In which Hinata has a perfect birthday.

Chapter 17: Sunset in your eyes

Hinata's birthday started off with a restful sleep and a gentle awakening. The last displaced Hyuuga would be moving out of the dormitory any day, so it was quiet in the room.

An elegantly wrapped package at the foot of her bed caught her attention. After making her bed, Hinata carefully unwrapped it to find a beautiful kimono folded inside. There was no note, but she knew it was from her father. He was away on business, but undoubtedly had instructed one of his staff to drop this off.

Hinata wrapped the kimono back up and washed up before heading to the Head House, accepting well wishes from passing Hyuuga with a soft smile. Hanabi had long moved into the reconstructed Head House and both she and Neji were waiting in the dining room, table set up with Hinata's favourite breakfast foods.

They passed a pleasant morning together. Although Hinata repeated the sentiment that their company was worth more than any material object, they both presented her with gifts for which she thanked them sincerely.

Upon exiting the Head House, Hinata unfortunately ran into Hayate, Shigeru and Wataru. The old men seemed to like traveling in a pack. Unable to ignore them, Hinata greeted them with a bow.

"We offer our humble blessings on your birthday, Hinata-sama," Hayate said, inclining his head. "Such a nice surprise to find you in the Head House."

"They say the Bunke Hyuuga spends more time in the Head House than Hiashi-sama's eldest, naturally it piqued our curiosity," Wataru said in a hushed voice behind the cover of the sleeve of his kimono.

Shigeru exchanged a snide look with Wataru. "We see now that it was simply a misunderstanding. Neji must come and go from the Head House on your request, Hinata-sama," he said in his low, serious voice.

A false smile stretched across Hayate's face. "It's very touching to see such a strong sense of duty from Neji. Especially in his condition."

Hinata found herself trembling with anger. "Your concern is appreciated. Nii-san is recovering very well from his efforts in the war. Chichue, Hanabi and I are very pleased to have his company in the Head House whenever he so wishes," she said, voice firm.

Expressions of scorn flashed across the elders' faces.

"As you say, Hinata-sama."

They bowed stiffly. This time Hinata only nodded in return before leaving.

She spent some time in her garden, letting the scent of lavender and chamomile soothe her. She brushed away the snow and checked on the health of her herbs. Some of them could handle the cold and for those that couldn't, Hinata had her own corner in the Hyuuga greenhouse.

After tending to her plants, Hinata went back to the dormitory and worked her way through her morning stretches before taking a shower. She then spent a little longer than usual dressing up. She took her time picking out a white, long-sleeved dress and using a barrette to clip back some of her hair into a half up half down state. She put on some lip gloss and then pulled on a pair of boots. Konoha winters were mild, so she only needed a light coat to protect her from the chill.

When she exited the compound with an overnight bag on her shoulder, a familiar chakra signature made Hinata smile.

"Sasuke-kun, good morning!" she greeted brightly.

"Happy birthday," Sasuke returned.

A delighted sort of surprise filled Hinata. "Thank you," she said appreciatively.

In response, Sasuke thrust out a package at her. Hinata instinctively accepted it into her hands, staring down at it in wonder. The gift was beautifully wrapped, professionally so.

"You didn't have to," she demurred.

Sasuke waved off her words. "I just wanted to give you that today," he said, raking his hand through his dark hair. If it were anyone else, Hinata might have thought it a nervous gesture.

Hinata found her eyes trailing the path his hand took, struck by the knowledge that she knew how the texture of his hair felt under her fingertips. Shaking the thought out of her head, Hinata smiled up at Sasuke. "Is it alright if I open it now?"

Sasuke shrugged again, still looking off to the side.

Hinata treated the gift delicately when she peeled the wrapping paper off. The first thing she saw was a small packet of seeds. She recognized the label, echinacea, from texts but had never had a chance to grow her own. There was a tiny booklet with care instructions pasted to the back. Beneath the seed packet, there was a book on fūinjutsu. Hinata ran her hands reverently over the aged cover. Flipping open to the first page, the Uchiha symbol stamp confirmed to her that it was from his personal library.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, I couldn't possibly accept this," Hinata said. "It's your family's."

