Hinata giggled as she was twirled on her good leg and stopped before she had to put her bad leg down to catch herself. The dress was whimsical, and she did feel very good in it. Sasori held her up until she could stand on her own.

"Here's walk around a bit, so we can tell if we need to shorten it." Sasori had her walk in with the parasol back and forth. "It's a little too tall, isn't it?"

Hinata put the disguised cane down straight. "Maybe a bit."

"I can fix that." Sasori curled her. "I think otherwise. You're good."

"I love it." Hinata smiled in the mirror.

Hizashi took another picture. "Stand together." He waved Neji toward Hinata. Hinata was taking her uncle's attention better than Neji was. He awkwardly stood next to her while his father took pictures. "You should go pick up your date. Make sure you send me a picture."

"I'll make sure I get one of them together," Hinata assured him.

"Where's Hoshigaki?" Hizashi asked as Neji collected his shoes.

"He should be here soon. He said he stopped by Itachi's to grab something." Hinata put her hand into the dress's pocket for her phone as Neji flinched when he opened the door.

Kisame waved his hand that was raised to knock. "He's here," Neji grumbled as he headed out.

Hizashi waved Hinata over to stand with Kisame so that he could take pictures. "It's hard to get a good picture when he's so much taller than you."

Kisame was somehow more awkward than Neji, unsure where he should put his hands on her in front of her uncle, so they hovered around her waist. Hinata put a smile on for the camera and put her hand over Kisame's, so it would sit on her waist properly for the picture.

"Alright, go have fun," Hizashi grinned at his pictures.

Hinata pulled Kisame out before her uncle could decide that he wanted more pictures. "Is he okay?"

Hinata giggled. "Neither of us have been to a dance before. He's a little excited." She slipped her hand into Kisame's elbow. "What did you need to get?"

"Oh." Kisame dug into his pocket. "I saw this and thought you would like it a bit more than flowers." He held out a necklace with a little silver fish skeleton. "I thought getting you something like a shark tooth or a shark would be a little too on the nose. Itachi helped me get a better chain than it came with, but the pendent isn't expensive, so I hope you're not allergic."

Hinata took it with a smile. It was very Kisame. "It's cute."

"I, uh, would put it on you, but I don't think it goes with your dress." Kisame stopped making excuses as she was already putting it on.

Hinata adjusted it on her neck. "How does it look."

Kisame turned to the side with purple cheeks. "Cute."

Kisame nose scrunched once they got inside. Yup. Hormones and cheap perfume. Deidara waved them over, and Sasori examined Hinata's hair. "It held up."

"It's only been a few hours." Hinata touched one of the curls. "I didn't want to eat anything. I was afraid to mess up the lipstick."

"That lipstick isn't going anywhere," Sasori promised her. "You might still have it on tomorrow."

"Is it paint?" Kisame made a face.

"You'll thank me later." Sasori sipped his drink. Kisame glared at him.

"What is on your face?" Kisame finally asked about the glitter painted on the side of Deidara's face that was usually hidden by his bangs. He was wearing more makeup than Hinata was.

"Art, uh." Deidara tilted his head up proudly. How was he going to get all the glitter off without it feeling like sandpaper on his face?

Hinata tugged on Kisame and pointed at Neji with Tenten as she brushed a stray hair off his shoulder. "They look cute together."

They spent most of the dance standing to the side, as far away from the speakers as they could manage. Hinata didn't want to pull Kisame to the dance floor even if she wanted to dance. She was sure his ears were splitting from here. Deidara got pulled away to dance, and eventually, he pulled Sasori to the floor when a pop song started to blare, leaving Kisame and Hinata to watch and laugh at Deidara's enthusiastic dancing and Sasori's sour face.

For some reason, Hidan had his shirt off, which ended when one of the teachers got after him, but he refused to button it back up.

Hinata leaned on Kisame's arm as they sat along the wall. This was nice. She always wondered what it would be like to go to a school dance. Her father always made it clear that if the event wasn't academic, she wasn't allowed to go, but she had her share of standing to the side and watching people dance from the many fancy events she suffered as a child. Hanabi used to dance silly when their father wasn't looking. She would have enjoyed something like this. Hinata could almost see her dancing like a fool next to Deidara, her hair all pinned up but sticking to her face from sweat.

Kisame rubbed his temple. "Does your head hurt?" Hinata lifted her head up.

"It's getting to me," Kisame admitted.

Hinata collected her parasol, stood up, and offered her hand. Kisame took it and followed her out the open doors to the courtyard. It was crisp and cold, and it felt nice after sitting in the humid heat of people cramped into a room dancing. She found a bench to sit on, lifted her head to the night sky, and hummed, enjoying the chill.

"Sorry, this isn't really a normal dance experience." Kisame rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"I am having fun," Hinata assured him. "I can't really dance around like everyone else anyway."

Kisame eyes flicked over his shoulder as the song changed. His blood pressure shot up again like it had every time a slow song came on. Would this be the time that he asked? Maybe she shouldn't wait any longer for him to build up the courage.

Hinata stood back up and held out her hand. "Dance with me?"

