Day 17 Prompt: "Watching a sunrise together"

Best sleep of his life, Sasuke thinks.

He doesn't remember what he dreamt about, but he slept like a baby.

Maybe it's the bed. It must be nicer than his because it's Hinata's. All that money, she probably doesn't cheap out on getting a nice, comfortable bed.

Or 'comfy' as she'd say.

That's how he justifies it while he lays awake, Hinata's body draped over his. He stares at the ceiling, trying not to focus too much on how soft her body is around him. He's also trying to make sure he doesn't move – at all. The guilt he'd endured if he accidentally woke her up from such sound slumber would kill him. After everything, he just can't believe he's here.

In Hinata's bed.

While she sleeps practically on top of him.

He'd resigned himself as a fuck up a long time ago, her distancing herself from him just made sense.

Then the little ding from Discord got his hopes up, which he had cursed himself for letting happen, only to be rewarded with her username popping up.

Worry plagued him as he stumbled through his apartment, pulling on a shirt and jacket, shoving his feet into whatever shoes were available. He's never felt so compelled to get himself on the bus, because he knows it will stop soon, and she needs him.

He breathes in that strawberry scent. It must be her shampoo. That she's only in a tank top and underwear is not lost on him. Her skin presses against his, and it's oddly…comforting. Or maybe not so oddly. He thinks of curling up between his mom and Itachi as a kid for movie night. His father would always be gone, but his brother and mother would always be there, ready to put something on. He almost wishes there was the hum of a T.V. on in the background.

Carefully, he cranes his head back to look down at the top of her head. She's a messier sleeper than he imagined, and she seems to have no qualms about sprawling over him. Her arms are up next to his neck and head, her cheek against his collarbone, one leg bent towards the side of the bed, and the other nestled under one of his legs. His arms haven't moved much from around her waist, and he wonders if he moved at all when he slept.

Despite her little snores and messy hair, or maybe because of it, she looks angelic. More at peace than he's ever seen her. It makes him feel really good inside to see her this way. Especially after the meltdown last night.

Sasuke has a few hunches as to what's going on with her. It's not really that hard to figure out, but he knows better than anyone else that being questioned while you're having a meltdown never helps. Thinks about times he had fits in the middle of the county fair or in a loud movie theater and his mom asking "what?" and "why are you doing that?" and "what is the matter?" over and over again. Now that he's an adult and can look back, he was never in a position to answer those questions in the moment, as a kid or as an adult.

He doesn't press for information because he figures if she wants him to know, she'll tell him. He's practicing patience as best as he can.

But it's hard not to speculate. Can't drive in the rain. Panic attack over a near-miss collision. Random meltdowns. Hinata's been through something traumatic, and he figures it has to do with a car crash in the rain. It makes his heart feel heavier in his chest to think about.

He feels her stir, slightly, and all of his limbs go stiff.

Her body starts to stretch on top of him, all of her muscles contracting as her arms and legs reach out. Her nose rubs into his sternum, side to side, then up and down, and he just watches. Slowly, she lifts her head and her eyes flutter open to look at him. She has a serene smile on her face, and it makes him smile, too. Then, the smile drops, and he already knows what's going to come next.

"Good morning," he says, softly, trying to get ahead of the panic. She freezes up, mouth agape, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. Trying to be bolder, he takes a hand off her back to reach up to her hand and covers it. It relaxes under his grip. "Sleep okay?"

"Y…Yes." It's under her breath as she tries to even it out. He wonders if she's regretting it all now. "Did…you?"

"Yeah." He feels her readjust her body so she's not so laid out on him. He lets one of his hands slide from her waist, regretting the loss of contact but not pushing it. "I slept great."

"I'm glad," she whispers, averting her eyes as he sees the blush happen in real-time. It's pretty on her.

It's now that Sasuke realizes he's never had one negative thought about Hinata. Everything he feels about her is overwhelmingly positive.

Sasuke realizes he might just be in love. A feeling he's sure he's never experienced in the past, so he's not even sure if the all-encompassing good feelings are love. It's not something he can think about right now, so he promptly shoves all those thoughts down into the depths of his brain.

Slowly, she peels herself off of him and looks down at herself. She wraps her arms around herself, looking up at him with worried eyes. He can already tell she's about to apologize again.

"I look ridiculous." A light giggle accompanies the statement.

"You don't," he says, quickly. "You look – uh, comfortable." Her face falls and he wishes he was better at this. "But, I can step out if you wanted to change."

