Day 18 Prompt: "Unyielding encouragement"
Hinata ends up falling asleep in Sasuke's bed next to him.
It's not sexual in the slightest, but they ended up going back to his place, and since it was coming up on 7 am, they both really needed the sleep.
She really, really needed it.
Because, what she didn't tell Sasuke, is that she has an exam today.
It was a night straight from her dreams, romantic in all the ways little Hinata would have swooned over. There was absolutely zero chance she was going to ruin it by telling him something stupid like 'needing to sleep' so she 'isn't exhausted for her exam'. No, she made sure to savor every joyful little second she could out of the night. Waited for him to be the one to sheepishly suggest rest, and to go to his place, because it's closer.
Sasuke is her boyfriend, and she wasn't about to waste her first moments being his girlfriend.
Her alarm goes off at 10 am, and she's barely had an hour of sleep because the other two hours were spent analyzing the night. Thinking about how excited she was that he invited her to a festival she's wanted to go back to for years, that they were actually able to talk through the issues that plagued them, finally being on the same page, and of course, telling him she wants to kiss him. She saw how his eyes got brighter, how he licked his lips.
She set her phone to a vibrate alarm so as to not wake Sasuke. The plan is to write him a nice note to make sure he doesn't panic when she's not there. She rolls out of bed as quietly and gently as possible and pads her way over to the kitchen, dialing Hanabi, but not feeling optimistic based on last night. She may not have been up as late as Hinata, but she most certainly is probably hung over. It rings, rings, rings until…
'This is Hanabi, don't call me! Text me like a normal person.'
Hinata sighs and hits the end call button. Tries in vain to text her, knowing it probably won't be seen for another few hours. She rubs the sleep in her eye and taps her foot while staring at the screen.
Yeah, it's not going to happen.
Begrudgingly, she dials the one person she knows, without a doubt, is up at 10 am on a Saturday and will always answer her call.
"Hinata?"
"Neji…" She tries not to sound too nervous as she peers out of the window in the kitchen. "I'm sorry to ask on a Saturday, and in the morning, too, you must be trying to enjoy – "
"What is it, Hinata? I'm not busy."
"Could you give me a ride?"
"Is there something wrong with your car? It's not raining…"
"I, uhm. I don't have my car." There's some silence before he responds.
"Spent the night with Ino and she's hungover again?"
"Ehm, no. I'm actually…somewhere else." Hinata sighs, knowing she's dragging out the inevitable. "I'm at another friend's house. Can I text you the address? I'll wait outside."
"Don't you have an exam today?"
She curses herself for being so transparent with her cousin. He knows too much about her. "Right, that's why I'd like a ride."
"Text me. I'll be there soon."
She breathes a sigh as the line goes dead. He's not dragging it out over the phone, but she'll be trapped with him in his car on the way to her class regardless. That's where he'll grill her.
Hinata sends Neji her location, then makes quick work of fixing her appearance in hSasuke's bathroom. She takes a moment to look around, impressed with how clean everything is. Not one water spot blemishes his mirror. She even peaks behind the shower curtain (which is a nice image of a waterfall with lake rocks) and finds some fairly expensive hair and body care products, some brands she recognizes as what Hanabi has picked out for her in the past. Must be why his hair seems so soft.
She meanders into his living space and starts scanning for something like a notecard or sticky notes. The bookshelf in the corner catches her eye, and she decides a quick peak there can't hurt either, figures she should get a deeper insight into her…boyfriend's interests. She sees a little coin bank shaped like a sitting black cat. A ceramic pot with dark blue hatch patterning. Several books and CDs she can't help but examine, because she didn't think people their age collected those things anymore. She finds a variety of modern classic novels, along with some of the older ones. The music is comprised of a mix of jazz and classical.
Briefly, she wonders if she's dating a middle-aged man on the inside. She huffs an amused breath at the thought, thinks it's charming that he's into stuff like this. It certainly doesn't raise any red flags for her.
Deciding she's done enough creeping around, she finds his desk and takes a notecard and a pen, and jots down a little message.
She's taken a little too long, however, because she hears his footsteps coming from the room, and she curses herself. Should have just written the note and ran. Now she'll have to explain herself.
"Exploring?" His voice comes out gravelly and deep as he rubs at his eye. Makes her feel a little wrong that she finds it so attractive. His footsteps are light as he comes up behind her and peaks at the note. "You're leaving?"
"I'm sorry," she says, quickly, "I have to."
"To see your other boyfriend?"
Her heart flutters at the tease. If she hadn't grown to know Sasuke better by now, she would have thought he was being serious and panicked. But she just feels affection. She's not quite ready to tease back, though. "I have – uh – class."
"Class?" He blinks down at her, consciousness coming over his face. "On a Saturday?"
"Not usually." She shakes her head, folding the note up to set it on his desk. "It's the final exam of the semester."
