Her birthday was a quiet affair, like all the years before it.

There was a small dinner with the members of the main family, stiff and formal, where members of the council would congratulate her, simultaneously reminding her of her duties as heiress and the importance of strength. Servants would flutter about, serving dishes and pouring drinks, and the evening would be filled with the monotony of dull conversation over the glory of the old days and laments for the state of progressive weakness that permeated the village, product no doubt of too many years of peace.

Hinata wanted to leave. She was in no mood for this, but as the birthday girl she had no option but to stay. Now that she was ten years old, she had no excuse to retire early, like Hanabi, who was taken to bed when the clock chimed eight in the night. Her mood was still bad because of what happened with Sakura.

Deep inside, she should have known. All of her friendships so far had been initiated by her, be it by order of her father or because circumstances allowed her to take that first step. There was no way someone would approach her of their own volition, even less someone as bright and confident as Sakura.

She was hurt, because she had given her best for their friendship, because she had been used, but most of all, because she truly liked Sakura and knowing she never felt the same was painful. Maybe she just wasn't good enough to have female friends.

"Hinata" her father's voice cut through her self-pitying thoughts. She immediately stood to attention, realizing she had been spacing off. That wasn't good.

"Yes, father?" she asked, straightening her back that she had slumped without realizing it. Her father didn't say anything, instead only taking a small sip from his glass, before glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"You look lost. Is something the matter?" he asked, surprising her. Had she been that obvious about her discomfort?

She took a moment to think about her answer, but no too much, as she didn't want to be rude by making her father wait. "I… am not, father. But it's a silly thing. I will get over it, so there's no need for you to worry" she assured, doing her best to look him in the eyes, even though he was not looking at her.

He hummed, putting down his glass. "Try not to show your emotions so openly on your face. As heiress and future head, knowing how to disguise what you think and feel is a must" he said. She nodded, murmuring a small yes, father before the man continued, much to her surprise as she had thought that would be it. "And if you need to talk… surely there is someone among our clan that can lend an ear, and if not… I might not be the best giving advice outside of shinobi affairs, but listening is something I can do."

Hinata blinked, taken aback, before, slowly, a smile formed, her lips rising without her permission. She stifled it, glancing down, taking her father's advice about keeping her emotions in check, and thanked him in a soft voice, full of feeling.

Dinner was, thankfully, over soon after. Hinata allowed the servants to take off her kimono and brush her hair, and when she was left alone, she walked towards her window, opening it and allowing the night air to enter, soothing her.

She breathed it in, welcoming even the cold of the season. When her eyes landed on the full moon in the sky, she leaned her arms on the windowsill, her chin resting against her joinded hands, and stared at it thoughtfully.

Was she really ten years old now? It didn't feel any different to being nine, or eight. Sure, she was a bit taller now, and she could feel that she was stronger, but everything else, her very self, still felt pretty much the same. Not a lot had changed since her last birthday, too. She was still friends with Naruto and Sasuke, Neji remained as distant as ever, despite her resolution to mend their broken relationship, and Sakura… well, it was like nothing ever happened between them, she guessed.

Another stab of pain assaulted her heart.

Letting out a sigh, she stood up, ready to close the window, when she heard something strange from below. Curious, she glanced down, only to almost have a heart attack when a shadow jumped up, landing right in front of her.

"Shhh" the figure shushed, pushing his hand against her mouth to keep her from screaming. Hinata glanced up, her eyes big and almost bulging out in shock.

What the hell was Sasuke doing here?!

When it looked like she wasn't going to make any noise, the boy released her, and, glancing around, he pushed her softly to the side so he could enter. Hinata allowed him to do so, too stunned to say anything, simply staring at him without being able to pronounce a word.

It wasn't until Sasuke turned around, closing the window behind him and muttering something about them needing to get away from it, that she recovered her senses.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked, hands flying to her chest. He looked at her, but didn't answer, instead walking over to her bed and sitting down on it without saying a word. Hinata followed him, watching as he took in her bedroom's decour, or, at least as much as he could with the lights turn off.

"Why are you here?" she repeated, standing right in front of him.

He huffed in annoyance. "You thought I wasn't going to come after the way you behaved yesterday?" he asked with a roll of his eyes. When Hinata furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, he scoffed. "Something happened yesterday with Sakura, no? And that something upset you…"

Finally understanding what he meant, she glanced away, fidgeting with her fingers. "I… I mean, yes, but… you didn't have to come in the middle of the night to ask me about it" she said in a small voice, still surprised at this sudden development.

Sasuke frowned. "Today's your birthday" he stated, crossing his arms. She nodded, looking at him curiously. "I guess congratulations are in order."

"Mmm, thank you?"

"Why are you saying it as a question?" he sighed. "And don't just stand there. Come on, sit" he patted the place next to him. Hinata looked at it, unsure. The surprise was wearing off, and in its place awkwardness was unfolding. Having a boy in her room late at night wasn't exactly appropriate, even less sitting on the same bed. Although she didn't understand the reason, she knew it was like that. If someone caught them…

Thinking about that, she realized something. "Sasuke-kun… how did you get inside the compound without the guards noticing you?" she supposed they didn't notice him, because otherwise he wouldn't be here after sneaking up her window.

He shrugged, but there was a cheeky half-smirk on his face. "They aren't that good, honestly. I just used some basic stealth techniques we learned at the academy and they didn't even notice me" he scoffed, crossing his arms. "Not very professional."

