Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hinata Finds a Home.

The girl lets out a little oof! as she sets down the last box inside a sparsely decorated living room. Turning to her companions, Kiba and Shino, her childhood friends ever since they were in diapers, Hinata gave a wan smile.

"I really appreciate you guys moving the boxes inside for me too. It would have taken me ages to get them up the stairs!"

Kiba scratched the back of his head in amusement. "We told you, Hina, you can't possibly do this alone. And none of that's feminism shit you and Ino like to spew about; it's just too many damn boxes!"

"What Kiba is trying to say, in a rather uncouth manner, is that either way, we would have wanted to help you move in no matter what." Shino, ever the more reserved, added to Kiba's comment with the other man nodding his head in agreement. 

"What I do want to know, is what kind of witch did you move in with that she can't even bother to welcome you on your moving in day and help with these things?" Kiba kicked one of the cardboard boxes with Hinata's things in annoyance. A shift inside the box and a tiny clatter made Hinata look up with narrowed eyes at her friend, who grinned sheepishly.

"Those had better not be my dishes. And I already told you, Uchiha-san said she has a seminar something to attend and will most likely not be in until Monday morning."

"Monday?" Shino whistled while peering down at her from his sunglasses. "That's two nights away. Will you be fine by yourself? I mean --" he raised his hands in mock surrender at Hinata's suspicious glare. "You barely know the neighborhood."

Hinata's gaze became gentler. "I'm sure locking the doors will do the trick. Besides, we talked about our schedules. We'd probably not even meet until next weekend since she's on rotation this month for the night shift."

"Sounds like a drag, as Shika would say. What does she do?" Kiba crossed his arms across his shoulders as Hinata started tucking boxes into the room Uchiha marked as hers.

"Erm, a resident? She's in Konoha U. Anyway, she said she's interning now at the hospital; so we'll interact very little." Hinata paused, biting her lip. "I suppose she's a very exacting kind of housemate, seeing as she left me all sorts of instructions before moving in."

"Eh," Kiba rolled his eyes. "Okay, not my type. First, I don't like obsessive-compulsive streaks; second, I don't like medical students after Ino."

"You don't like Ino, in general," Shino commented dryly, as Kiba protested and Hinata let out a soft giggle. They continued to banter back and forth as Hinata starts to unpack some of the things she asked Uchiha-san if she could keep in the kitchen. When sunset came, the two men said their goodbyes to leave Hinata to a peaceful time of organizing (she claims it's therapeutic and meaningful), with promises of taking her out once she's well adjusted.

"Okay. Let's do this. Don't worry, Uchiha-san, I won't ruin your house too much." Hinata murmured, and began her work.

HOUSE RULES:

Sasuke sighed as he rumpled his hair for the nth time this week. It had been a long, long, long week of bustling to and from the OR to consultations to that damned seminar, which was only the cherry on top of his impossible schedule. He could only hope that the new roommate had kept to their agreement and had not transformed his unusually pristine apartment (now that Naruto moved out) into another pigsty. Still, he was somewhat hopeful about this one, or as hopeful as any Uchiha might have been. He outlined the house rules and forwarded it to Hyuuga as soon as he sent him a message, stating that his irregular hours won't allow him to answer calls and thus told the guy to raise any concerns thru text message if he has any. He was surprised to find that the only reply Hyuuga had sent him was an "ok", followed by a "when can I move in" and the terms of payment.

He wasn't expecting him to agree so fast on the particular house rules; he's never found anyone who's neat enough or conscientious enough to suit his taste, always complaining about the strictness of the rules. (especially on the keys. it's always about the keys.) But Hyuuga all but signed the agreement after notifying the landlord that he's already seen the house with a cousin and almost wanted to immediately move in.

Turning his key in the lock quietly, he shut his eyes almost expecting that he'd be in for a rough morning of cursing and throwing Hyuuga's things in the trash. As he stepped foot inside, he slowly opened his eyes to a squint...

Huh.

He stared at the virtually unchanged layout of everything he left his apartment to for the last three days. It looked exactly the same, smelled exactly the same (except for a faint hint of bacon and cinnamon), and felt exactly the same. Huh. In fact, Sasuke notes, had there not been another pair of sneakers tucked neatly in with his slippers (and a pair of pink fluffy bedroom slippers -- is this guy soft or what?) he would have thought that Hyuuga-san hadn't moved in yet.