Or just leave. Maybe she wants me to just get out.

"If you don't mind?" She glances at the door and he immediately gets up. "Feel free to anything in the kitchen."

A tiny sigh of relief escapes him when he steps out, shutting her door behind him. The offer of hospitality must mean she doesn't want him to leave. He runs his fingers through his hair, suddenly wishing he wasn't alone with his thoughts now.

Can an idiot like him fall in love? And in just a few months? When they haven't even clearly established what it is they are? Now Sasuke regrets tuning out Naruto and Shisui when they would talk about these things. For once, Sasuke thinks he's the one that's a mess.

Hinata emerges a few moments later to his relief. She approaches him with a shy smile while he leans against one of her counters. "Did you grab anything?"

"Er – no." He scratches the back of his neck, glancing around. He lies, "I'm not really sure where everything is."

"I apologize." She immediately reaches into a cupboard for a pot.

When she walks past him, her elbow brushes against his abdomen and he flinches, unintentionally.

Suddenly, he feels very uneasy.

Before she can apologize again, he feels his phone vibrate and thanks God in his head for the distraction. He pulls it out and frowns when he sees 'Mom' across the top of the screen. He begrudgingly swipes the accept call button, turning away from Hinata to go to her living room.

"Mom?"

"Sasuke, you know your brother and Hana are moving today, don't you?" Sasuke blinks, searching his memory. Can't tell if she actually told him or thinks she did and is just misremembering. "It would be lovely if you went to help him."

"Why me?" he asks, oblivious to how childish he must sound.

"Because you're his brother," she says, simply. "He helped you move all those years ago."

"He has hundreds of workers, can't he just get some of them to help?"

"You know he doesn't believe in coercing his employees to do free labor outside of work." He sighs, looking off to the side to see Hinata boiling water.

He feels kind of guilty, but this might be a good out for him so he can properly address what's going on in his head. So he grits his teeth before muttering, "fine."

"Good boy," she says, gleefully. He rolls his eyes, pulling the phone from his ear as she says, "I love you!"

"Love you, too." Clicks off his phone and rubs the bridge of his nose. Hinata peeks from the wall at him with a questioning look. "I have to leave."

"Oh." Her face falls at the declaration and his gut feels heavy. "I understand."

"Sorry, it's my brother."

"I hope he's okay?!"

"He's fine." He shakes his head, stepping towards her. She clasps her hands together up towards her chest as she looks up at him. His eyes dart up to her forehead, and he decides they're at this point. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and presses a kiss to her forehead, which garners one of those little squeaks. "Just have to help him move."

"Would you like a ride?" she asks, softly as her arms come around his waist. He smiles against her hair and shakes his head.

"You should rest here," he says, honestly. She probably does need rest after that whole show. "I'll message you."

"Alright…" she sighs, rubbing her nose up and down against his chest with her nod. He lets her go and she follows suit.

"See you soon," he says, reaching up to move her bangs from her eyes. The pretty blush returns with her smile and he feels satisfied with this. "Squeaks."

Decidedly, he needs time to figure this out.

And maybe, just maybe, he might need to talk to someone more level-headed than Naruto.

Plans for that get thrown out of the window when he arrives at Itachi's soon-to-be old apartment, and he's immediately greeted by Kiba walking down the stairs with an arm full of boxes. His lips tug so far downwards that his mom would be scolding him, telling him his face will freeze like that. Kiba's eyes flash over his and that stupid grin stretches out his face.

"Little Uchiha!"

Honestly, Sasuke blames himself. He should have known Kiba would be here. Fate had a funny way of telling him he was nowhere near in control of his own future.

Sasuke trudges up the stairs, purposefully ignoring the Inuzuka on his way, who gives him a little nudge of the elbow into his shoulder. He grunts irritably until he hears a voice above.

"Good call, don't give him any attention." Hana pops her head out of the door, beaming down at Sasuke. "He's all hopped up on apple juice."

For this, he actually snorts a little. Even if Kiba's annoying, hearing his sister dunk on him will always be amusing. He actually likes Hana, better than he's liked Itachi for a while.

Once he gets inside, he sees Itachi at his desk, going through paperwork. Typical that he'd default to doing work while he has everyone else moving things around.

"Mom said you needed help," Sasuke starts, hands jammed in his pockets as he leans up again a door frame. Itachi's surrounded by boxes, bent over a report. He looks up when Sasuke addresses him.