"It's not like anyone's going to come chasing you down for it," Sasuke said drolly. "I want you to have it, Hinata," he added more seriously.

"I…" Hinata hesitated, staring up at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"I've already memorized it. Besides, our families were working to improve clan relations between the Uchiha and Hyuuga. Resource sharing seems like a good next step."

Hinata looked back at the book, worrying her bottom lip. After a moment, she bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I'm very grateful. Both of these were very thoughtful and I will use them well."

Sasuke seemed almost embarrassed when Hinata straightened from her bow. "I expect you to," he said finally. "If you have any questions about fūinjutsu…you can ask me."

Hinata's smile widened and she nodded in understanding. She had seen Sasuke use shuriken jutsu against the white zetsu, but so far they hadn't discussed ninjutsu at all. She had to bite back another thank you as it looked like Sasuke had about reached his limit. "I'll go put it in my room. Will you wait so we can walk together?" Hinata asked.

At this, the air of awkwardness around Sasuke seemed to ease and he nodded.

"I'll be right back," she promised.

Soon enough Hinata was back after placing Sasuke's gift carefully on her bed. Sasuke was waiting where she left him, striking a cool figure as usual, all dark colours against a snowy background.

"Thank you for waiting," Hinata said.

They began to walk side by side. Hinata was practically bouncing with her buoyant mood. Sasuke was as taciturn as she had grown to expect him to be in the morning. Hinata was content to hum to herself, appreciating the warmth Sasuke radiated beside her, his cloak brushing against her coat. They didn't speak, but their eyes would meet regularly and Hinata would smile while Sasuke looked amused. For once, it was Hinata leading the way and Sasuke following.

Hinata and Sasuke attracted stares as they got into the village center. If they had been aimed at her alone, Hinata may have felt anxious. Knowing that the prying eyes were targeting Sasuke, Hinata held her head high and walked a little closer to him, refusing to acknowledge the villagers' gawking.

Among the crowd, there were more than a few girls sending Sasuke appreciative looks. Still, Sasuke ignored the attention indiscriminately.

Finally, Hinata stopped them at a street corner. Kiba had booked a booth at a child friendly café with games for children and adults alike. There were families with young children milling around.

Hinata tilted her head towards the shopfront. "I'm meeting my old team here. You're more than welcome to join us," she told Sasuke. An image of Sasuke seated with her, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai and Mirai flashed through Hinata's mind and she rather liked it.

The face Sasuke made as he eyed a shrieking little girl had Hinata laughing into her hand.

"Maybe not?" Hinata said teasingly. There was a tug of disappointment in her chest, but it was small and brief. She understood Sasuke was a rather solitary person.

Sasuke's lips curled from a disdainful sneer into an amused smirk as he redirected his gaze from the still screaming child to Hinata. "Try not to eat too many sweets. I won't go easy on you tomorrow," Sasuke said.

Hinata giggled. "I'll do my best," she said. Smiling up at him, Hinata added, "Thank you for keeping me company. It makes me really happy that you came to see me today."

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair again, looking away. "It's not like it was a hardship," he muttered.

When Hinata entered the café and closed the door behind her, she saw Sasuke still waiting on the corner. She waved at him through the window and he replied with a nod.

Hinata wiled away several hours with Kiba, Shino, Kurenai and Mirai in the café. She wasn't very hungry, but still accepted the treats her friends insisted on buying her. Mostly she spent her time losing badly to Shino, calming Kiba down when he started shouting about cheating, giggling at Kurenai's teasing remarks and taking turns holding Mirai.

Hinata was flushed with happiness when they left the café. The sight of Naruto bundled up in the scarf she had knitted him last year made her light up.

"Naruto-kun!" she called out in excitement.