He roamed the apartment with dubious curiosity. The living room was neat and untouched. The kitchen was impeccably clean -- shining, even -- and the only hint of another person there with him was a purple mug with a white cat drawing, left to dry on the dish rack. He cleans up after himself too. Good. Sasuke observes. The fridge was neatly divided into his-and-his; Sasuke's on the top shelves and Hyuuga's on the bottom. He even marked his juice bottles. Closing the door, Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, tentatively optimistic about his new housemate.

A covered dish on top of the bar counter that served as their dining area grabbed his attention, and he stared at the small piece of paper (one of his yellow post-its, he realized) from his new housemate:

Hi, Uchiha-san,

I wanted to let you know that I moved in without issue Saturday afternoon as we agreed. 

And since I'll be at work by the time you arrive and might probably not see you until the next weekend,

I wanted to thank you for arranging everything beforehand.

Please enjoy your breakfast! I hope you like maple-flavor smoked bacon.

In gratitude,

H. Hyuuga

He lifted the dish cover to find a stack of fluffy pancakes, a good serving of bacon, still warm, and eggs on a plate (that he noticed also, was his).

Betrayed by hunger and tiredness, Sasuke let his bag slide down his shoulder and grabbed his navy blue mug from the countertop, tossed coffee grounds in the coffee maker, and punched the small button to start on his drink. He scarfed down one piece of bacon, then another, and sat down unceremoniously in front of his breakfast wolfing down pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee.

Wow.

Ten minutes he was done (and that was by a record time -- he's not a pig, like Naruto), he slipped the note out of his pocket again and ran the words through his head for the second time.

Whoever this Hyuuga Hinata was, he's a really good cook. And he's considerate. Nice, even. And he has really nice penmanship, the kind where all the characters are evenly spaced and every line written with care. Reminded him a lot of his sister-in-law's penmanship. Not that that would be possible, 'cos she went to a girls' private school and learned penmanship and calligraphy there. Did boys' private schools offer penmanship? He guessed this one does because you'd never get that kind of writing off normal high schools as he did.

When it had sunk into Sasuke that he might have actually found a housemate that he won't be kicking out anytime soon, his shoulders roll forward and he relaxes. Finally, finally, he has a chance to peaceful coexistence. He'll be comfortable while this Hyuuga keeps his end of the bargain. His additional strain from the housing situation was magically fixed, and he would probably even enjoy being home again.

All in all, Sasuke went to sleep in a very good mood that day.

Peace.

Hinata couldn't for the life of her figure out Uchiha's schedule; but for the most part, they seemed to work well with each other despite not being able to meet in person.

It had been two weeks since she's moved into the two-bedroom unit, and she could have sworn she's never had to worry about her privacy, or noise, or roommates dragging her out in hours where she'd rather spend sleeping in or reading. She and Uchiha kept the letter of the law (of their signed house rules) to heart, and there weren't any incidents at all.

It didn't seem to bother them both that they had not met each other properly. After coming home that first Monday night when she expected to meet her housemate, she found that she had already left; but in place of the plate of pancakes and bacon under the dish cover she brought (because Uchiha-san never kept any, it seemed), she found a note stuck with a few words:

Thank you. Best breakfast I've had in a while.

Welcome to our apartment! Make yourself at home,

S. Uchiha

And after that, they conversed purely through text messaging or the post-its. Hinata bought some blue ones for herself to use to leave messages for Uchiha-san (she couldn't very well pilfer and use her housemates' things all the time!), but she's only had to use them for a few things:

I bought some more of that bacon I cooked you. Let me know if you'd want this for breakfast tomorrow. - H.

What's with the dried flowers in the shower? - S.

Oh! If it bothers you, I can take it out. It's aromatherapy, to help with relaxation (lavender and eucalyptus). - H.

Aa. Don't bother. I guess it smells good. - S.

One, in particular, was a note she found after she was too tired from work that she forgot about dinner altogether. Pinned to the door of her room, it read:

Hi. I noticed you were at home and put dinner out, but you seemed to have forgotten about it.

I knocked on your door a few times, but I guess you were already asleep. Long day, huh.

Anyway, I kept the curry in one of those microwaveable boxes you kept in the cupboard. They're in the fridge.

I don't know how you like your rice so I separated them.

