Day 7: Noticing subtleties/Tying ties

Sasuke realized, much to his embarrassment, that Itachi had noticed them

And not only Itachi.

His mother as well.

"So… Hyuuga Hinata" his older brother said, grin soft and peaceful.

Complete bullshit.

"Don't" he warned. Itachi tilted his head innocently.

"Don't what?"

"You know what."

"Oh, come on Itachi, leave your brother alone" Uchiha Mikoto warned her eldest, hands on her hips, but Sasuke wasn't fooled. He knew exactly where Itachi's personality came from. And he wasn't wrong, because as soon as she said that, her eyes turned to him, and she smiled wide. "Sasuke, you didn't tell us you had a little girlfriend."

"Ugh" he covered his face with his hands. "I made genin today, isn't that more exciting?"

"Honestly? No" Itachi chuckled. "But if you don't want anyone to find out, I would recommend avoiding public displays of affection… no matter how cute they are."

"And it was really cute" Mikoto gushed. Sasuke felt like he was dying. "Little Hyuuga Hinata… I wonder if it's fate. I used to have a crush on her father when we were together in the academy, you know?"

Now he felt like he was dying. "Mom!" even Itachi looked uncomfortable.

"What? It was a long time ago" she dismissed with a gesture of the hand. "He was really popular back then. Cute and brooding, you know how girls go crazy for that type. Why, I remember I used to have the biggest fights with this girl in particular…"

"Look!" Sasuke interrupted, taking off his forehead protector and practically shoving it under his mother's nose. "It's mine! Proof that I'm officially a shinobi of Konoha!"

"Yes, yes you are" Mikoto took the protector daintily in her hands, thankfully stopping with the embarrassing tale of her past. "I am so proud of you, Sasuke."

"You did well, little brother" Itachi poked him on the forehead, and although Sasuke protested, he couldn't help the smile taking over his face.

"We should get going. I still need to cook the celebration dinner. I'll make your favorite" Mikoto winked at her youngest son, who only didn't jump in excitement because he was no longer a little kid. "Your father should be home by then, hopefully" she added with a hand on her cheek, as they started walking towards the exit. Sasuke frowned at this.

"If he can make it, he will, but if he isn't there then it doesn't matter" he said sulkily.

Mikoto sighed. "Sasuke…"

"It's alright mother, leave him" Itachi suggested with a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, albeit reluctantly, and the three continued on in comfortable conversation.

It was five minutes after eleven.

Hinata was running late.

Sasuke crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance as he glanced up and down the street, hoping to see the mass of indigo short hair and beige jacket walking over any time now. Dinner with his family last night had been nice. His father had been there and had even congratulated him in that dry way of his, not that he cared or anything. But then everything went to hell when his mother had the great idea of telling her husband how their youngest son had gotten himself a girlfriend, and although disinterested at first, his attention had peeked when he heard it was none other than Hyuuga Hinata.

"You must be joking" he said, a frown drawn on his features. Sasuke glanced away, not feeling up to this at all. "Hyuuga Hiashi's daughter?"

"Oh, shush" Mikoto tutted, rolling her eyes. "You can't tell me it's not the most adorable thing you've ever heard!"

Fugaku didn't look at his wife, instead staring at his youngest son with stern eyes. "You shouldn't waste your time with these types of things. You barely made genin today, this is not the moment to play around having a girlfriend, especially Hyuuga Hiashi's daughter."

Sasuke shrugged, still not looking at his father, instead playing with his food around his plate.

"What's wrong with it being Hinata-chan? She's cute" Mikoto said, tilting her head.

"The fact that she's not a member of the Uchiha is bad enough, but she's also a Hyuuga? That's unacceptable."

"It's not like I'm going to marry her or anything" Sasuke finally said, getting tired of them talking as if he was not there. He looked at his father, annoyance marring his features. "I'm twelve. I'm not gonna look for a wife yet."

"Don't talk to me like that, boy" his father warned in a low tone.

Sasuke resisted the temptation to click his tongue. "Well, whether it's acceptable or not, Hinata and I are dating now, and I would appreciate it if that's kept here. Hinata's father doesn't want her dating anyone until she becomes jounin."

"An appropriate decision. I should have done the same, except I never thought you would gallivant like this."

Itachi sighed. "Father, that's enough. Sasuke is more than capable of balancing his shinobi and romantic life. You know that" he said the last part a little more harshly, making Fugaku purse his lips, but it seemed to work, because he didn't say anything afterwards, and dinner continued with the air full of tension.

He sighed again, dragging a hand through his hair in an attempt to settle his nerves. Remembering that put him on edge. Why did mother have to tell father? He knew she didn't mean anything bad by doing it, but he also knew that, whether she was aware of it or not, she was most often than not on his side of things. He didn't notice when he was younger, but as he grew older he could see that she did her best to defend his actions and convince him that he wasn't as bad as he appeared.

He was growing tired of that.

As he was ruminating on this, practically simmering with his negative emotions, Hinata finally appeared, slowly walking from the other side of the street towards him. He straightened, waiting as she approached, and when she was in front of him, he couldn't help a clipped; "you're late."