"Shit, really?" Sasuke now looks completely awake – and panicked. This is what she feared.
"I'm okay!"
"No, this is awful."
This goes on for the few minutes she has to spare until Neji arrives. Sasuke trying to make her breakfast, asking her why she didn't tell him, trying to offer her a ride. It's too late, because Neji won't turn back now, so she just tries to placate him.
"Here, have this at least," he says as he slides an egg on top of a piece of toast he had made for her in a blurry, hurried state. She gives him this grateful, but sympathetic smile because she can tell he's beating himself up. He puts salt and pepper on it for her and she appreciates the thought as she takes it in her hands. "I wish you'd told me."
Hinata chews slowly as she ponders how to respond, both of them taking a seat at his dining table. She swallows and looks up at his tired eyes. "I'm glad I didn't tell you."
"Why?" he asks, sighing as he rests his head in his hands.
"Then we wouldn't have had the night we had…" she says, staring at the nicely cooked, over-easy egg on top of the toast. She fears looking up at him, even after it all.
There are a few seconds of silence before he responds. "But you're…"
"Happy."
Her eyes cast up to see his looking at her, a little more clear and searching. She thinks it's nice to see his face just barely woken up. He's a little rugged this way, different from how she usually sees him. Thinks about how it might be to see him like this more often. "Yeah?"
"Yes."
He looks down at his own lap with a kind of goofy smile and it makes her tummy turn. "You seem pretty smart."
Hinata bites her tongue. "Seem?"
"Yeah, I think you're going to ace it." He tells her, raising his head to look her straight in the eye. "Even running on 2 hours of sleep."
"Maybe less."
"It'll be a breeze," he tells her while she munches her last bit of toast. Her cheeks feel sore from how much she's smiling, but it's short-lived, because her phone starts buzzing, and she knows what it is.
"Sorry." She sets the empty plate down, taking a quick swig of the orange juice he poured her, trying to drain it. Pulls her phone from her pocket and gets up. "Are you here?"
"In the pick-up area."
The line goes dead. Neji's never been much for niceties.
"Hanabi? Or…Neji?"
"Neji."
"Ah."
They look at each other for a moment.
"What are you going to tell him?"
Hinata hasn't gotten to that part yet.
Ideally, she'd be straight with him. Tell her older cousin, close to a brother, that she slept at her boyfriend's house. And to be totally honest, it's not his business. Whether he's her boyfriend, or what they did. Sure, all of it was innocuous, but no one needs to know that, not her friends, not her relatives, and not Neji.
"I'll say thank you."
She pats her lips with her napkin, but before she can finish, he has his hand over her cheek and pulls her in. Presses his lips to hers, and she tries to not worry about whether her skin tastes like egg or butter.
"You'll do good," he whispers against her lips, and she feels everything around her get hot.
"I have to go."
"I'll walk you."
Hinata wishes Sasuke wasn't so – uh – thoughtful, in this way. She doesn't need him to walk her, but wants to, and how can she deny him? How can she say "I don't want my cousin to see you?" How can she possibly make an excuse to go alone? It shouldn't be an issue –
He grabs a waterbottle from his fridge and a bag of pretzels from his cupboard and holds them out to her.
"I believe in you."
Hinata smiles a little, takes the items. "You don't have to…"
"But I want to?" he says it questioningly as he takes her downstairs. She clears her throat with a forced giggle.
"I meant, you don't have to do all this."
"I want to do all this."
"Oh."
It's all she can muster. She's still getting used to this. They are just...newly boyfriend and girlfriend. But she wants what he's giving, so she steps forward. Decides to be the bolder one.
"Thank you."
"For?"
"All of it." She doesn't even have to come up with an answer. "Taking me out, talking to me, being my – uhm—" she almost wheezes out of embarrassment, but composes herself. A hand over her mouth as she giggles, quietly. "My boyfriend."
A small smile graces his lips and God if it's not a nice sight.
"Thanks, for being my girlfriend."
My girlfriend.
My girlfriend.
My girlfriend.
"It feels silly to talk about it like this."
Sasuke grabs at her hands, a little clumsy, his fingers finding her index and middle, but she still responds to his enthusiasm. "You're going to do great."
"Quit it," she breathes because she's not used to the encouragement. He pulls her knuckles to his lips and brushes them there. She inhales sharply, almost a squeak.
"You'll be great, squeaks."
Hinata gives him a full smile and pulls her knuckles back, to get him in her face. She can't help it, even knowing Neji is sitting at the curb. She wants to kiss him, show her gratitude.
It's gentle and what she wanted. He obliges easily, cups her face.
Holds her tender, just like she wants.
A/N: I appreciate every single one of your comments! Thank you so much for reading! This might be the last day I can post the chapter that coincides with the day as I'm finishing my Master's program this month, but this story will be finished!