They were good. Hope you don't mind that I ate some before I left for work.

Thanks. I hope you aren't sick, - S.

That was probably the longest note she'd ever left her. Waking up particularly early (since she slept in almost as soon as she came home), she started on breakfast for two (since she was grateful, again).

Once she stepped out at six a.m., intending a fresh start at the office, she heaved a sigh of relief that she had an agreeable housemate, albeit one she had no idea how she looked like.

Hello,

Thank you for doing that. I honestly thought you'd be angry that I left the food out.

I didn't even remember it until I woke up and saw your note.

Anyway, I appreciate it! Let me know if there's anything in particular that you'd like to eat.

I think I like sharing my food with you. Lol.

Rest well! I feel great after sleeping in last night. Thanks for the concern. - H.

Headache.

Sasuke tried to tune out the incessant prattle of his so-called best friend, to no avail. A talker by nature, Naruto made a living arguing with anyone and anything that engages. 

He would have cut him out of his life if he wasn't a promising lawyer. It's never too bad to keep at least one lawyer friend. Even if he were a slob.

Who was he kidding, Naruto was his only friend. His other friends-by-extension, Sakura, and her new weird friend, Sai, were people he can stand. Sai was an artist, too profound for his logical and realistic nature; while Sakura was too pink, too noisy, too flamboyant. Right now, as Sakura argued with Naruto about the legalities of cosmetics testing on animals in other countries and why the hell are they not banned in the country (They make your face glow, Sakura-chan! It's freaking business, cutting these off would be a major loss to investment! Besides, they're not our laws!), Sasuke could feel a headache coming from the over-stimulation.

"Sasuke-san, are you okay? You look kind of green." Sai commented quietly, while the other two continued their heated debate as though the other two weren't there. He was almost 100% sure that Naruto and Sakura would go back to her apartment at the end of this meal, from all the tension.

Sasuke tentatively opened his eyes to gaze at Sai, who sported a rather comical look of concern. He pulled his facial features together in an attempt to look the part.

"Stop it. I know you are worried; doesn't bother me if you can't show it on your face." He grumbled. Sai immediately melted into a more natural expression; completely devoid of emotion save for his eyes.

"Oh. Well, Ino said it would be good for me to practice."

"Yeah, well. Don't bother to do that to me. I get it, man. I get that whole 'jerkface' and 'unfeeling bastard' comment all the time."

"Speaking of which, Jerkface. Have you chased the newbie out yet? Is it time for me to move back in our apartment?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, biting into a soggy fry. They had agreed to meet that early morning after Sasuke's shift to catch up, seeing as that was the only agreeable time for all of them to actually see each other.

It was Friday morning at 6am, and god knows where Naruto gets his energy, but he's almost honored even that they make time for him. But it will be a cold day in hell when Naruto moves back in with him.

"It's my apartment, bastard, and you would probably do well to remember that by now --"

"Awe come on, baby. You know I'm your favorite roomie."

"I'd sooner take Sai in than you. No offense, Sakura."

"None taken; I'd like to be your very last resort as well, thankyouverymuch."

"I am honored, but I'm afraid I will splash paint all over your living room."

"Yeah, but you actually know how to clean up after yourself and when to shut up, Sai. Unlike this bastard over here."

"I fucking know when to shut up! Sakura, tell 'em!"

"You can start now, idiot."

"Awe geez, hun. You used to like me all noisy --"

"OKAY STOP." Both Sai and Sasuke held up a hand, shoved in Naruto's face.

"I can't possibly want to hear the end of this sentence --"

"Let us respect Sakura for what we can only see right now--"

"Geez, dobe, can you be any more uncouth--"

"Thanks for trying to preserve my purity, boys," Sakura said with a smug smile, sliding off her chair and slinging her bag on her shoulder. "But I have to go to work now. Sasu, you have to bring your new roomie soon so we can meet her, okay? What's the name again?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura with a funny glance. "Her? His name is Hinata."

Sakura frowned at the faux pas. "Oh, I guess in my brain, she's a girl. Hinata's a pretty androgynous name, isn't it? Ino has a friend named Hinata."

"Yeah babe, but Sasu's also easily mistaken for a girl's name. Besides, him? With a girl?" Naruto pointed a thumb at Sasuke, scarfing down his bagel. "I mean he's never gonna get over me--"

"For the love of God, Naruto, I came from a 48-hour shift--" Naruto failed to hear the rest of the sentence as Sasuke wrapped an arm around his neck in a chokehold.

