts, feeling a little bolder now to tease him.

"I'm taking you home," he tells her without room for argument, but with a smile. "I don't mind."

Hinata chews her bottom lip, that feeling of helplessness creeping up on her again, but she chooses to push it down. Just nods, lets herself be led around yet again.

Once they make it back to her apartment, he does the gentlemanly thing yet again and walks her up to her unit. When she unlocks it and looks back at him, disappointment gathers inside of her, because he doesn't even look like he's about to make the move to kiss her. Again, she has to remind herself to be grateful.

So instead, she steps towards him and embraces him.

"Thank you," she whispers against his jacket, relaxing into him when his arms come around her shoulders. She buries her nose in the fabric for a moment, just so she can take in his scent, trying not to call herself a weirdo in her own head for it.

"Yeah," he says, quietly, and she can feel it against her head. "Thank you, for the flowers."

She smiles against his coat before loosening her grip. She begins to pull away but is surprised to find his grip on her doesn't loosen at all. She swallows, hard, and tightens her embrace on him again.

"Sorry," he whispers, in an almost shaky voice. "It's just nice."

She presses her cheek into his sternum and nods.

"It is nice."