Work Text:
One on One
She was getting anxious her opal eyes bulging at possibly being discovered. It was the tenth time this week he had turned in her direction. She had been doing a good job masking her presence behind the large tree as she watched his moves.
He was flirting with the ball and trying out a new technique. She could see the frustration on his face, his brows scrunched up in concentration as he yet again tried his new trick.
Dribbling the ball, picking up his shirt, swirling the ball under his oversized Jersey and twirling it arou-... there it was, that look. He wasn't able to complete his trick, the annoyance visible on his tanned face, his azure eyes shut in frustration as he rubbed his blonde hair vigorously.
She could almost hear him from her spot, he was definitely frustrated.
She had been watching him for as long as she could remember. She wasn't a stalker, no, nothing that serious. She admired him, his dedication and perhaps was even infatuated. It was purely by chance that she stumbled upon this treasure.
Naruto Uzumaki...a star in his own might. Wasn't your traditional player, a beast on the court and above all he was the kind of player that would wipe the floor with his opponents sweat and tears. Ruthless and perfect.
She was purely fascinated by the game and wanted to learn it. Not that she had any help, she decided she would pave her own path. It was then that she saw him for the first time. In all his glory. Tanned and utterly dishelved, she was not expecting to see anyone at the court at this hour, let alone him at this time of the night on the neighborhood court, sweating and breathing heavy. That's the first time Hinata Hyuga saw Naruto Uzumaki, the memory of that night vividly imprinted in her mind.
She hadn't meant to stare or even stay long. But something about the way he moved and owned the court made her stay. It wasn't intentional, hiding her presence. She wasn't trying to break his concentration, he looked like he got annoyed easy, she did not want to take a chance.
A lay up beyond the court. That's what he was attempting. Each time, he either took the ball out of the court with him or hit the back of the board as he tried. The irritation evident on flawless features. She was transfixed. That night he never did learn that trick.
Hianta had heard that Naruto's school was up against Suna High School, she did what any good admirer would do, she went to the game. The Konoha High School team was good, but Suna's team was definitely keeping them on their toes. Naruto was getting tough competition from the red headed team captian Gaara Sabaku.
Hinata was already at the edge of her seat, every steal was met with resistance and a solid counterattack. There was absolutely no opening for Naruto to make the basket.
That's when she saw him at the tournament using the same trick from all those years ago, she felt her heart sink to her belly for the microseconds that the ball was up in the air. When it did go in, it felt surreal, she could not scream or cheer. She felt sheer happiness. He had done it. Naruto's look of disappointment no longer existed. The expression replaced by his smug face as he looked down on his opponents pride and a wide smirk brimming on his face. That man was something else.
Hinata smiled to herself at the memory of that game. When she found herself spying on his latest attempts, she wondered if he would be able to surprise her again on the court. Too much time had been spent by her gawking at the tall man before her. Sure, it wasn't her intention to stalk him covertly, but she couldn't do anything, he was always at the court when she wanted to come practice.
She sighed and slumped in her seat behind the tree. Today was no good. She wouldn't be able to practice with Naruto occupying the court. She sighed and willed herself to get up.
"Hinata Hyuga, come back later", she told herself slapping her face lightly, having fully acquainted herself with his timings. The sane part of her won out, she wearily got off the ground and dragged herself back home, reminding herself that she would come back late in the night when no one, read Naruto, would be using the court.
Just like that Hinata found herself back at the court at 12AM, she couldn't sleep and she did not care. Watching Naruto gave her motivation and the will to work hard. Someday she wanted to be able to play one on one with him on this very court. Light blush dusting her features as she set her goal in place.
She dribbled the ball, the sound of her dribbling resounding on the empty court as she slowly moved around the court, first warming up and then slowly picking up her pace. She wanted to try two things tonight, first was Naruto's beyond the court lay up. She had tried the move several times and was feeling confident.
Hinata started at the end of the court dribbling, imagining opponents along the length of the court, her heart pumping as she picked up her pace, running the length of the court with the ball as she tossed the ball crossing the line. She turned around just in time to see the ball land clean through the net.
She patted herself on her shoulder, proud of her attempt. If only Naruto could see what she had been upto, she thought wistfully. Shaking her head, she decided to try his new trick, the one that involved swirling the ball around her shirt and deceiving the opponent.
Naruto struggled with this one, she was not expecting to be good at it. She had only tried it at school and inside the comfort of her room, she was determined. She dribbled the ball at the three pointer line and moved closer to the basket as she picked up her oversized tee-shirt exposing her sports bra and caught the ball, swirling it around, she brought it around and picked up her shirt again letting the ball drop as she caught it to shoot. And just like that, the ball went through cleanly without touching the rims of the basket.
She wanted to celebrate, she wanted to cheer for herself and get excited, if only she wasn't frozen in her spot from the familiar voice she heard, "So the trick is to lift my shirt higher", she didn't need to turn around to know who that voice belonged to.
Naruto Uzumaki. The man who had haunted her every waking moment. The man, she had not deliberately stalked. She shivered, slowly turning to face the tall man before her.
"U-uh-" Hinata tried to say.
He stopped her in her tracks by pointing an accusing finger at her, his face twisted with an expression she did not recognise.
"You and me", he said, she wasn't sure of what she was hearing anymore, "One on One!"
Hinata blinked at him. Perhaps that had been her dream. She did not expect it to come true, not now of all places.
"Uh... w-wait", she manged to finally spit out. Naruto, who had crouched down to pick up the basketball looked at her from his spot with a raised eyebrow.
"I, don't play as well as you", Hinata said, gathering what little courage she could scrunch up, her face feeling hot.
He looked at her, disbelief written all over his flawless face. "Tch. I have seen you...consistently be better, each day. We're playing", his tone held a finality to it and his face held a grin.
Hinata nodded dumbly, perhaps in all the time she had been watching Naruto, it never occured to her that he had been watching too.
~The End~