Questionable.

Hinata often wondered as she refilled the baskets of bread in the shop if Sasuke didn't think much of the strangeness of their living situation. Well Hinata is a pretty shy individual, and she'll survive if she never gets to meet Sasuke (and be disappointed to learn that she couldn't like her as much in person -- because Hinata now really, really likes the apartment and her albeit physically absent roommate); but she couldn't say the same of her.

I mean, she seems pretty uptight. she mused. And any girl living with a new person, you've got to be very watchful, right? Lots of weirdos in town these days.

Her cousin Neji even proposed to open his web-covered Facebook account to check out this Sasuke (although, he might have only been curious who could rival him in his...obsessive-compulsiveness). But their search bars returned nil results, even if Tenten offered to scour the rest of the SNS world (Twitter, Instagram, etc etc).

"Her name is funny. Like, even for me. Sasuke's mostly a boy's name. I mean yeah we have Sasori, but he's as pink as they go," Ino comments loudly as she taps her foot on the floor, earning her a glare from the guy behind the counter, Sasori the pink-haired man.

"And Sai has a guy friend named Sasuke, apparently he's in GS in my hospital too. Don't know his surname though. Mostly only Sai says he looks like him, only more perpetually angry. And with longish hair."

Even Neji commented on it. "Uchihas normally have male kids. I mean they're all over the news. Of course, the main family is, but I guess they don't have a lot of girls."

"There's the pianist, Uchiha Izumi? The one engaged to the first son of the first Uchiha brother in SG Corp?" Tenten says idly, filing her nails. 

"Ah. Well yes, I suppose."

Hinata didn't really care. Sasuke seemed to be a very goal-oriented, focused individual...she had a lot of rules, but she's used to living with sensitive people (Neji) and complying with their whims. She didn't think it was strange that there were no photographs around the house, or that her only food stock that never runs out is coffee. It was definitely off-limits for her to even check out any of her designated drawers and closets, curiosity be damned. She really liked their apartment, and she'll never do anything to betray that trust.

Not even when she heard a low voice murmuring in the other room the other night when she was roused from sleep, too low to be intelligible. Or when she saw someone's boxers left in Sasuke's hamper (Hinata instantly turned red at that and bolted from the laundry room). If Sasuke had a boyfriend who was coming over, she really didn't need to know. Or hear.

So it was a rather peaceful month of co-existence, albeit a thin layer of tension was in the air. Sasuke messaged her that she was unfortunately placed on night rotation all month until next, and rarely went home every two or three days. At this, Hinata sighed in slight worry over her housemate, who seemed to not even think twice about going home in the wee hours of the morning. She only left Hinata a short but kind message:

It happens. Lock the door at night, man. Lots of weirdos in this town. - S

To which, Hinata felt compelled to make her a tonic of pear juice extract, addressing in a note where Sasuke would find it 48 hours after in a flask on their kitchen bar:

Stay healthy then. I made this tonic for you; we usually get colds this time of the year and I don't want you getting sick. You can do it! - H

Sasuke sighed and looked out the window at the dreary November morning. It was nice, sweet even. Sasuke was a man of very few emotional attachments but he appreciates kind gestures. He's surprised to find it in his seemingly sensitive roommate though.

Definitely keeping this one, he mused. 

Whot?

But it turns out, not pear extract tonic nor copious amounts of chicken soup nor standing naps in the resident's closet could keep Sasuke from catching autumn cold. He sniffled as he changed into his scrubs inside the lounge, carefully balancing the (almost empty) flask inside the locker with his books. He held back a sneeze, knowing for sure that a tiny peep would send him home; and he had that biliary atresia conference he prepared for weeks to do that he didn't want to miss. Sure, someone could fill in for him, but he actually liked the surgery this time. And if he's not at the conference, he can say goodbye to the surgery.

"Sasuke, where are you? Dr. Hatake says he'll be late, again." A loud feminine voice said as the owner barged in the lounge. Thankfully, Sasuke had his clothes on now and was mentally reviewing the slides. He groaned.

"Will he be long enough that I can get a nap?" He said, sitting down on a bench, Ino towering over him. Her reassignment to GS definitely eased his pains somewhat, but unlike their monotonous common friend (Sai), she was blonde and loud.