"I didn't ask for help," Itachi says with this knowing smile. Sasuke rolls his eyes. Their mother is a con.

"Well, I'm here," Sasuke sighs, nudging his head. "Should I just go wild?"

"As wild as you please." Itachi gestures forward. Sasuke crinkles his nose and just starts stacking boxes in his arms and following Kiba's lead, even if it pains him to do so because Kiba takes it as an invitation to talk. He briefly considers texting Naruto to come help just to get this over with sooner and as a buffer to Kiba. Unsurprisingly, they had gotten along very well at the bar that night. Kiba just has the misfortune of not having grown up with Sasuke, so his patience for him is thin.

"You finally lock things down with Hinata?" Kiba asks at random and Sasuke tenses.

"What makes you think I'd have anything to lock down?" Sasuke asks, treading carefully. He stops stacking boxes to grab the bag of chips Hana left out for them.

"C'mon." Kiba laughs, leaning against the counter while shoving his hand in the bag. Sasuke recoils, but still holds out the bag. "Ya'll have been in each other's faces for the last few months. Every day, you're sitting in the food court, giggling and being soooo cuuute~"

"I'll jump off this balcony right now if you don't stop that voice," Sasuke deadpans and he hears Hana laugh loudly from the other room.

"Funny," Kiba retorts, rolling his eyes. Sasuke smirks a bit because he likes having Kiba's older sister on his side. "Thought I was just bein' nice, but whatever…"

Sasuke thinks he hears something like hurt in Kiba's tone. He tries not to think too deeply about that. Kiba's not his friend, he doesn't care how he feels.

Once the apartment is close to being cleaned out, Sasuke decides it's time to shut himself in with his older brother, away from the prying eyes, ears, and noses of the Inuzuka.

Itachi looks up with curious eyes, at the desk which would be the last thing moved out, along with the guinea pigs and their cages right next to him. Sasuke clicks the door shut behind him and inhales a long breath as if preparing himself.

"I think I'm dating someone." Sasuke hates the way Itachi gives him an ever-so-subtle smile, one that most would probably miss, but Sasuke knows. He leans his head back, shoves his hands in his pockets, avoids eye contact at all costs. He hears the guinea pigs squeak and tries not to think about how annoying it would be to associate the sound of guinea pigs with his nickname for Hinata. No, they didn't really squeak. They oink. Hinata doesn't oink. "I have no clue how to figure this out."

"Sasuke," Itachi starts, setting his pen down and resting his elbows on the desk, hands clasping in front of his face. "You like this woman?"

Sasuke is twenty-five-fucking-years old. This is not a conversation he should be having with his older brother, who is full-blown married. "Is that really a question?"

"You came to me," Itachi continues, tilting his head. "You could approach father, or perhaps mother…"

"No," Sasuke snaps, shooting his glare at him. "I just...I'm bad at this."

"It's the woman you took as a date to the wedding?" he asks. "Hinata?"

"Yeah." He scratches the back of his head, averting his eyes when Itachi's smile grows. "I'm kind of lost and I think she is, too. Like we're both bad at this, I guess."

"Let her take the lead."

Sasuke sucks the inside of his cheek in, nodding. "That's kind of what I've been doing."

"Then be patient," Itachi says, calmly. "Do you see each other consistently?

"Kind of." Sasuke sighs, bowing his head. "She kind of avoided me for a little while, but then she messaged me last night and…I dunno. Before that, we saw each other a lot."

"So, be patient," Itachi reiterates. "She's figuring it out, too. It's better just to let her guide you."

"I just wonder…" Sasuke slumps backward, letting the thoughts flow out of him. "If I'm doing everything wrong. Every time we take another step to being closer, I freak out. Like, in my mind, and I don't know why. I can't get out of my own head. Like I'm doing something wrong, fucking something up. Like it's all going to come crashing down around me. One day, she'll just stop putting up with it, I think. Or one day, I'll be weird and cut myself off."

Itachi waits patiently to ensure he's finished talking before he asks, "do you believe you'd do that to her?"

"No." His response comes quickly, quicker than he figured he'd give. He looks up to meet eyes with Itachi. "I don't want to."

Itachi pauses, unblinking as he stares right at Sasuke. Sasuke shifts uncomfortably until Itachi speaks. "Talk to her. Ask her what her expectations are."

"Ask her?" Sasuke frowns, swallowing. "Just outright?"

"A very wise woman told me communication is key." Itachi unclasps his hands and folds them over one another on top of his paperwork. "So, ask her. But be patient."