A huge grin broke across Naruto's face, his arms thrown open to accept her hug. As she went to let go, Naruto just squeezed tighter making her squeak. Naruto laughed fondly, drawing away to cup her face in his hands.

"Happy birthday!" he exclaimed. Hinata winced at the volume, but giggled at his enthusiasm.

Hinata and Naruto bid goodbye to the rest of Team Eight before leaving hand in hand.

The sun was shining brightly in the late afternoon, a direct contrast to the falling snow and the cold that had their breath fogging. Naruto's hand in hers kept Hinata warm. The couple got a lot of attention as they strolled. Naruto's status as village hero and the Rokudaime's successor had villagers stopping them every few minutes to chat with the blond.

Hinata was happy to step aside and let Naruto shine. It was nice to see Naruto received positively. It suited his cheerful, extroverted nature so well that it was almost difficult to believe that it had ever been any other way. But Hinata remembered the scorn and hatred Naruto was subjected to and so it warmed her heart to see the change Naruto had always dreamed of.

Naruto really did make his dream come true.

The next time they were stopped, it was by a group of girls. They showered Naruto with praises and compliments, asking if he'd been on any cool missions and when he would be appointed Hokage. Naruto flustered under the attention.

Hinata couldn't fault them for their admiration nor Naruto for enjoying it. Yet, as much as she wanted to, Hinata couldn't deny it made her feel ill somehow.

It wasn't jealousy exactly.

The girls were pretty and confident, approaching Naruto effortlessly. Any one of them wouldn't look out of place next to Naruto.

"I kind of thought you were…gloomy, hesitant and weird."

A hand took hers, pulling her forward, away from the memory. When Hinata looked up she was met with Naruto's easy grin. She relaxed and let him guide her.

As they walked, Naruto told her about Kakashi's daily excuse for his lateness, of catching Shikamaru napping under a desk, of the diplomacy meeting he had sat in on. Between every few sentences he would turn to look at her, smiling just a bit brighter when he saw her rapt attention. Hinata felt like a flower turned to the sun. It was a familiar feeling.

Hinata's life growing up had been grey. A monotonous stream of waking up, morning training with her tutors, school, afternoon lessons on etiquette and history followed by private training with her father and then an evening solo training session. Hands bleeding through her bandages, bruises from getting brutally beaten into the tatami by her father and occasionally Neji, the disdainful looks from Sōke Hyuuga, the resentful glares from Bunke Hyuuga, her own tired eyes staring back pitifully in the mirror. Even the academy hadn't been much of a respite. Hinata would sit in the back, no friends to talk to. Sometimes even Iruka seemed to forget she was there. The first time she was bullied by academy students she was honestly surprised that they had even noticed her.

Then Naruto came charging in, a bright spot of colour in Hinata's otherwise dreary life.

The more she watched him, the more colourful everything got. The harder he tried, the more Hinata felt encouraged to do her best too. Slowly, the colour began to seep into other parts of her life even without Naruto being present. She just had to think of him and suddenly it was easier to get back up after getting kicked down, the pain in her hands numbed, the withdrawn gaze in the mirror glimmered.

And then she'd gotten placed in Team Eight and the world kept getting brighter and better, though Naruto continued to outshine everything else.

Hinata and Naruto eventually made their way onto a more remote trail leading to the top of the Hokage-iwa, saving them from interruptions by passing villagers.

"Kiba-kun almost flipped the table three times. Twice because he thought Shino-kun was cheating and once because Shino-kun was taking too long on his turn."

"Huh, is Shino really that good at games?" Naruto asked.

"Mm. Shino-kun is smart," Hinata said immediately. "He does take too long on his turns though," she added a little secretively, as if they were in danger of being overheard by the boy in question.

"How was Mirai-chan?"

"She's so sweet. She was playing with blocks quietly, but by the third time Kiba-kun got upset she got overexcited and starting copying him, knocking over her blocks," Hinata said with a giggle. "Then Kurenai-sensei started scolding Kiba-kun for being a bad influence."