"Don't know. Why, you feel sick?" Ino had the unfortunate habit of being all up in someone's face (for Sai it means concern, Sasuke means overbearing), and placed a hand over his forehead.

Sasuke didn't even have the energy to fight it off.

"Sasuke, you're on fire! Dude you're crazy," Ino says, stepping back. She produced a thermometer from her pocket and pointed it on his temple. "Geez you're at 38. Why are you even here?"

"The conference..."

"Forget that, idiot. You'll sooner collapse than discuss liver functions, and we don't even know when His Geniusness will show up. Go home. I'm telling Dr. Hatake." She rolled her eyes and moved to run back out the lounge when she paused, staring at his locker.

"What?" He said crossly. He was feeling worse by the minute, but even he knew that Ino was right and he'd probably miss the surgery too. A bitter pool of dread stirs in his stomach.

"What's this?" Ino says, grabbing the flask from his locker. Without any energy, he just groaned in response (normally he would have yelled at Ino).

"It's a flask, of course. Pear extract juice. My housemate gave it to me to drink. He keeps making it so I won't get sick, but obviously, I already did."

"Oh. It looks like the one I have at home. Pear extract, huh? I guess that's becoming popular now, a friend of mine also made a batch last week and sent it to me." Ino puts it back and turns to Sasuke. "Go home. I'll ask Shika to fill in for you, although I'll probably get sick after you when he vanishes for rounds."

Sasuke had zero energy to formulate even a response, so he nodded his thanks and Ino ran out the door, slamming it shut. He began to change back into his regular clothes, dreading the trip back home.

It was nearing midnight when Sasuke came back to the apartment, and from the stillness of the house he figured that Hinata was already asleep (didn't he even have hobbies?). Not having the energy for extra thought, Sasuke toed off his shoes and moved them back into his foyer closet, moving quickly as he could into his bedroom so he could sleep.

As soon as he shut the door, he collapsed in his bed in a deep, dreamless sleep.

~

Hinata woke up at 5 rather groggily, owing to the fact that she stayed up until midnight under her covers to finish that new series she was keeping up with. She yawned and slipped off the bed, preparing for her day...

Except that there were lights on in the toilet she shared with Sasuke, and it looks like it will be a while.

Smiling to herself, but also confused with her presence, she made up her mind to put off her shower to prepare some breakfast for both of them (since she's already here). Quickly moving to the kitchen, she started taking things out of the fridge and cupboards to make pancakes and bacon, again.

She heard the groaning of the toilet and the flick of the switch, and she paused, breathing in deeply to greet her mysterious housemate. As she quietly padded out of the kitchen and into the living room, however, she blinked twice at the person who had come out of the toilet and into the hall.

He turned around, and sees her; his face twisted into shock as Hinata's jaw drops open.

"Who--"

"What the f--"

Hinata stared in horror at the man before her. Tall, dark eyes, longish black hair and as her eyes drift downwards...bare chest with only a pair of boxer shorts on.

"Aaaaaaah!!!!!!"

"AAAAAAAAH!!!" the man yelled back, stepping back in surprise. "Who are you?!?"

"Pervert! who are you!?!?"

"I'm a pervert? Wait, who are you?"

"I'm Hinata, Sasuke's roommate!"

"I'm Sasuke, Hinata's --"

Their jaws snapped shut in silent dread. Of course. Of course.

The silence dragged on for that seemed like ages, and Hinata shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to stop her eyes from roving all over his body. But since it was 5am, and her cells refused to cooperate with anything else except what her lavender eyes had recently branded on her brain cells --

Bare chest, toned abs, really really tall, oh God he's not wearing anything else--

She could hear Sasuke shuffling his feet. He cleared his throat and began in a strained voice. "Um, sorry about that. Wait, we can talk about this like...human beings. I'll put on some clothes first. Please wait for me in the living room." A flurry of steps and the slamming of a door, and Hinata opened her eyes again to an empty hall.

I didn't imagine that, right? I mean, how can I --

Bare chest--

OH GOD, Hinata, she berated herself mournfully. He's a guy. Sasuke is a man.

Sasuke seemed to have a similar internal battle as he leaned on the door, breathing heavily. He rubbed his face with the heel of his hands, mentally killing himself.