She played with her fingers, her eyes glancing off to the side. "Sorry… father wanted to know where I was going" she explained with a small voice.

Sasuke relaxed a little hearing this. "Oh, and what did you tell him?" he asked with real curiosity.

She shrugged. "That I was meeting up with a friend from the academy."

Simple and sort of the truth. He nodded, turning his body on the opposite direction from which she came. "Come on."

She followed him to the tea house that was Itachi's favorite, and that he had chosen this time because he wasn't going to eat ramen again, or anything else that she came up with. She had her chance to choose last time, and she wasted it, and so he wasn't going to fall for that again.

They sat down and he immediately ordered a cup of tea and rice crackers, while Hinata asked for some dango. As the kind lady left to retrieve their food, an awkward silence descended over them.

Sasuke was the first one to break it, clearing his throat as Hinata played with her fingers, her face inclined towards the ground as she pulled at the hem of her jacket. "So, what did your father say when you went back home, now that you're officially a genin?"

She stiffened, and Sasuke realized he asked something he shouldn't have. But he didn't take back the question, mostly because it would just make things more awkward.

"He… he was content" she answered slowly, her eyes moving to the side. He nodded, relieved when the shop lady came back with their tea and food.

Once again they fell into an uncomfortable silence, and while Sasuke usually wouldn't mind –would even be thankful for it– this time it was getting on his nerves, because he could tell there was something different about it, and it came from Hinata herself.

He pursed his lips, stealing a glance towards her. She was eating with her mind clearly elsewhere. Not only that, but, now that he thought about it, she hadn't really looked at him since they met earlier.

Why?

"Are you alright?" he asked, surprising her. She blinked slowly, but she still didn't look at him, and that was starting to irritate him. "You're even more quiet than usual" he added, putting his cup of tea down and leaning forward with his forearms on the table.

The girl left her dango on the plate, biting her lip as she seemed to be thinking about what to say. He noticed then that she looked a little tired, the skin under her eyes a little darker than usual.

Strange, how come he didn't see that before?

"It's… it's nothing" she said, snapping his attention back to her. "I'm just a little out of sorts… you don't have to worry."

If she said that, it only made him more concerned. But if she didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't insist. He grabbed one of the rice crackers and bit, and just as he was chewing, thinking about what he could do later once the date was over, she spoke again.

"Actually… my father told me he was surprised that I even made genin" she whispered, so soft he almost didn't catch it. He stopped chewing, staring at her with his mouth still full. "I… I failed recently, in something very important, and that made him lose faith in me… I was just sad because he said that to me, but in hindsight, I should have expected it."

He swallowed slowly, feeling something heavy settling in his chest at her words. Why did she tell him all that, when just a second ago she looked so reluctant? But he guessed the reason didn't matter, only that she did.

"I-I'm sorry" she sputtered suddenly, probably taking his silence as annoyance. "I don't know why I said all that. Surely you have more important things to…"

"My father didn't really care about me becoming genin either" he interrupted her. His utterance made her finally look at him, eyes wide, and he couldn't help but feel self-conscious. Why was he telling her this? Maybe, deep inside, he wanted to reciprocate her honesty, but if he was being sincere, hearing her talk about not being able to fulfill her father's expectations was a little liberating. He wasn't the only one with that problem.

Of course, it wasn't completely the same, because at least he wasn't the heir, like Hinata was.

"I've stopped caring about what he thought long ago, but it's still irritating" he complained, sighing. "In his eyes there's only Itachi, and even then it's like…" he stopped talking when he realized he was saying too much. It was one thing empathizing with Hinata because of their fathers, but the intimate relationships between the members of his family was not something she needed to or should know.

However, the way he abruptly stopped talking seemed to have caught her attention, because the next thing she said was; "you don't really get along with your father, do you?"

He couldn't help the snort that came out. "You figure?" or the snappish retort.

She frowned. "I'm not just saying this because of what you told me now… yesterday too, the way you spoke of your father not showing to the graduation…"

It was his turn to glance away. He didn't remember saying anything of the sort, but if she was mentioning it now it surely meant he did. How embarrassing. "Well… yeah, I mean" he amended, looking at her again, "there was a time when it looked like we might actually become closer… but that changed when Itachi entered the ANBU… it's always about Itachi…" he sighed.

She nodded. "I understand. My father also pays more attention to Hanabi, my little sister. It's… a bit disheartening, no?"

"I guess" he grabbed his cup of tea and took a sip, watching her do the same just a second later. Then, he finally noticed what she said. "Wait, your little sister?"

She blushed, putting down her cup with a bit more force than necessary. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, my little sister."

"Now, you don't need to use that tone" he protested. "I was just expecting it to be that cousin of yours. What was his name again? Renji?"

"Neji-niisan" she corrected. She had a small frown between her brows and a stubborn set to her mouth. Sasuke had no idea what he did to get her annoyed with him, but he did notice that, while in any other situation she was pretty much a doormat, when it came to him she was becoming more and more comfortable showing a fiercer side of her he had no idea even existed.