Just asking her seems like an impossible task. Sasuke's prided himself on not being too in her business so far, outside of when they would drink together and he got a little too loose-lipped for his own good.

Ask her, then be patient.

"You'll do fine, little brother." Sasuke flinches, turning on his heel to show him his back. "She likes you."

"How would you know?" Sasuke asks with a sigh, staring down at his own two feet.

"Hana said so." Itachi's voice has that lightness to it Sasuke only ever hears when he talks to him. "She told me that Hinata didn't shove your hands away when you played with her hair. And that Hinata rubbed your back and stayed with you the entire night." Sasuke clenches his teeth, feeling a little embarrassed. "Hana told me she can just tell, and she's the smartest person I know."

Sasuke feels funny on the inside. Hearing Itachi talk this way about someone else makes him feel…good, he thinks? Because it shows more humanity in Itachi. Not that he's ever been inhuman to Sasuke…just that he's uncomfortable seeing him as a human. Reconciling that his resentment of his older brother isn't Itachi's fault but their dad's.

"Thank you." Sasuke finally looks up at Itachi, who has his cheek resting in the palm of his hand as he looks at him. "For coming to me with this."

"Yeah…" Sasuke rubs under his nose, looking away, towards the door. He doesn't like getting sentimental like this. Itachi's always been 'big brotherly' in this way and…he doesn't like to think he's still that brat from middle school, but maybe he hasn't outgrown it. Instinctively, the word falls out of his mouth. "Thanks."

"You're a good man, Sasuke."

Sasuke tenses with the compliment. His cheeks involuntarily pull down with his frown, because he doesn't know how to take compliments very well. He usually just brushes them off. But at this moment, he feels like he shouldn't. Feels like he should be grateful he has a brother who even gives a shit. "Thanks, Itachi."

The guinea pigs in the corner oink as if in celebration.

As Sasuke's about to check out for the day after moving the horribly large wooden desk into the new house, is when Kiba sparks an idea.

"Man, if I had a chance," Kiba laughs as they shove the desk into a corner, "I think I'd take a pretty girl like Hinata to the winter solstice festival tomorrow."

Sasuke doesn't respond, but Kiba keeps talking.

"Hot chocolate, music, cozying up at bonfires…" he muses, making sure all of the drawers sit properly.

Sasuke lets that thought swirl through his brain. Is Kiba inadvertently giving him advice, too? Should he even seriously consider it if the stupid Inuzuka is giving it?

"We were thinking about going, actually," Hana comments as she approaches with Itachi, a wad of cash in one hand and her arm tucked around Itachi's waist. Sasuke thinks it's insane that they really made it this far, married and moving into a house together, all because Itachi called his guinea pigs' veterinarian at 3 am one night when one of the pigs had a coughing fit. Who knew romance could blossom from bugging someone at the devil's hour.

But now, the smart Inuzuka says she's going, so maybe he will consider it.

"Your payment." Hana pulls away from a content-looking Itachi to thumb through the bills, splitting them in half. Sasuke starts to wave his hand because he didn't do this for payment. Kiba immediately swipes up both bunches of bills.

"If lil' Uchiha doesn't want—"

"Not so fast, dumbass!" Hana immediately smacks Kiba over the head and Sasuke actually wheezes. Every moment, he likes Hana more. Itachi looks concerned as Hana grabs the bills out of Kiba's hands, and Sasuke decides it's worth it to see Kiba looking deflated. He holds out an indolent hand and Hana slaps the cash into it, Kiba grumbling as she does so. "Now I have to take a chunk from you, dear brother."

Sasuke smirks as Hana peels the bills back and swipes a few out, then gives Kiba the rest.

Well.

He doesn't have to give Kiba all the credit, right?

Hana had the idea, too.

"Can I borrow your car?"

Itachi and Hana both stop, looking confused as Sasuke corners them. Hana looks at Itachi, raised eyebrows, and Itachi looks at Sasuke.

"I suppose?"

"I don't want to mess up your plans," Sasuke mumbles, looking away, almost embarrassed because he blurted it out with no forethought. "If you need it –"

"Nah." Hana steps away, digging through a pouch of all their keys, before finding the key to their shared car. They have more than one, so he's not sure which one Hana is loaning him, but he feels grateful either way. She offers it towards him. "Be good, 'kay?"

Sasuke almost wheezes again. He takes the key, looks at his brother, then nods. His brother nods back, slightly.