A GIRL. Hinata's a girl. Fuck, why didn't I even try to figure it out before?!?! Of course she's a girl. Who had handwriting like that? And pear fucking extract. Who does that?? Sure Choji does, but not for fun. Not seasonal, to give to friends. Like a mom. Oh God. Ino's Hinata. Sakura says she had a girl friend named Hinata. Why didn't I think of that?

Wanting to punch himself but also remembering that Hinata would probably hear (and his energy had drained again with the yelling), he decided he had to face the truth outside. He began putting on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and tying his hair up (no sense looking good -- wait why do I want to look good?) and wiping his face for gunk and drool off his sleep. He had to explain that he thought of Hinata as a guy. And that he didn't think to check when she agreed to the terms, thinking he finally found a roommate that could put up with his nitpicking. And that he had to give Hinata back her deposit, and find her somewhere else to stay in for the shit he put her through this morning --

Sasuke paused. But he didn't really like the idea of kicking Hinata out. She was the most peaceful roommate he'd ever have. Sure, his only other roommates were Naruto and Shikamaru in college, and there wasn't much to complain about with Shika except for his refusal to use ashtrays, but she was eons better than both of them. Should he really be bothered that she's a girl? He hadn't really thought about it, he just felt like it would never work between any girl and him. But this one did, and he liked it.

He opened the door and padded to the now brightly lit living room to find Hinata sitting tentatively on the one couch, all prim and proper and...pretty. Her lavender eyes were wide and turned to him (in fear, he notes), and her long midnight blue hair was tied up in a messy low ponytail. Her legs --

Hinata turned scarlet and grabbed a pillow from the couch, setting it with a thwack over her uncovered legs. Sasuke looked away, blushing.

"Um..." He cleared his throat nervously, looking at anything else aside from her (and her legs). "I'm sorry about that. So uh...I'm Uchiha Sasuke, the guy who lives here."

HInata winced, extending an arm to meet Sasuke's outstretched hand. Without looking, she mumbled. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata, your new, um...housemate."

They shook once and drew their hands away as if they had been electrocuted.

"Uh so...I'm sorry. I didn't really check and I assumed you were a guy--"

"No, I didn't even ask the landlord and I just signed the papers away--"

"I didn't even think to call you all month to see how you were, I just assumed--"

"I wasn't even smart enough to ask about you, even though we talk all the time thru messaging--"

"If you want to get your deposit back and look for a new place, it's cool, I totally understand--"

"If you want me to move out immediately, um, I'll find another place to stay--"

"--but maybe not now, cos I stayed home tonight because I really got so sick --"

"You're sick??" Hinata cut him off abruptly, turning her eyes to him for the first time since they saw each other in the hall. Her eyes were lavender and searching, and Sasuke immediately felt his face heat up.

"You're red! Oh no. You caught a cold after all," she murmured, grabbing his face with two small hands and leaning up at him. Hand on his forehead, hand on his cheek...

Sasuke squirmed. It wasn't unwelcome, just...

Soft. And she smelled nice. And he could feel his eyes getting hypnotized by the sudden focus of her lavender eyes. And he's feeling really feverish, and it's not helping that she's so close...

He yanked his head back from her tiny palms, but that seemed to be the wrong thing to do; as soon as his head reared back, his head spun and he's seeing double. He heard a small eep from the woman beside him on the couch.

Sasuke tried to clutch his head, but by now the cold and headache and everything else had drained him of so much energy that he toppled forward...

With his head right into Hinata's lap.

Thank the Autumn Winds!

"Sasuke-san, Sasuke-san..."

Sasuke groaned as he felt someone tap him gently on the shoulder. He pushed the soft, disembodied voice away in his mind, but the rest of his body was already starting to wake up.

"Sasuke, wake up please...you need some food before you can take medicine..."

"Mhhhmp...I don't want to..."

"Please, Sasuke-san. This will make you feel better. I made chicken porridge." 

A heavenly smell wafted up to his nose, and Sasuke's stomach growled. Face scrunched, he stirred from sleep and tentatively opened one eye.

Blue hair, porcelain skin, and lavender eyes, sitting beside him, greeted his sight. Hinata was smiling encouragingly at him.

"Hinata??" Sasuke blinked. He tried to remember where he was. "Am I in my room?" He asked, mentally registering the familiar decor.

