It was Sasuke's birthday today. His ninth birthday, to be more exact.

Hinata stared at the small pile of gifts in front of his apartment door with a bit of befuddlement. Even though it was the middle of summer vacation, people, or more specifically, girls, still found the time to give him something. This hadn't happened last year, but then again, they probably didn't know where he lived yet.

Biting her lip, Hinata glanced from her humble bag of onigiri and compared it to the elegantly wrapped gifts littering his front door. She was sure that any one of those presents was infinitely better than what she had to give him, and a bit of insecurity started crippling up on her. She was just going on an assumption and nothing more. After all, Sasuke never truly said he wanted her onigiri again. Just that the ones from the cooks tasted different.

Her father had said nothing about Sasuke asking him to stop giving him food. Whether he had not done it yet, or Hiashi just didn't see the need to inform her of it, as he already considered her an outsider where the young boy was concerned, she didn't know. But at the very least, she hoped Sasuke wouldn't see her gift to him as an offense or anything like that.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed her finger to the doorbell. It ringed, and she waited.

And waited.

Suddenly it occurred to her the reason all those gifts were on the front door instead of inside the apartment. Sasuke wasn't home. That, or he refused to open the door to anybody. Whatever the case, she would just be wasting her time waiting for him to open. She decided to leave the bag with onigiri beside the gifts, making sure it was protected by positioning some around it like a small wall, when suddenly the door opened. Hinata looked up. Sasuke returned her stare with one of his own.

"So it was you" he murmured, confusing her. "Everyone else attacked the doorbell at least ten times before leaving" he explained, before pulling to the side, opening the door wider "come in."

Hinata tilted her head, words forming on her tongue about how it wasn't necessary and she didn't want to impose, when he turned around and left, leaving the door still open for her. Biting her lip, she slowly stood up, and with one last look at the gifts, followed him inside.

She nervously glanced around at the small hallway that connected all the rooms inside the apartment. The floors were hardwood, and a sliding door to her right was slightly open, showing a room with tatami mats. There were another three doors beside that one, two on the left and the last one at the end of the hall. She supposed each of them guided to a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and the bedroom.

She took off her shoes and entered the room at the right. It was a living room, with a short table in the middle of it and a few bookshelves against the walls. At the far end, there was a window with a small balcony from where she could see the street below. To her surprise, Sasuke wasn't there.

"A-Ano… Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm here."

She startled, turning around to see him enter with a tray in his hands. On it, there were two cups of tea and a plate with some rice crackers.

"It's not much, but please help yourself" he said, putting down the tray on the short table. Hinata quickly came out of her surprise and stuttered.

"S-Sasuke-kun! T-T-There is no n-need...! I-I won't be staying long a-and…"

"You're going to just leave me alone on my birthday?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hinata became red in an instant. "N-No! T-T-That's not h-how it is! I-I just don't want to i-impose on you, and…!"

"I wouldn't have invited you in if I thought you would be imposing on me" he answered levelly, before gesturing to the seat across from him. "Now, sit, eat, and drink. I still haven't bought groceries for the week, so I don't have much, but I had brewed tea and a packet of rice crackers" he said, taking his cup and blowing slightly on it. Hinata was still unsure, but after a while, she finally forced her body to move. She sat in front of him and took her cup, blowing on it as well before taking a sip.

For a moment there was silence, none saying a word. Hinata looked at Sasuke discreetly, afraid of staring at him for too long, but he seemed a little more focused on his own thoughts, barely paying attention to her. She put down her cup and grabbed the bag of onigiri she had left by her side, placing it on the table before clearing her throat.

"I-I brought these for y-you… I k-know they're not m-much, but I thought maybe you would l-like them a-and…"

She shut up as Sasuke grabbed the bag, a frown on his face, and opened it. When he took a look inside, his eyebrows rose, before leveling Hinata with an interrogating look.

"Onigiri?"