Sasuke pulls out his phone and messages Hinata.

Winter solstice festival downtown…can I take you?

He puts his phone in his pocket as soon as he hits send and clicks it off. He tries not to think about how long it will take her to respond. Just hits the unlock button of the fob, spots the one that lights up, and gets in. Tries to leave his phone in his pocket so he doesn't get himself too riled up. He adjusts the far too-high seat, meaning he's in Hana's primary car. He starts the engine, flicking his eyes down at his lap to make sure it's not lighting up with a text before he goes. It isn't. He focuses on the road.

Of course, he feels it go off in his pocket midway, but resists the urge. Grumbles irritably when he sees a neighbor in his designated parking space. It's his space, even if he never uses it. Decides it's not worth raising his blood pressure and just parks in the guest lot. As soon as he does, he yanks his phone out.

That sounds really nice! What time? I can pick you up.

Immediately, Sasuke taps away.

No, I'll pick you up. Let's say 5? I'm not sure when it starts…

He decides he'll just wing it like he's done for most of this courtship of Hinata.

You have a car?

The next day, he kind of frets over what he's going to wear. He knows it'll be covered up by a jacket and scarf, but what about his pants? His shoes? He tries to remind himself it's a festival, not a fancy party or anything.

He messages her his ETA. It's a little annoying how much easier it is to get around with a car, but he tries to justify his use of the bus with environmental concerns and the desire to not bow down to capitalism.

As he pulls up to the curb outside of her complex, he sees her already waiting there for him. She gets in the car and immediately begins blowing hot air into her hands. He laughs a little, turns up the heater for her.

"You didn't have to wait in the cold," he says, pulling back onto the street.

"I didn't want to make you wait, you are driving me," she responds, holding her hands in front of the vent to warm them. "This is a very nice car."

"Yeah." He tells her he borrowed it from his brother, and they make small chit-chat. She ponders whether she'll see her sister there since she apparently goes nearly every year. Sasuke wonders what it'd be like to meet some of Hinata's family. He's heard plenty about many of them, but nothing about her parents. He fears Hanabi will remind him too much of Naruto or Kiba, but promises himself to be cordial if they do indeed meet. He can't afford little sister disliking him.

He gets there just in time to find some parking, but it was close. They end up having to park pretty far from the entrance, but he's never minded walking and he hopes Hinata doesn't either. Hopes that her agreeing to go with him is a good sign because it means she's comfortable enough with him to trust him to help her navigate being in a crowd. When they get out, he holds out his arm for her and, if she blushes, it's covered by the cold, but she still readily accepts it and loops her arm into his.

Once they get inside, Sasuke is immediately greeted with a familiar sound.

"COME ON!"

Hinata tugs at his sleeve and points towards a booth with a far too amped Lee sitting inside of a dunking booth. He's dangling above water with a target next to him, allowing people a chance to hit it and drop Lee into the water. "Oh, Jesus."

"DUNK ME IF YOU CAN!" Lee jeers at the person trying and failing to hit the target. "HAHA! Admirable try! Who's next?!"

"I forgot about this," Sasuke says to Hinata as they approach the booth. She gives him a questioning look. They stop in front and Sasuke's feeling a little friendlier with Hinata with him. Maybe her kind demeanor is rubbing off on him. Maybe he likes it that way. "Anyone dunked you yet, Lee?"

"Sasuke!" Lee shouts, beaming at him. "And Hinata! Come, Hinata, give it a try! I'm certain you'll be the one to dunk me!"

"Oh – no!" Hinata waves her hands in front of her face and Sasuke smirks. Lee absolutely does not believe Hinata will be able to dunk him, he's just trying to get people to pay up.

"Don't try to con her, Lee," Sasuke says, loudly, waving at him. "Good luck."

As they meander away with Lee shouting taunts at innocent festivalgoers, Hinata scoots in closer to him, pressing her warmth against his. He explains that Lee is doing it for Leaf Light Insurance, a charity thing that allows them a tax write-off, nothing actually charitable about it.

"What do you usually eat at festivals?" he asks, peering down at her as her eyes scan the crowd. He's pleased she seems comfortable (or 'comfy').

She hums as they stroll, looking around. "It's been a while since I've been to a festival…I usually would get dango during summer festivals but in the winter, I favored a hot cinnamon roll and hot chocolate."