"Erm, yes," Hinata replied bashfully. "You fainted, and I sort of helped you back into your room. I made some food; they're soft foods so this should not be too heavy on your stomach."

Sasuke groaned audibly and shifted so he could sit up. "Careful," Hinata warned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and another around his torso, helping him up. She grabbed two pillows from behind him and stacked them up so Sasuke could lean back on the headboard with some comfort.

"You might be a bit dizzy. Here, I brought you a bowl of porridge." Hinata began making space on his bedside table and started assembling a bottle of water, a glass of tea, and a packet of what he could recognize as fever reducers. She then tucked his comforter around him, not the slightest bothered about their closeness.

Sasuke, however, gulped as he observed the woman fuss over him.

Hinata then brought a small table/tray laden with a bowl of porridge and side dishes arranged all around the bowl, and a small spoon, and laid it carefully on his bed right over his lap. She turned to a bewildered Sasuke, gesturing to eat. Sasuke nodded absently and took the spoon up for a taste of the porridge.

Yum. Gaining a bit of energy with every bite, Sasuke spent the next few minutes eating quietly and mumbling in appreciation.

"I'm glad you seem to like it," Hinata beamed. "And it's great to see you with more energy now. I was scared earlier, to be honest."

Sasuke paused, looking at her sideways. He carefully placed the spoon down on the tray, noting that he had polished off most of the food.

"I'm sorry to make you worried. And thank you for the food. Erm," he looked around, noticing the light from outside his window. "What time is it?"

"Hmm, a little after eleven," Hinata replied, glancing at her wristwatch.

"Shit. Did I make you miss work?"

Hinata waved her hands. "Don't worry about it. I called in earlier after I helped you back to bed and told them I can't make it. It's not an issue, I can just take another friend's shift next time."

"Oh." Sasuke looked down at the tray of food. "Thank you, then. Have you eaten?"

Hinata smiled. "I will, after this. You should finish up your food so you can take your meds, and go back to sleep. I hope you don't mind that I just brought out some of the generic types of fever reducers."

Sasuke glanced at the medicines on the table. "It's fine. I'm usually ok with those." He picked the spoon back up to finish the last bits of his food. "Did you make all of these?"

Hinata nodded. "Well, except for the pickled cucumbers. But yes, I made the porridge. It's a great thing that I had some chicken stock in the freezer, and the rest of the ingredients were easy enough to find in the market."

"You shopped for these?" Sasuke stopped eating abruptly to stare at Hinata. She felt a growing blush on her face.

"Sasuke-san, it's no big deal. We're almost due for groceries anyway. "

Sasuke shook his head. "No, it's just...I'm sorry. I put you through such a hassle. And to think this is our first time meeting."

Hinata released a breath and started laughing. "It's fine! It isn't every day that this happens, and besides, it's a tiny exchange for letting me stay here when I was such a klutz for making a mistake."

"With the housing?" Sasuke asked incredulously. If anything, he was the idiot who dismissed all normal people protocol to meet her before she signed anything. He was so preoccupied with getting a new tenant in quick enough so that Naruto won't be able to inch his ass back in the unit, that he made the most basic of mistakes.

Then again, looking at Hinata, he was kind of thinking he liked that he made a stupid mistake. Him, Sasuke, who never admitted to making any mistakes in anything.

"Y-yeah," Hinata said, blushing profusely and looking at anything other than the piercing gaze of the really attractive man in front of her. "Well, we can talk about this later on when you're feeling better, but I can start tidying my things up so I can move out as soon as possible..."

"Are you still moving out?" Sasuke inquired rather bluntly, then mentally slapped himself. Of course, she would, you're a weirdo and you have weird house rules. And she'd never probably been ok with living with a guy.

"I mean," he recanted, looking away as Hinata chanced a direct glance at him at his questioning. "If you're okay with this unit, and with me, o-or living with a guy, in general..." He trailed off. What am I saying? Sasuke, say something that makes sense! 

He gulped. "I mean it's fine, you're really the only person who had zero complaints with my house rules. And I'm harmless, despite the fact that I look like this." He gestures to his body. 

What the fuck, Sasuke?!? What did that even mean?? "I mean, despite looking a bit threatening. I'm really not threatening. I'm a boring person. What I'm saying is, I'm fine if you stay here...that is, if you're alright with it..." he finishes off in a mumble, when all he really would want to say is, Hinata, please just forget our first meeting and just stay here, please. Please don't let me go through the hell of looking for a new roommate and/or getting stuck with Naruto...