"I don't want to step on you, mouse." Kisame face shriveled.

"You won't." Hinata pulled him and left her parasol on the bench.

Kisame was too tall for her to put her arms up on his shoulders without forcing him to bend down, so she rested them where they fell on his chest. His hands hesitated on her sides a few times before he figured out that he just had to put them there.

Hinata giggled as they barely swayed. Was this what Sasori and Deidara pictured when they imagined beauty and the beast, Hinata unable to sidestep stably, and Kisame too afraid to step on her? "I used to take dance classes."

"Hm?" Kisame wondered as she distracted him from his embarrassment.

"I used to have to properly ballroom dance for events," Hinata explained. "I wasn't very good at it."

"Well, you're not very graceful with one leg. I can't imagine what you would be like with two." Kisame mumbled. Hinata snorted, covering her mouth. "Sorry." His face scrunched up like he was punishing himself for saying something stupid.

"No," Hinata waved her hand with a smile. "You're right."

"What do you plan on doing when we graduate?" Kisame changed the subject abruptly. Was he trying to get away from his joke, or was this something that was sitting on his mind for a while?

"Uhm…" What was she going to do? "Well… I don't know. Before, all that was planned out for me, and I knew what was expected of me, but now… I guess I should talk to my uncle about it."

"Why does it matter what he thinks about it?" Kisame wondered.

"Well, I don't know what's expected of me anymore," Hinata explained.

Kisame thought about it. She didn't expect him to understand what she meant. "Well, what do you want to do?" Hinata pressed her lips into a line. "Have you ever thought about it?"

Yeah, he really didn't understand. "Not really. It was never really an option." Hinata admitted. "Growing up, my talents were chosen for me. If my father wanted me to be good at it, he would just put me in a class. The only thing I took time to learn on my own was cooking."

"But that would be hard, right?" Kisame frowned.

"Yeah, a professional kitchen isn't going to let me hobble around." Hinata's eyes fell to their feet. The song changed, but they didn't move away from their dance. It was comfortable, and he was shielding her from the cold that was finally starting to get to her now that the heat from inside had worn off. "What about you?"

Kisame face fell. "I… you know university is expensive."

"Not everyone goes to university." Hinata slid her hand over to hold on to his arm to reassure him. "But if you want to go, there are scholarships similar to the ones you have now."

Did he want to go? Itachi got into his head now, and he wasn't sure. He never really thought about it. At some point, that was the point of going to the nice school on scholarship, so he could get into university on a scholarship, but as he got older, the reality set in, and scholarships for university were harder to get and didn't cover as much. And he would be making more in the short term if he just took more hours at work, but long term, he might be sticking himself to menial jobs for the rest of his life.

Hinata giggled at him, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You don't have to make a decision right now." Kisame felt his face heat up. "You look like you're taking a test."

Kisame stopped swaying. The pop song playing from inside finally got him. Hinata stepped back and shivered. "You cold? You want to go back inside."

"I'm fine." Hinata let him guide her back to her parasol, and she sat back down.

Kisame shrugged off his jacket and tucked it around her. It was massive on her, as always. Hinata tucked her nose into his with a smile. She was really trying to make him blush.

"You know what would be fun?" Hinata hummed. "A restaurant. A little one that makes things fresh." Hinata tilted her head at him. "I would need someone who could lift things, though."

"Oh, am I getting roped into this?" Kisame asked. Honestly, he could do that with his current skill set.

"I think you would look cute in an apron." Hinata giggled. "One with little rice balls on it."

"Now you're making fun of me." But, she was washing the feeling of dread away. "I'd scare your customers away."

Hinata tucked her face back into his jacket. "I wouldn't want them as customers."

Kisame felt his face heat up again. She really was just too sweet. "You going to do all the cooking yourself?"

"Are you going to help?" Hinata wondered. "I can teach you."

Kisame scrunched his face. "I think we would trip over each other in a kitchen."

"I think it would be fun." Hinata sighed, looking up at the night sky. "But that's probably one of the last things I would be allowed to do. Uncle has been very encouraging, but… I think there is a point where I will have to go back when my father gets old and the board of directors decides to be stubborn." Her eyes lost the joy and hope they had talking about her little fantasy as reality set in. "And I don't want to go back."

Kisame hated to watch the light being sucked out of her eyes like that.

Hinata squeaked as Kisame suddenly scooped her up. She scrambled to put her arms over his shoulders, and he swung her around a few times before stopping with a big toothy smile on his face. "Feel better?"

Hinata giggled, taking the stillness to put her arms more completely around the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"It would have been easier to dance like this." Kisame shifted her up more comfortably. His hand under her legs disappeared in the tulle, but the hand behind her back was warm even through his jacket that was falling off her shoulders.

"It makes it easier to reach." Hinata agreed, lifting her head up to his. Kisame face blanked, turning purple as she got closer. The terror in his eye made her reroute to his cheek. The peck made him freeze, and his hands tighten. Hinata brushed a hand across his cheek, where she kissed. "Sasori-san was right this lipstick really doesn't wear off."

Kisame face just got darker, and her smile widen. He was really awkward and cute.