Sasuke crinkles his nose but isn't surprised by her fondness for sweets. He doesn't let it bother him as he guides her to a stand with those exact things, one run by some of the workers for the construction company Naruto works for. Sarutobi Systems is scrawled along the side of it and he frowns when he recognizes the face in front of him. It's that damn teenager from the bus. Same damn teenager that he saw with Hinata that day she came into the office. Without acknowledging it, he gets himself tea along with her sweets.

"Is Hanabi here?" Hinata asks, blinking up at the boy serving them. He smiles sheepishly and Sasuke furrows his eyebrows, confused about what's happening now.

"She's around the back." He thumbs behind him, signaling behind the stand.

"Thank you, Konohamaru." Hinata gives him a smile and Sasuke falters. Hanabi and this kid? What a small world…but wasn't her sister 20 or something?

Sasuke eyes the teenager named Konohamaru as he pours hot water over a tea bag and hands it off to him. Hinata smiles up at Sasuke, clearly waiting to explain herself until after they get their order.

The teenager takes his cash while the hot chocolate brews, and he's glad Hinata doesn't try to fight him on paying. He hands her a little tray with the cinnamon bun and hot chocolate, and she unhooks her arm. He regrets the loss of contact but thinks she looks cute like this, with goodies in her hands.

"See you!" Hinata says, kindly, and Sasuke just raises an eyebrow at him. The teenager smiles at Hinata but gives Sasuke a concerned look. Before they walk to the back, she looks up at him and asks, "are you okay with meeting my sister?"

Sasuke almost says no on instinct, but instead just nods. They meander behind the stand to find a girl sitting on the grass with her back against the wall of the stand, playing on her phone. Hinata approaches and nudges her foot into her side, causing her to gasp and drop the phone.

"Sister!" she exclaims, hopping to her feet.

So this is Hanabi. She's very…tall.

And affectionate. She almost knocks the items from Hinata's hands while throwing her arms around her, but Sasuke quickly snatches the hot chocolate from her hand in effort to help her. That spilling would be worse than the cinnamon bun.

"How did you know I was back here?" Hanabi asks, beaming at her sister. She does a double take at Sasuke, then a knowing look comes across her face. Sasuke shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

Hinata giggles. "How do you think?"

"I'm just waiting for him to go on break." Hanabi shrugs, tucking her phone into her pocket before turning on her heel. "And this is…"

"Oh!" Hinata slaps her hand over her forehead as if just realizing she should introduce them. "Sasuke – this is Sasuke. And this is my sister – "

"Hanabi." Hanabi sticks out her hand and Sasuke easily takes it. "I've heard maaaany things about you, Mr. Uchiha."

Sasuke involuntarily goes red with that declaration.

So, she does talk about him.

He glances at Hinata, who is hanging her head a bit so her hair curtains over her face to hide it.

Hanabi giggles and engages Hinata in light conversation while Sasuke stands off to the side, straining to listen over the hum of the crowd around them. He watches them get really close as if they have absolutely zero personal space, so much different from him and Itachi. Hanabi takes Hinata's face in her hands and speaks right into it, quiet and giggly while Hinata holds her wrists and looks far more animated than he usually sees her.

He kind of admires it. Sure, a twinge of jealousy hits his brain, because he's never had a relationship with anyone like that. But they're girls, it's probably just a feminine thing, he figures. Sisters are closer than brothers, in his experience. Still, he thinks it's cute how fondly she talks about her 'baby sister'. The way she spoke, he thought he was going to meet someone 150 centimeters, not damn near 170.

He hears something dangerously close to 'cute' from Hanabi, while she peers at him. He looks away quickly, pretending to sip his too-hot tea. Gets out his phone and looks really hard at the settings screen. It's very important he examine the Wi-Fi spots around him.

Soon enough, the teenager appears from the side and Hinata gestures at him. Hanabi looks over, rolls her eyes, and goes back to talking to Hinata.

What Sasuke dreads: talking to teenagers. The kid, Konomaru or something, steps towards him, and Sasuke already knows he's going to attempt small talk.

"I think I've seen you around," he says, looking down at Sasuke with his hand cupping his chin. His sleeves are rolled up and Sasuke makes a face. This kid must be a brute if he's out here in sub-zero temperatures in just a long sleeve with an apron. "The bus?"

"Yeah, probably." Sasuke turns a little, so his arm faces the kid, takes a long sip.

"So you're Hanabi's sister's mystery man." Sasuke's ears perk up a bit. So Hanabi can't really be trusted with information, he asserts.