"Um...okay. If you say it's fine..."

Sasuke looked up in surprise at Hinata, black eyes meeting her lavender ones. His face felt like it was on fire, but he had an inkling that it wasn't the fever.

"I'm ok with it, we have our own rooms anyway...I'm also used to living with a lot of house rules, my cousin, I lived with him for a few years, he's a bit neat too, like you..."

Hinata smiled and Sasuke felt sucker-punched. "I was going to talk to you about it when you're better, in case you're uncomfortable living with a girl..."

"You don't have to. It's totally fine. In fact, it's great." Sasuke declared, gaining more energy to finally finish everything on his bowl and sides. "I've never eaten anything this nice when I started living without my parents. Not that I mean to make you cook often. I'll cook too and...I'll do my work of the other chores...I can even clean this up..."

Hinata laughed. "It's okay, just get some rest. We can talk more later. I'll bring your tray out, and stay in the living room if you need me."

Sasuke felt his face lift into a rare smile. It felt really nice; weird, now that he knows that she is a girl, he didn't feel any of his usual reluctance to make her recoil from him. In fact, he's seeking it out, like a cat. Oh, God.

Hinata began clearing up his tray when Sasuke noted that the bowl she used for his porridge was not one of his. Hinata seemed to notice his attention to the pretty ceramic thing painted with flowers.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I guess I was a bit too worried that I didn't notice that I grabbed my bowl instead of using yours. I hope you don't mind?" She glanced up at him tentatively. Sasuke met her with a look.

"It's okay. Uh...it's nice, actually. You're nice. Uhhh thank you."

Hinata smiled in understanding. "Okay. I'll go now. Drink your meds, and call me if you need anything, okay? Get some rest, and I hope you feel better later on." She stood up, bearing his tray, and walked out the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Hinata quietly, Sasuke buried himself in the comforter, his face burning.

Spring.

The sunlight pours in the apartment's usually spotless kitchen, which is currently littered with books on the kitchen bar table. In the middle of it sits Sasuke, downing a mug of coffee in a purple mug with a drawing of a white cat.

He mutters procedures under his breath, encircling anything that is harder to remember than the rest, and highlighting what he has trouble understanding. It is a quiet day, a rare day off, but here he slaves away on his research. That is, until...

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looks up from his books to Hinata, who was standing in the foyer with a couple of bags in each hand, greeting him with a blinding smile. He stands up quickly, capping the highlighter and running to meet Hinata and take the bags away.

"There was a sale at the market today. How do you feel about gyudon tonight? I brought what I need for it, but if you don't like it I can still make something else." She grins up at Sasuke as they laid the grocery bags on the clear space of the kitchen bar. She is met with a matching grin of his own.

"I'm okay with everything you make. But I thought it was my turn to cook?"

Hinata scrunches her face up. "Nah, you said you had that research on. Besides, I like cooking. It's the only thing I can do to help you."

Sasuke's lower lip juts out in protest. "I don't think so, Hina." He then leans down to steal a kiss on her cheek. "There, I can do ten more research topics."

"Yah," Hinata laughs. "Fine. Please take out a couple of bowls? I'll start the marinade now."

"Okay then." Sasuke then reaches up into their cupboard to take out a couple of bowls, one navy blue (his) and another in white with petals (hers). She grabs a couple of spoons (???) while Sasuke starts storing the groceries in their fridge and cabinets.

"Huh," Sasuke notes, looking closely at a small plant in a plastic pot as he began on the third bag. "Hina, what's this?"

"Oh! Um, Sasuke," Hinata begins in a sweet tone. "I bought some sweet basil? It would be great if we had some in handy for the tomato pasta you like so much." She looks up at him pleadingly.

Sasuke sighs, and glances at the living room window laden with herbs; it wasn't enough to cover the sill, and he even made a four-tier stand for the bigger pots for the other house plants. He's forgotten what the room looked like when it was bare, because now they could definitely rival a small greenhouse.

"Fine," He smiles wryly. "If I make the pasta for dinner tomorrow."

Hinata wraps her arms around his waist tightly. "Yaaay. I knew you'd come around."

Sasuke laughs. He never thought he would, but he eventually did, starting when she moved in.