"Y-Y-You said t-t-that mine ta-tasted d-d-different from the o-ones of my c-cooks… a-a-and I thought m-m-mayb-be…"

"Stop" he ordered, seeing as she was becoming more and more anxious by the second, fidgeting relentlessly and looking about to pass out. Hinata did so immediately, closing her mouth until her lips formed a line and glancing down, her hands tucked neatly on her lap. Sasuke sighed. "You don't need to become so nervous every time that…" he shook his head, "I'm just surprised. I… didn't expect this."

"You d-don't like t-them?" Hinata asked cautiously. Sasuke shook his head.

"I do. It's an odd present for a birthday but… thank you" he finally said, taking out one of the three onigiris inside and biting into it. Hinata blinked, momentarily surprised, but then a small smile slowly made its way upon her lips. He had liked it. He was eating it. She was so glad.

Now in a better and calmer mood, Hinata took the cup of tea and sipped a little. She even reached for one of the rice crackers. For a while, they didn't say anything, and although it was strange, sitting here in Sasuke's house sharing tea and a small meal, she realized she didn't mind it at all.

And then, the doorbell interrupted their new-found moment of peace.

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuuunnnnn! Are you hooooommmmeeeeee?"

The doorbell sounded again. And again.

"Sasuke-kun! It's me! Ino! From the academy! Aren't you going to open?"

Each new question was accentuated by a new press of the doorbell. Hinata put down her cup, her mouth hanging open in surprise. When she turned to ask Sasuke why he didn't open, he glared at her, pointedly ordering her with the power of his gaze alone to remain quiet.

A little scared of his eyes, she gulped and nodded.

"Damn! Is he really not home? I thought Sakura was just lying to me so I wouldn't come… He doesn't open the door even though I told him it's me! He really must be away…"

Hinata was a little astounded, but thankful she had finally stopped harassing the poor doorbell. Did Ino really believe Sasuke would open the door for her and nobody else? And the insistence with which she came… she had thought Sasuke had been exaggerating when he said all the other girls had attacked the doorbell repeatedly, but apparently that was not the case. She remembered the pile of presents outside the door. Had this kind of thing been going on all day?

She looked at Sasuke just as Ino decided to leave, proclaiming to herself her present was better than any other he had received that day and that he would surely love it, and saw a bored, almost apathetic look on his face, just as he was finishing the onigiri.

"I told you" he said, letting out a sigh. For some reason, Hinata blushed, feeling embarrassed for him and those girls she likely knew.

"W-What are you g-going t-to do with a-all t-those pr-presents?" she asked, curious but also strangely nervous. Why was she nervous? She wasn't the one that had continuously pressed that doorbell today, unheeding of the silence that answered her only to keep insisting. She had, however, brought him a present but surely that was different… right?

"Why do you ask?" he leaned back, resting on the palms on his hands, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow. Hinata bit her lip, unable to maintain his gaze.

"I-It's just… there a-are so many… a-and I w-wanted to k-know b-because…"

"You're curious?" she nodded, defeated and embarrassed she had been seen through so easily. "I dunno. I don't even know what is inside them… but I will probably throw the majority of it and what I don't throw… I guess I'll give it up to someone else."

"B-But wh-what if they a-are u-useful…?"

"Nothing those girls give me can possibly be useful to me" he declared, as if it was a truth well known and undisputable. Hinata pursed her lips, raising her eyes and catching him looking at her still. She squeaked, before returning her glance to the floor. She heard something funny then, something that sounded like a… chuckle? But it could not be. Sasuke didn't chuckle. He didn't even smile.

"Y-You won't k-know if they a-are u-useful or n-not… unless you l-look at them f-first…" she said, playing with her fingers. She refused to look up to verify if it had indeed been her imagination or if Sasuke had really laughed.

"Since you're so sure of that… why don't you help me sort out what is useful or not?" he asked, rising to his feet. Hinata looked up, surprised. "That way you'll see that I'm right, and nothing that comes from them can be worth anything to me."

He disappeared behind the sliding door, around the corner. Hinata blinked, taken aback and shocked that Sasuke would ask… for her help? In order to prove her wrong? Shaking her head, she stood up at the same time that she heard Sasuke opening the front door. She hurried after him, and helped him bring all the presents inside, where they would spend the rest of the afternoon hiding and sorting out everything he was given.

In the end, it turned out Sasuke was right after all.