That was worrying. If an academy student could stealth his way under their noses… where they even paying attention?

This peace has made us too lax she heard the words of the elders again. Hinata quickly shook her head to get rid of them. There was nothing wrong with peace. Maybe Sasuke was just that good.

"So, tell me" he talked again, eyeing her with a frown, "did something happen with Sakura?"

She bit her lip, unable to keep eye-contact with him. She didn't want to tell him, because the reason something happened in the first place was because of him. He didn't do anything directly, but, just like with Ino and Sakura, his existence caused a rift between them, even if this time only one of the two had a crush on him.

So she settled by saying; "we just had a small disagreement. I'm sure we'll solve it with time."

Hopefully they wouldn't be in the same class next year. The thought of sharing more classes with Sakura and Sasuke in the same room was excruciating. It also meant he would have no idea if they actually made up or not.

There was silence for a while, before she heard him let out a breath. "Fine. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to" he grumbled, seemingly aggrieved. Hinata looked at him, watching his annoyed expression, and felt the need to say something to take it off his face, but before she could, he spoke again, reaching for something inside his pocket. "Anyway, the reason I came is because I had to give you this today, but things were a little hectic so I couldn't do it earlier. In the end, this was the only time I could come, but going through the front and waiting for all the fanfare of presentations was a bother, so I sneak in. Take it" he extended his hand, showing her a small, fist-sized bag.

She slowly grabbed it. Waiting for his nod, she opened it, the black-colored ribbon unfolding until she could take a peek inside. Her eyes opened wide when she saw what looked like a card, but longer. Taking it out carefully, she felt the laminated surface before she noticed the flower carefully preserved under a protective film.

Hinata recognized it immediately, having learned many flower names thanks to her mother's passion for gardening. It was a violet, its deep color swirling until it stopped in the bright yellow center.

Sasuke had given her a pressed violet as a birthday present.

When she didn't say anything even after a long while had passed, Sasuke started fidgeting, something very rare on him. She was only staring at what she now knew was a bookmark, with the purple standing out to her through the petals of the violet. It was a little disconcerting for the young boy, and it wasn't long until he finally let out a groan of impatience.

"Are you going to say something? This is weird" he complained. Hinata blinked, and before she knew it, fat tears started falling down her cheeks. Sasuke panicked seeing this. He stood up, briskly walking towards her until he was right in front of her, invading her personal space. "Hey, stop crying! Why are you crying? What did I do wrong?" he started asking, agitated.

Hinata shook her head, bringing the sleeve of her pajama up to her face to dry her eyes. She smiled, and a small, watery giggle was heard. "You did nothing wrong, Sasuke-kun. It's just… I'm so h-happy…" her lower lip quivered. Sasuke frowned, and without a word, pulled his own sleeve over his hand and used it to clean her face, a lot less delicately than she had. Hinata didn't mind though.

"You're crying because you're happy for my gift?" he asked in a tone of incredulity. The girl nodded, not saying anything until he had pulled his arm away.

"Pressing flowers… is one of my favorite activities. I'm not sure if you know, but…"

"Actually, I do know. That's the reason I decided to give you this" Sasuke interrupted, surprising her.

"You know?" she asked, mouth slightly agape. He nodded.

"You told me last year, on my birthday, after you pressed that flower in the book of poetry" he explained. Hinata gasped, suddenly remembering that moment that had completely slipped her mind with the pass of time. It had been a year and a half ago; how come Sasuke remembered it?

Before she could voice her questions, he continued. "Anyway, I didn't want to give you the same thing as last year, but I didn't have any ideas either. That's when I passed in front to the Yamanaka Flower Shop and saw… it reminded me of you, somehow" he murmured, looking intently at the violet.

Hinata looked at it too. She could feel her face becoming a little warm. "You… you thought of me when you saw this violet?"

"That's what I said, no?"

Despite his nonchalant tone, when Hinata looked up at him, he was staring elsewhere. The light this far inside her room was very dim, so she couldn't tell if he was blushing like she was or not, but she believed that he was, basing it on her previous experiences with him.

She smiled, hugging the bookmark to her chest. "Thank you so much, Sasuke-kun. I'll be sure to treasure this forever" she told him with feeling, her chest full and to the point it felt like it could explode from happiness.

To think that just a few minutes ago she was feeling so sad… it felt almost unreal now, with how giddy she felt. Almost as if she could just float and get lost between the clouds.

Sasuke clicked his tongue, his face turning further away from her, if possible. "Don't exaggerate. It's just a stupid bookmark with some dumb flower."

"Ok" was all she said, already aware of his habit of dimissing any heartfelt moment between them with some snide remark. She looked at the bookmark again, eyes soft and full of tenderness. "Then, I'll be sure to use this whenever possible. Thank you… for such a practical gift" she told him, unable to contain a giggle.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything else. They stood there for a moment, just basking on each other's presence, before the boy finally let out a sigh, turning his body just a tiny bit back to her. "It's getting late, so I should leave… see you next year?" he asked, sounding a bit unsure.

Hinata nodded, doing her best to contain her excitement. Sasuke looked at her for a moment, before turning around and walking towards the window. Making sure there was no one in the vicinity, he gave her a nod in farewell, and jumped down, disappearing into the night.

She closed the window, putting the bookmark inside the drawer of her bedside table. She lied down in bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, and closed her eyes, all the time with a happy smile that she was doing nothing to repress now that Sasuke was no longer there.

The next day, when she woke up, she was told she had a visitor.