"At least he'll balance out Shikamaru's laziness from rubbing off on her," Naruto said with a laugh.

Hinata shook her head with a smile. "Shikamaru-kun wants to teach her how to play shogi when she's older. But for now his favourite thing to do with Mirai-chan is naptime."

Naruto cackled. "I hope there are photos!"

"Kurenai-sensei has a few."

Naruto laughed louder, swinging their joined hands wildly. "That's awesome! It's still hard to believe that Shikamaru's good with babies. Kiba too, with how they were back in the academy."

"Well, we've all grown up," Hinata pointed out.

"Yeah. It's crazy to think about. Feels like not too long ago we were messing around in class trying not to get caught by Iruka-sensei. Those were the days," Naruto said, voice a little wistful.

Hinata simply hummed, saying nothing.

"Even though Sasuke's back, it's not the same since everyone's grown up. I can't see him or the guys that often with the Hokage apprenticeship," Naruto continued.

They had reached the Hokage-iwa at this point, standing atop the Yondaime's stone head. This was Naruto's favourite spot. Hinata knew he liked to come up here to think, switching between the different Hokage heads depending on his mood.

"But you love it? Training to be Hokage?" Hinata asked, barely audible over the wind.

"I really do," Naruto answered without hesitation.

When Hinata looked at him she found him staring ahead. She followed his gaze to the village. Konohagakure really looked beautiful from up here.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Naruto turned to smile at Hinata. "I'm glad you and Sasuke have become friends. It's a little weird because Sasuke is…Sasuke. Everyone annoys him. But you're the most likeable person I know so I guess it makes sense."

Hinata blushed. "Naruto-kun…"

"And you guys were friends before, right?" Naruto said.

Hinata blinked. "Um?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing you bring him lunch? And Sasuke would look at you in class sometimes," Naruto continued obliviously. "Anyway, it's good he's not just staying cooped up in his apartment or taking a million missions."

Before Hinata could even think to formulate a response, Naruto was bulldozing ahead. "Oh! We're going to be late to our reservation! Let's go!" he cried, taking off in a run and yanking Hinata along by their joined hands.

Naruto brought Hinata to a sushi restaurant for a candlelit dinner. The atmosphere was romantic enough to fluster Hinata, but then Naruto choked on wasabi, making Hinata burst into giggles as he gulped down glass after glass of water. They then walked over to Dango-ya, bellies full and bodies warm with sake to get dessert. The evening was capped off with a stroll by the river, Hinata and Naruto hand-in-hand talking about nothing and everything at once.

It was dark when they arrived at Naruto's apartment. The blond shinobi kissed Hinata slowly into the bed, taking her into his arms.

Later, Naruto was sleeping soundly while Hinata lay wide awake, staring at his peaceful face. After an hour fruitlessly trying to fall asleep, Hinata carefully got out of bed and went to the kitchen. She took a seat, not bothering to turn on the lights.

The moon was visible through the kitchen window, casting the room in a silvery glow. Hinata replayed the day in her head.

It had been perfect, from start to finish.

The time with her family and friends was always appreciated, but when Naruto had picked her up everything had gotten that much better. Every moment with him had been wonderful, reminding Hinata of how much she loved him. It had been the longest they'd spent together in months.

It had been their first uninterrupted date in even longer.

Hinata didn't realize she was weeping until a tear splashed onto her hand.

It had been a perfect day, but it had been an anomaly. Limited to special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries.

The reality of everyday life would be quick catch ups in the morning, late nights waiting up to spend time together only to immediately fall into bed too tired to do much else, cancelled dates, long stretches of time without any contact at all.

Being with Naruto in any capacity had been more than Hinata had ever dared to dream. She couldn't explain the tears, not when she was fortunate enough to love and be loved by him.

And yet the tears kept falling uncontrollably.

Hinata's coming to a realization.

Also despite it being a NaruHina focused chapter, I snuck in some SasuHina.

Thanks everyone for reading & reviewing!

MVH