He wasn't sure what to think of that yet.

"Yeah, that one" he confirmed with a shrug, irritating her further, much to his continued confusion and slight amusement.

"Neji-niisan is… certainly he's a source of comparison as well" she sighed, picking at her food now. "But that's fine, because he's really talented. He deserves the praise he gets."

Her voice sounded sad, but also proud as she said this. Even though she was upset because her cousin was better than her and received all the praise she couldn't, she still admired him. He could understand that. He felt something similar for Itachi.

They finished their meal, and this time, Sasuke managed to pay, much to Hinata's irritation. She was frowning all the way from the cashier to the street. He rolled his eyes. "I told you I was going to pay. I don't get why you're so upset about that."

"…I can pay for my own stuff" she said in a bit of a petulant tone. He raised an eyebrow.

"Never said you couldn't."

"I just don't get…" she started, but then she bit her lip and glanced away. Sasuke stopped, turning to face her.

"What?" she shook her head. "If you want to say something then just do it" he said with frustration.

She took another while, even with his insistence, until she let out a sigh, and reluctantly, whispered; "why are you trying so hard? I mean…" she added when he frowned, "do you… no, that is, you…"

"Just say it" he gritted out, losing what little patience he had left.

She gulped, closed her eyes, and squealed; "are you in love with me?!"

Sasuke blinked.

And then he stared.

After almost a minute of this, just him staring at her with the most confused expression ever, his body reacted. Heat invaded his face, and he jumped away, unable to hold back an indignant and, most definitely, high-pitched, "excuse me?!"

"It's just…!" Hinata opened her eyes, her face burning as well and her hands forming fists that she pulled close to her chest. "Why else would you tell me I was your girlfriend? Why else would you make such a big effort to take me out to dates and hug me and…!"

"I'm not going to do things half-assed!" he interrupted. He was trembling, and he couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or… or… "You're the one that confessed to me! Why would I…?"

"But you never accepted anyone's confession before! I just don't understand, why me…?"

He didn't say anything, because he didn't honestly have an answer to that. Or actually, he did, but it was too embarrassing confessing it was because he liked the idea of being seen and acknowledged for his efforts and who he was, not for his appearance or how cool he looked, or even for being Itachi's little brother.

"And…" she continued, a bit softer, "even if it's just because you don't like doing things… that way, it doesn't mean we have to do anything or hang out as much as we do…"

"We don't hang out at all" he scoffed. She gave him a look, and he understood what she meant. In a sense, it seemed like he was the one always taking the initiative. Which was weird, because she was the one that confessed to him. But he guessed it was because of how shy she was, despite the fact that she was opening up to him more, lately. "This is getting tiresome. Come on, I'll walk you home… or a block from your home or whatever."

He turned around and started walking. A few seconds passed where he didn't hear her following, but he didn't relent, and, eventually, her footsteps were finally heard behind him until she was walking at his side. He grabbed her hand then, feeling her stiffen at the contact, and he only rolled his eyes. He had told her couples held each other's hands. Why was she behaving as if it was a surprise still?

Sometimes, he really didn't get her.

Hinata was sulking. Sasuke had not answered her question, at least not directly. By his reaction, she could see that she was right, and he indeed wasn't in love with her. But that still left her confused and wondering the reason behind all this.

As always, his hand felt warm against hers. If all of this was only because he liked doing things all the way, then it was frightening. She couldn't imagine going out with a boy she didn't like and trying so hard to make things work for that reason alone.

Except she was. She was going out with a boy she didn't like, and she had no idea why. In that regard, Sasuke at least had a motive. He at least thought she liked him.

When they reached the point where it was safe to part ways, she was the one to pull her hand away. She faced him, opening her mouth to say goodbye, when he blurted out; "my family knows about us" halting all of her thought processes.

"W-What?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

"My mother and brother saw me hugging you yesterday, and told my father at dinner. Well, it was actually just my mother that told him" he grimaced. She gaped, not knowing what to say. "Don't worry. I asked them not to tell anyone because your dad doesn't want you dating until you become jounin. It's not like my father speaks to yours anyway" he shrugged.

She had to take a moment to understand what he was saying. Then, it came back to her. It was a lie, that about her father not wanting her to date. Or maybe it wasn't, it was just never discussed. But she had told him that because she didn't want to risk any of her family members seeing them together and talking, and because, otherwise, he would be offended at her wanting to keep him a secret from the Hyuuga.

He had already showed her he didn't plan on staying a secret.

"Oh" she said after a long while, when she realized he was expecting an answer. "I… I see. Thank you… for telling me."

He frowned, seemingly wanting to say something, but then he shook his head, as if thinking better of it, and turned around. "See you later, Hinata" he waved with a hand over his shoulder. She muttered a small bye as well, and without waiting for him to disappear around the corner, turned around and walked back to her compound.

Reasonable motive or not, she had to admit, Sasuke really was giving his best for this relationship.