"That's a strange way to put it."

"I guess you're as handsome as she says."

Sasuke nearly spits out his tea, eyes cast up at this…kid. Now that he gets a better look at him, maybe he's not really a kid. "How old are you?"

"Crisp 22!"

Sasuke's jaw wants to drop, but he keeps it closed. Crisp, like his idiot cousin says, but the kid is…isn't a kid. He's still a kid in Sasuke's eyes, but now he's really starting to feel old. Everyone looks like a kid to him, he guesses.

"Alright!" Hanabi interjects after doing cheek kisses with Hinata. She hops onto Konohamaru's back, who easily reaches back to catch her legs.

They are a gangly pair.

Hinata loops her arm back into Sasuke's, and he relaxes a little.

"To the swings!" Hanabi declares. "We have 10 minutes!"

"Good luck!" Hinata giggles, covering her mouth as she watches Konohamaru give them a little salute before running off with Hanabi on his back. Wonders if he's missing something here. Is that what women like? Should he be carrying Hinata on his back? She seems perfectly content next to him.

"So…" Sasuke casually tries to segue into conversation. "Your sister…"

"She's fun, isn't she?" Hinata speaks so sweetly about her, Sasuke can't help but smile a little. "That was her boyfriend. They've been dating since high school; I think they're very sweet."

Sasuke hums his response, trailing off with her.

"What do you usually do when you go to festivals?" she asks, scooting in a little closer to suck up his warmth, something he very much does not mind.

"I don't usually go," he says, expecting the tiny, surprised gasp. "Never really liked them that much. If I did, I just wanted to go see the sheep."

"Sheep?"

Kid Sasuke really liked barn animals. He's not so sure he still does. "Yeah, and the goats. When the kid goats ram their heads, I got a kick out of that."

"That seems sad." She frowns and he doesn't like how that looks like her.

"It's how they play. Like rowdy kids." He shrugs.

"Did you play like that with Itachi?"

"Nah." He sighs a little, doesn't really like to think about his childhood relationship with Itachi. It's always been strained, and he never got to do what Obito and Shisui got to have. Itachi was always too busy for him, succeeding at something or another. Calculus, Taekwondo, perfecting omurice. He doesn't want to think about that right now, so he directs her to a stand Shikamaru told him he'd find kabocha at. Told him to look for the name 'Akimichi'.

It only figures that he'd find a blond idiot there, slurping down ramen so noisily Sasuke can actually hear the sound of it over the bustle of the crowd.

"Hey, bastard!" Naruto yells it all muffled because he's got a piece of pork between his teeth and Sasuke cringes. "And his girlfriend!"

Sasuke peers at Hinata from the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction to being called that. She just smiles and waves. Sasuke sighs, reaches up to rub his nose. "Her names Hinata, Naruto."

"Right, Hinata." Naruto nods, bringing a beer up to his lips.

After he orders himself a bowl of kabocha and Hinata takes a seat with one seat between her and Naruto, clearly meant for Sasuke.

Slowly, he's realizing going to a festival is probably not the best setting to ask her about her expectations. They keep running into people they know, and it's getting a little irritating. He thought maybe the distraction would be nice, give him some more time to figure out how he's going to go about this, but he only feels impatient. Because he'd really like to get this over with. Get to the part where his heart is crushed, or, ideally, the good part. The part where he gets to kiss her and figure out what kind of person boyfriend-Sasuke is. Being in a relationship he actually desires.

After questioning Naruto about why he's not in the sweets stand they had met Hanabi's boyfriend in, they wander through the festival. They run into her sister again, he sees some people from high school, like Tenten and Suigetsu, and then probably the worst person possible for him to see.

Karin.

He sees her before she sees him, so he yanks Hinata by the hand, claiming he's getting kind of tired of the crowd, asking her if she's doing alright.

"Oh, I suppose I could use a breather," she responds earnestly. He nods, keeping back the sigh of relief he wants to exhale. Kind of proud how effortlessly he avoided catastrophe. It'll be something he has to tell her about later, if they do in fact progress this relationship, but he doesn't really want to think about that right now.

One step at a time.

Getting out of the festival is probably for the better, anyway, because now he has her alone. The thought itself makes him feel kind of like a creep, but he knows what he's about.

"Do you mind if I drive out to the lake?"

Hinata looks up at him with big, worried eyes and he panics a little inside.

"Just so we can talk. I just…I kind of just wanted to talk."

"To talk?" she asks, tilted head. He really hopes she'll take him at face value. He knows he hasn't done anything to really make himself seem creepy, but still. Just by existing as a man, he knows women have a natural defensive instinct. He puffs out his cheeks and nods when she nods, starting the car.

I want more.

I want to see you every day.

I want to be your boyfriend.

No.

He's focusing too much on him. He has to lose the words "I" and "me" from his vocabulary. He's trying to pull back to Itachi's advice.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" Hinata asks, turning in the seat a little. His hands are still on the steering wheel as he stares at the manufacturer's logo.

"Why did you ghost me for a while?"

Fuck.

"Oh…" He can practically hear the comically loud 'gulp' of her swallow.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You uhm…it's silly…" When he turns to look at her, he can practically feel the anxiety pouring out of her. Her hands come together and shake. He waits, patiently, because he can't undo this now. It just has to happen. "I wrote you a note and uhm…"

"Yeah, I wrote you one back," he interjects, eyebrows furrowing. The look of surprise on her face isn't good. "I took it to your office and gave it to the receptionist, asked her to give it to you."

Hinata blinks at him and a look of realization comes over her face. "Did…did you happen to see a red-haired woman? Bright red?"

Sasuke's heart sinks. He did see Karin. "Karin…"

"Your ex…"

"From high school." His jaw sets with the end of the sentence. He turns his gaze out towards the lake, feeling like his blood is simmering.

"Do you think she might have…erm, intercepted the note?"

"Yeah," he breathes out the frustration, "she fucking did."

Silence drapes over them like a suffocating blanket.

Sasuke feels like he's going to do something he regrets, like take this out on her, when she's the last person that deserves that.

"What did she say to you?" he asks after several minutes of this, his voice coming out raspy. Both of them are looking out at the lake now, eye contact far too painful right now.

"I don't believe what she told me if that's what you really want to know." He's surprised at how calm and even her voice is.

"But you stopped – " Sasuke clears his throat, trying very, very hard not to let anger poison his tone too much. "You stopped coming to lunch and I was just confused."

"I'm sorry." Now her voice trembles a little. "I'm sorry, I needed some time to figure out what it all meant. I thought you ignored my note, then Karin just so happened to start talking about you and…I just…needed some time."

"You could have told me."

"I should have."

"My note said: 'I want to take you out next time.'"

Finally, he turns his head to look at her. He sees the bottoms of her eyes pooling up with tears and it forces a frown down.

"So, I guess I still got what I wanted, huh?"

"I'm sorry…" He hears her voice break as he reaches his hand out to the center council.

He decides it's time to ask the actual question that he should have asked in the first place. Her shaking hand lays on top of his and he squeezes it so she'll look up at him. "What are your expectations?"

Well, that's not how he wanted to phrase it, exactly as Itachi did. Too late now. She looks up with a trembling lip, her eyes looking a little lost. "Expectations?"

"What do you want?"

They hold eye contact this time. It feels important to do so, something Sasuke thinks he's read or maybe heard. Her mouth opens, then closes. Finally, she inhales a breath. "Why don't you kiss me?"

Well, he wasn't expecting that. "Why don't I kiss you?"

"Am I bad at it?" He's shocked to silence. "Do I repulse you? Are you only hanging out with me out of sympathy?"

"What?!" Now he can't be quiet. He turns his whole body in the confines of the driver's seat, wishing this stupid wheel wasn't here now. "No! None of those things!"

"Then why?" Hinata sounds like she'll run out of breath. "Why do you not kiss me?"

"I want to." God, I want to. "I just…I was letting you take the lead."

"Me?" She points at herself. He leans forward. "Of all people, me?"

"Yeah." He swallows, wishing he didn't feel so stupid. She leans forward, too. "I want to know what you want."

"I want…" Her voice catches, the words falling to the ground. He feels her squeeze his hand, now. "I want to kiss you."

That makes his heart skip. He's read the phrase 'heart skipped' before but only now does he know what that feels like. Like endorphins being released in his brain, like all of his problems melt away, like all he can focus on are her lips. When she leans in, he does, too, and lets her be the one to press her lips to his this time. Lets her slide her hand over his cheek and lets his eyes stay open because he wants to see her face. Her eyes stay open, too.

Sasuke finally gets to know what Hinata wants, and it's him.

The revelation comes as the sun begins illuminating the inside of his car, peaking over the treetops, as if to greet Sasuke as a brand-new person.

Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyūga's boyfriend.